Not my usual cup of tea, but I am trying to read more YA literature. This is the first title in a trilogy by that name, and is considered dystopian fiction and science fiction. It is set in an alternate world, where the teenager Thomas arrives in a mechanical box through the stone floor. He has no recall of his past, and finds himself in a huge area surrounded by towering stone walls that “close” every night to keep the occupants (all teenage boys) in this odd space. They grow food for themselves on a farm, raise animals for their meat, and thus sustain themselves. They receive supplies every month or two through the mechanical box.
Thomas soon discovers that outside the walls is a huge maze, and the most fit of the young men, who call themselves “Runners”, do exactly that. They run through the Maze every night, trying to map it out in their heads so they can eventually find a means of escape. However, the Maze changes every night, making this more or less an impossibility, and the evil Grievers who lurk there, (mechanical monsters) hunt the runners, hoping to tear one or more apart.
But soon after Thomas arrives, a young girl is delivered in the box, and she becomes instrumental in helping the boys escape. Without giving the ending away, the teenagers find themselves in a situation which is more horrifying than the one they just left, and the ending is abrupt. The action continues in the sequel, The Scorch Trials, and if you like it, look for the last book in the trilogy:The Death Cure.
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