Book review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

I think I found this book through recommendations from Goodreads. It's often recommended for people who like the Hunger Games trilogy. I'm going to jump right in to likes and dislikes.

Likes:
1. The plot of the book sucks you in, very quickly and very strongly. There were surprises throughout the book and it was one of those audiobooks I take inside with me to listen because I don't want to wait until I'm in the car again. Even though there was a lot I didn't like about it, I couldn't stop reading it.
2. I love Chuck. If you read it, I bet you will too.
3. I listened to the audio book and one of the characters had an Irish accent. Awesome.
4. This book has the most creative bad guys I've ever seen ever. They are called Grievers and they are giant slugs with machinery they can suck into their yuck or spit out to fight. Seriously.

Dislikes:
1. James Dashner just doesn't seem to be a good writer. His story line was great. It had me hooked. But his style leaves a lot to be desired. I'll say more--
2. Thomas, the main character, seems to have no personality. He's actually kind of annoying. And since I don't like him, I don't really care what happens to him at all. Which is when I would normally stop, but there was so much mystery to it all that I kept going.
3. Dashner repeats things a lot. He harps on the details of Thomas' memory loss over and over, well past the first half of the book. We get it before then. We really do. He also seems to forget what he's already written? I don't know how that works. But Thomas will hear or see something and then a little while later see it again and be surprised and you're like, dude! You already saw that!
4. Thomas also seems to ignore really obvious clues as to What is Going On in favor of being clueless.

I feel like I keep reviewing books that I'm telling you not to read. Which is not as fun or helpful as getting a book recommendation. I have a feeling a lot of people would really enjoy this book. It just wasn't for me. So yet another "eh" book for you all.

Linked up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde again for Book Club Friday!