Maze runner
 James Dashner
 Novel 
 August 2019

The maze runner is a fictional novel written by James Dashner about an adolescent boy, Thomas who miraculously finds himself waking up in a glade at the centre of a labyrinth along with many others before him. Like everyone else Thomas cant recall any memory of how or why he is here. Rapidly Thomas proves himself to be a worthy member of the glades society gaining himself a promotion as a “runner”.  A runner is someone who attempts to map and memorise the labyrinth in hope of finding a way to escape. Throughout the book, Thomas gets closer and closer to finding an escape root until he finally does and he along with all the others attempt to escape and conquer the labyrinth. This makes for a thrilling and intense read that will have you on the edge of your seat wanting to read more.

The most interesting characters were Thomas as well as the glade leader Alby. I found Thomas interesting because he came into the glade with so much curiosity and bravery which I really admired. He proved to everyone that he is physically capable and mentally intelligent. Everyone thought he was an incapable person who has nothing significant to give and is good for almost nothing. But after a few days, Thomas wishes to prove them wrong. He develops into a character who the whole glade depends on and uses his curiosity and bravery to his and the glades benefit. “I just… feel like I need to save everyone, To redeem myself” this quote shows how Thomas becomes a caring, empathetic and selfless character and wants to do everything in his power to figure out and conquer the maze for the benefit of and welfare of everyone else. I also found Alby and interesting character as well. Alby is the leader of the glade and was the very first person to appear in the glade. He spent a whole month of confusion and frustration living in fear by himself. Which one can only imagine what that would do to someones mental state. Alby is a very successful leader because of his great leadership qualities. For him to control a community of full 17-18-year-olds who have found them in such a strange situation, calmly and efficiently is quite admirable. He achieves such harmony and order within the glade which to me seems an extremely difficult responsibility. Everyone always relies on him to make the correct decisions which is why he is such a strong and influential character in the book. Both of these characters have great qualities that I respect and inspire to replicate which is why I found them interesting.

A major message or theme of friendship was portrayed throughout the text. When Thomas first arrives in the glade he quickly creates a strong bond to one of the younger gladers, chuck. Chuck was the previous and most recent addition to the glade community, therefore, can relate and connect to Thomas on a personal level. Chuck shows him the ins and outs of the glade, giving him advice and guidance. If it wasn’t for Chuck, Thomas would be completely confused with many unanswered questions. This friendship allows Thomas to settle into the glade with ease and minimises struggle and difficulty. Within the glade, and because of the challenging environment they are in it is important for everyone to create positive friendships in order to function efficiently. creating and strong bond between each individual allows them to work as a group help them to overcome difficult challenges and face multiple challenges with ease. This strongly relates to life, sometimes you may find yourself in very tough times and difficult situations. Having strong and positive friendships and relationships with others is going to make overcoming and pushing through said difficult time much easier. Always having people by your side is an extremely important aspect in life because it means you always have extra support to push and guide you through tough times.

It is obvious to anyone who reads this novel that the biggest challenge present is trying to escape the maze. Everyone does their part in the attempt to escape whether it be at base farming or preparing food but when it comes to the real business the major challenge is trying to master the labyrinth. Everyone living in glade overcomes a challenge every day by just getting through to the next day. Living in an environment like this would cause major stress and confusion to each individual which in itself is a challenge let alone trying to escape the maze. Each day an elite group of the glades fastest, strongest and bravest members called the runners enter the maze in hope of finding a way out. They are presented with multiple challenges while doing so which are potentially life-threatening. But in order to have any chance of making it out of the maze they must stay brave and mentally strong and display high levels of persistence. The runners are required to push away any fear for the benefit of themselves and the other glader’s. Through a lot of determination and persistence they finally find their way out of the maze. This is relevant to many situations people may find themselves in the real world. When things are tough its not okay to just give it one attempt then give up, you must be persistent and keep trying until you succeed because something good will always come from it. “If you ain’t scared… you ain’t human.” this quote reminds us that it is normal to have fear. The most common thing people struggle with when trying to overcome a difficult challenge is the fear of failure. Everyone experiences fear of failing but you must push it aside before you can allow yourself to succeed.

This book is definitely a must-read for teenagers because of how relatable multiple different themes and how efficiently they are displayed while maintaining a thrilling and exciting read. It displays themes of friendship and persistence which are incredibly relevant to us as teenagers. These are only two of the many different messages and ideas but there are many more throughout the text which have the ability to educate and inspire you.