Review: The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner #1) by James Dashner

If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.

Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Everything is going to change.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.

Remember. Survive. Run.

I had been interested in getting my hands on this book for quite a while and finally, I was able to. I have really enjoyed this whole young adult, dystopia thing that has been going on for the past 5 years. I haven't liked all of the entrants into this little sub-genre but I've enjoyed most. After looking at the ratings that everyone had given this one, I was super excited. 

And then I started reading. Man. It was rough for the the first 50 or so pages. I just couldn't get into it. I was so close to putting this down and just not picking it back up because it was a bit ... disconnected for me at first. But instead of going with that first instinct, I just kept at it and it payed off. It REALLY paid off. I became immersed in this world that Dashner had created and I just couldn't get enough. I didn't read it as quickly as I have some others but it was right up there with them. 

The setting is something that takes a little while to kind of get a grip on. It's completely different from our society and while it seems a little extreme at times, I think that it was warranted in order to set the story up correctly. The characters were a bit difficult to connect to at first because of their different vernacular but it was easy to fall into and get the hang of after a few chapters. I really like how Dashner has written Thomas and a few of the others. It actually reads like it's young kids talking and not an author trying to get in touch with that generation ... it felt authentic. And that seems to be something that quite a few authors have issues with. There was no talking down or making these kids seem too young or stupid, it was just perfect. 

I did immediately pick up the next book in the series and while that would normally urge me to give a book 5 stars, since I had such a hard time getting into everything, I decided to bump it down to a 4. But all in all, this is a good novel and I'm pretty excited to see it in movie form to see how it stands up. 

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The Lovers (Charlie Parker #8)

Title: The Lovers (Charlie Parker #8)

Author: John Connolly

Date Published: 2009

Publisher: Atria

 ★★★★✰

Stripped of his license, Charlie Parker takes a job in a Portland bar. Alone and directionless, he faces at last a shadow he has lived with since his childhood: what made his father, a respected police officer, apparently shoot dead two unarmed teens and then commit suicide. His quest leads him back to the little New York town where he grew up, to the secret history of the NYPD, and to the existence of mysterious friends and hidden enemies.

For waiting in the shadows, as they have been throughout Charlie’s life, are a man and a woman with only one purpose: to bring an end to his very existence . . .

John Connolly is a painter - he just uses words instead of watercolors. The way that he writes makes you picture everything as it happens! I think that a lot of authors miss that mark but John Connolly has it down pat!

John Connolly jumps right into the story and you feel like you're there with Charlie Parker as he deals with the police, his lawyer, old friends and memories from long ago. Charlie is delving into his past to find out more about the killings his dad was involved in before his suicide. As this is happening, two people are trying to keep him from finding out any information and they are killing people as they get closer and closer to Charlie.

True to John Connolly style, this book is full of twists and turns that are completely unexpected and they all throw you for a loop. The Lovers is part of the Charlie Parker series, but don't disregard it if you haven't read any of the other books in the series. It is so well written that you don't HAVE to know everything in the past (although it does help a little). Such a great read all around, definitely something I will read over and over.