Here’s a short summary of The Maze Runner:
Thomas wakes up in the center of a field covered in plants, his memory extracted. He is stuck in the middle of a deadly maze with other amnesiac boys, trapped and encased. Thomas must escape from this purgatory - before the dangerous creatures of the maze overturn the big gates and enter in. Worst of all, a question rings in Thomas’s head: Who put them in this cage-like maze?
Here's a short review of the novel:
This novel was what I wrote my English essay on in seventh grade, and after having to analyze this novel character-wise, it has put me in a state of mixed feelings for this particular novel. The characters of this novel were interesting to read, though they were one-dimensional and bland from an objective standpoint. The real hit-and-miss of this novel, though, is how it’s written - simply and without much flare for dramatics or descriptions. The plot, however, really took my breath away, as it was much better than its frequent dystopian nemesis, The Hunger Games, which was boring and unoriginal. Thomas’s character and growth were small, but unlike the previous novel, it was understandable and painstakingly easy to read, not thrown in your face like a lopsided frisbee. The way you could feel the frequency of Thomas’s thoughts, opinions, and desperation made it easy for the reader to self-insert themselves onto Thomas, making him an acceptable character for this type of dystopian novel. In other words, I recommend reading this book with a grain of salt, knowing that some elements of the novel are subpar - and that’s completely okay. Books are like candy; you know that candy is bad for you, and yet, you still gollop another piece, eager and hungry. The Maze Runner is just like that - except the metaphor is with good writing and characters.