Blogger: Rachel Kent
I finished reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner last night. The movie comes out in September, so I had to read the book before I go to see it with my good friend. We always go together to the movies that are based off of teen reads.
I enjoyed how James Dashner built up the mystery element of the story right from the beginning. The very first scene introduces the reader to Thomas, a teenage boy who has no recollection of who he is. He is being hoisted up in a dark box to an unknown place, and he feels like his memories are right there on the surface, but he can’t recall anything about his past or how he got to be in the primitive elevator. He arrives in The Glade and meets approximately 40 other boys who have the same memory loss problems. They are trapped there and are surrounded by a giant maze that appears to have no solution and is filled with dangerous beasts. (That’s all I’m going to say about the plot! I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.)
As the story progresses, we find out little tidbits that help to put together the pieces of the puzzle, but we don’t know anything more than Thomas does. The reader figures out what is going on at the same pace as the characters. I haven’t read many books like this, where there’s a puzzle to be solved and the reader is able to discover the answer along with the characters. I think James Dashner was able to pull it off successfully because he allowed the mystery to create the tension the book needed to keep the reader engaged. He fed the reader just the right amount of information in each chapter.
The final, completed puzzle was a disappointment for me, but many people read and loved this book, and it’s perfectly fine to disagree with me. 😉 Even though I didn’t love the ending, I still appreciate the artful way Dashner built the mystery and tension of the story. I think similar techniques could be used in many fiction manuscripts–even if there’s not an obvious puzzle to be solved. Forcing the reader to wait for answers keeps the tension up and the reader interested.
Being careful not to spoil the story for others, I’d love it if you would share how you felt about The Maze Runner.
Have you read any other books where the mystery is slowly revealed throughout the book? Which ones? What techniques did you notice the author using?
Rachel, I have not read this. I’ve not heard anything about it either until today. You’ve got my curiosity up now. 🙂
I probably wouldn’t have read it if I didn’t know the movie was coming out. I’m one of those people–the ones that read the trendy books. 🙂
I haven’t read this, but WOW I love the cover. I’d pick it up based on the cover alone. I like how the mystery is revealed in INKHEART by Cornelia Funke. You get tiny tidbits here and there, but from several different characters so the reader has a little bit more than the M.C. but not much.
Inkheart is a great example and is one I’ve read, too!
I haven’t read it, or heard of it, mostly because both my YA fans grew out of YA, and moved out and the next in line to the throne is off working at camp, where he’s probably reading Bonhoeffer. Again.
The only one left at home is 11 and still reads Wimpy Kid books.
This may sound Mom-ish, but I have a hard time reading books where the kids are parentless and alone. Call me a sook, but I barely sat through watching the Hunger Games because the mom was a uselss, grey wreck.
I’m with you, Jennifer. Many YA books are completely focused on teens, and in some (not all, but some) that have adults, the adults are either unhelpful or are negative role models. Even in Harry Potter (which does have some positive adult characters–Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall), the revered Professor Dumbledore befriends and mentors Harry with the ulterior motive of using him.
While adolescents are supposed to be forming their own identities and working on leaving the nest, it doesn’t hurt for them to have a positive role model / mentor / parent / wisdom figure or two to help them on that journey. vote for more YA books with that element in it. Of course, the teen protagonist will still have to do the heavy lifting (since it’s his / her story) but a little guidance now and then from someone who’s traveled the road might not go amiss.
I agree! And many times when the parents are in the book they are terrible people.
I live in fear that one day, I’ll be in a bookstore and see a book that says “Major Pain” and it’ll be a YA “based on real events”.
I’d love to read The Maze Runner now! Sounds like a book I’d enjoy. Andrew Klavan’s four books in his YA “The Homelanders Series” is like that — where you figure out the mystery of what’s going on as the protagonist does. I had SUCH a hard time putting any of those books down. I thought they were masterfully written.
I love mysteries! Thank you, Rachel, for discussing a mystery that doesn’t (seem) to involve a murder. It seems that the only mysteries written nowadays are about murder and I strongly object to murder being a form of entertainment and fascination. I apologize for editorializing but I am passionate about the subject.
That said, I really enjoyed the mystery in Kate Mosse’s LABYRINTH even though murder was a part of the story. The real mystery, though, involved a connection between two women who were born in France eight centuries apart. The book is over 500 pages long, yet it held my attention, in part because of the characters, especially Alais who lives in the 13th century, and in greater part because there were a number of mysteries going on in the novel. I wanted to know how Alais and the 21st century Alice were connected. I was more interested out what the skeletons of a man and a woman found in a cave had to do with Alais and Alice than I was in finding out who the murderer was. Finally, both Alais and Alice had something mysterious that affected their lives and each had to discover the secrets of their individual (though ultimately related) mystery. Each woman’s life depended on finding all the pieces to the puzzle. Similar to Dashner, Mosse has the reader learn along with the characters. Although my life didn’t depend upon it, I could not rest until I found out how all of the mysteries were related. Though I didn’t entirely like the ending, I still felt I had gone on a great adventure.
Have a great weekend!
I’ll have to read Labyrinth! Sounds like a good one.
Rachel, I’d love to know what you thought about The Fault in our Stars … hope I got that right. I’ve not read it … don’t know much about it. But saw a huge line of teens waiting to see it at the theatre.
Honestly, I felt like that book was plotless. I read the entire book–it was well-written–but the story was too internal for my tastes.
Rachelle loved it though. Everybody is different! 🙂
My twelve-year-old daughter is sure she’s the only kid in her age group who hasn’t been allowed to read A Fault in Our Stars. I looked over some info online and the story sounds a little mature for my tween. Obviously I’m ruining her social life by not letting her read the book or see the movie.
Karen, I’d just say I was a bit embarrassed to watch the movie and I’m a married woman. I know everyone has different lines but I knew it was something I didn’t want my teens watching. I found myself rooting for the dying teens to do things I would NEVER want my kids to do, dying or not. So in that regard, I felt manipulated by the storyline. Again–I didn’t read the book, but was pretty unimpressed w/the movie. Don’t worry if everyone else is reading/watching it, our teens will survive! 🙂
Rachel,
I need to feel good about how a book ends. It’s alright and realistic if there are some sad subplot endings–but I need to feel satisfied overall. When I finished Agatha Christie’s book, And Then There Were None,I felt awful. She wrote it so well that I read it in record time; however, the ending was not satisfying–it was too dark (actually the whole book was).
Happy ending blessings ~ Wendy ❀
The Maze Runner is part of a series, so I’m wondering if I would find more satisfaction with the ending if I read more of the books in the series.
I’m on the fence about if I want to read more or not though.
I read Maze Runner with my teen last summer and was frankly not pleased with the way he wrapped up the story, nor were we a fan of his writing style. It did get us to read the next two novels so I guess that’s something, but I won’t go see the movie. It just wasn’t that good:(
. . . oh please – watch the trailer before you decide not to go see it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64-iSYVmMVY&feature=kp
The actual Maze itself – is amazing. This story begs to be visually interpreted.
Wow. I have not read the book, but that trailer is definitely gripping. And the book synopsis on Goodreads looks interesting as well.
Okay, my heart is racing. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the link, Donnie!
Yep. I haven’t decided on if I want to read the next books.
I’m wondering if the movie might be better than the book. It seems that Dashner might have figured out how to end the book as he wrote and the movie might be able to fix the issues I had with it. I’ll go see it because I like to experience books made into films. Plus it’s a tradition to go to these with my friend.
. . . Yes, a very good read.
I especially liked the way the “page numbers” were mysteriously printed at the bottom of each page . . .and they were even in consecutive order.
One of my favorite examples of mystery in a story is Jill Williamson’s “The Safe Lands” trilogy. The Safe Landers have a mystery disease preventing them from having children and it takes the whole series to find out what it is. Or at least I assume we’ll find out. The final book doesn’t release till August.
My daughter read this and did a project on it last month! Bad mom alert–I forgot to ask if she liked it! Interesting premise. 🙂
🙂 I appreciated that it was a relatively clean read! Just a couple of swear words and substitute swear words.
I’m curious what you thought of Ender’s Game. (Confession–I’ve only seen the movie). I thought this story also did a good job of building mystery. There were some plot twists that I didn’t see coming, and I’m usually pretty good at anticipating them. My 14-year-old son had read the book for a school report and loved the film adaptation, even though he felt the movie was rushed.
Rachel – This was one of my first dystopians to read. I think had I read it AFTER several other more current ones, I wouldn’t have been as into it. I have to agree with you on the ending. Though it has been a while since I read it, I do remember thinking….”that’s it?” BUT, the author kept us reading like mad till the end, so I guess he did his job. 🙂 I wasn’t aware the movie was coming out so soon. I am looking forward to seeing it!