BOOK REVIEW: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

This review is on the second book of "The Maze Runner". I have provided no spoilers to the actual plot, but have provided an honest review.

Title: The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner, #2)
Author: James Dashner
Publication: August 1st 2011, by Chicken House
Genre: Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
Pages: 359

Goodreads and Amazon

Rating: ★ ★ ★

The Scorch Trials picked up where The Maze Runner left off. The Gladers have escaped the Maze, but now they face an even more treacherous challenge on the open roads of a devastated planet. 

And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them. 

Can Thomas survive in such a violent world?

I almost feel bad about rating The Scorch Trials only three stars, but I just cannot force myself to rate it anything higher. I had enjoyed The Maze Runner profusely -- Thomas really became an excellent protagonist, with the secondary characters slowly becoming well-rounded characters themselves. However, whilst The Scorch Trials was still a good book, I personally felt as though it had lost a little of what had made The Maze Runner great.

The Scorch Trials picks up immediately where The Maze Runner ended. This was definitely one of the novel's greatest strengths. Thomas and the group of Gladers, now only a small group, discover that whilst they may have escaped the maze, they have not escaped WICKED's clutches. Instead, they are still part of an elaborate experiment. Thomas and the Gladers are forced to navigate themselves through the Scorch -- a large expanse of sand and heat, occasionally touched by harsh storms. The Scorch is littered with infected humans, two of which become secondary characters. Their task? Fight through the obstacles placed out before them and get to the safe haven in two weeks.

I was very disappointed that there were large portions of this novel that Thomas left the Gladers for long periods of time. This meant that there was very little time to focus on Minho, Newt and Teresa -- three characters that I have grown incredibly fond of. Instead, a lot of this novel focused on Thomas building a new friendship with a new character: Brenda. At times I found her frustrating, almost infuriating, mainly because her personality was constantly changing and was unpredictable. Furthermore, Thomas constantly feels guilty for his growing feelings towards Brenda, and this is repeated continuously throughout the novel. It felt as though what made Thomas a good main character was overlooked because of his focus on her.

Overall, despite these faults, I did enjoy The Scorch Trials. It was a good sequel, flowing well from the previous novel. However, I do think it could have been a lot better if the novel had focused on Thomas and the Gladers, instead of having Thomas running around by himself or with a newly introduced character. There were a number of twists and turns along the way, some of which surprised me, keeping me reading because they were intriguing. But sadly, I still have to give this book three out of five stars.

What are your opinions of The Scorch Trials?

April 2015 Wrap-up

Hello fellow readers! After months and months (and months and months, etc. etc.) of not reading, April 2015 is the month that I fell in love with reading all over again. I hadn't read anything for a very long time. Instead, I was letting myself become overwhelmed with the stresses of university and work, and my large pile of books became severely neglected. But I am so happy to announce that I am working through that pile once again!

I began April by re-reading two of my all time favourite novels -- allowing me to fall in love with reading all over again. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is one of my favourite novels, ever. The characters, the plots and the numerous twists and turns all contribute to the book's absolute awesomeness. I rated it five stars. The second that I read that allowed me to fall in love with reading again was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I rated five stars as well. Who doesn't love The Hunger Games?!

The last two books that I read for April was the first two books of The Maze Runner series. The Maze Runner by James Dashner, which I rated four stars due to a slow beginning, and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (the review will be posted this upcoming Saturday). I decided to read the books after watching the first movie. I love that the books offer a lot more than the movie, especially regarding the characters: their personalities and their background. 

How was April for you? How much reading did you get done?