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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Book Review: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication date: October 2010
ISBN: 9780385738750
Source: purchased


The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 2)
*This review and summary will contain spoilers for The Maze Runner, so read at your own risk*

Thomas and his friends are finally out of the Maze and safe.  Or so they think.  When they wake up the next morning, things are not as they expected.  They are thrown into a new test and must get across a wasteland, trying not to lose their heads, starve to death, get struck by lightening, or have their noses removed in the process.  Through it all, Thomas looks for Teresa, but he little expects their reunion to go the way it does.  Can he and his friends survive this next phase of this cruel and brutal test?

Things I Liked:
This second installment definitely doesn't lack for action.  You are sucked immediately into what happens next.  Dashner has a way of creating odd situations that inspire fear and dread in the reader, not to mention his characters.  They are put through many horrifying and painful experiences on this next part of their journey.  While we learn some things about why they are there, we certainly don't learn enough to satisfy our appetites and it definitely left me feeling bruised and aching for the next book.  Also, I think the book has some deeper things at work, looking at how people react in situations and what we will do to survive at the expense of others.  An intriguing and fast-paced book that will leave you desperate to know what happens next.


Things I Didn't Like:
It definitely played on my emotions.  You feel anger and frustration, not to mention pain and betrayal.  It will leave you feeling a bit raw by the end, wishing they could have some kind of reprieve. At times it was also very confusing, but I am assuming that's because the characters are supposed to be kept unaware of what is happening.

 
Read-alikes:
Read The Maze Runner first

The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
all of it is made-up cursing


mrg-factor: none
just some kissing


v-factor: ->->->->->
plenty of horrible things happen - some of it a bit gory


Overall rating: *****

Posted as part of the YA-D2 dystopian challenge (at the last minute, of course :)


If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

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