This review can also be found at The Title Page 
 The Maze Runner is the story of 50-60 boys thrown into a Maze together and forced to build a society. They work together to live, and figure their way out of their prison. Everything is going fine. That is, until Thomas and Teresa show up. 
 The game is ending, monsters are set out on the boys and they are unsure how to survive. It is up to Thomas to figure out how to get these boys out of their hellhole and back to their real world... if the real world still exists. 
 This book is a difficult read at first, it's a little slow, but you won't be disappointed if you stick to it. There are some inconsistencies throughout, but most are explained away by the end of the novel. 
 The writing is not amazing, I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters on any level and that left the book feeling a bit empty. It is completely plot-driven, there's barely any character development there. 
 I enjoyed the book, it could have been written better, but when the plot got started the pages flew by. A definite read for dystopian fans. 
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 My thoughts throughout the book; 
 32% - "This book is starting to pick up a bit, it did take a while for the story to get going. I do like it so far, definitely something you want to stick with if you are getting a little bored." 
 39% - "While Dashner keeps things consistent by mentioning that Thomas's memory has been wiped. I feel like pointing it out every single time he does something noteworthy is slight overkill." 
 54% - "I can't believe I'm only halfway through this novel, I feel like so much has happened, yet I'm not bored nor ready to stop reading. I would really like to see some sort of picture or map of the Glade. It's getting a bit hard to picture it in my head when Dashner keeps adding buildings that weren't there before." 
 83% - "This book just got really confusing. We find a lot of information all at once and it is explained very quickly. It would have been better if we had seen what Thomas has seen for ourselves instead of just hearing him explain it to the Keepers." 
 98% - "It seems strange that when the Gladers are (finally) back in the real world, Dashner doesn't spend any time explaining what they are seeing. These kids are seeing the destroyed world for the first time, why aren't they awed? Why don't they even look at their surroundings? Why don't they care that the only world they've ever known (even if they don't remember) no longer exists?" 
 Final Notes: 
 One thing that is never explained in the book; Why was Teresa the only girl? 
 The Epilogue was a great addition, it definitely set it up well for the next book. 
 But I do feel that comparing this novel to the Hunger Games is totally pointless. They are two different books centering around different ideas. The only thing I saw in common was that they are both YA Dystopian. 
 UPDATE 
 I have changed my review from 4 stars to 3 after reading the sequels. 
 You may ask why I didn't just leave this one and rate those lower, my answer is simple: the plot. 
 By the end of the first book, you are still blindly ignorant of the entire plot. Once you find out why the maze happened, it just doesn't make any sense. I was disappointed and frustrated. Thus, I changed my rating.