Jasmine's Reviews > The Maze Runner
The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1)
by
by
Jasmine's review
bookshelves: cheat-my-feelings, freakin-cliffies, mystery-suspense, series, young-adult, woah-dystopia
Sep 09, 2014
bookshelves: cheat-my-feelings, freakin-cliffies, mystery-suspense, series, young-adult, woah-dystopia
**Review written POST-watching the movie. All spoilers mentioned WILL be tagged**
3 THIS SOUNDS LIKE "LOST" STARS ★★★
“Just follow me and run like your life depends on it. Because it does.”
So, the good and bad news:
Bad: The movie significantly deviated from the book. A lot of key events were different, the chronology of events changed & almost everything was just a big WTF IS GOING ON ANYMORE.
Good: The deviation wasn't entirely a bad thing because it actually addressed a lot of problems I had with the book.
Should you read the book before watching the movie?
My answer would be NO.
Put it this way:
The only similarity between the book and the movie is the beginning and the ending. Everything else in between was a major clusterfuck.
So on to my book review now...
A FAIR WARNING: Jasmine takes her YA dystopian reads very seriously (easily her top fav YA genre) which means you might be seeing a superblybitchy picky side of Jasmine in this review.
********
The Maze Runner abruptly starts with Thomas being thrusted, via The Box (aka the lift), into a strange new world inhabited by other teenage boys like him. He remembers nothing of his life before this or how he even got there. It gets worse when all the other boys are uncooperative and refuses to reveal much about their current home, which we then learnt is called The Glade.
And surrounding the Glade, is The Maze which technically is made up of really tall stone walls and contains vicious creatures called The Grievers. A stung by one of these would cause someone to go through The Changing and can be cured through The Grief Serum.
Only a group of boys called The Runners are the ones who are allowed to enter the maze and everyday they've been trying to find a way out but failed miserably. Until Thomas came along.
Have I lost you with all the terminologies?
Trust me, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
********
The misses:
1.
THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. I could write a long list of them but I'd spare you all (or we can discuss it thru PM for anyone who has already read it).
2. Almost zero character development. Everyone felt so one-dimensional and the author's writing focused more on telling me what to feel for these people than actually let me feel it. (view spoiler) And also it didn't evoke any emotions in me when (view spoiler)
3. Bad pacing. The first 30% felt like a torture to read, it was very unnecessarily draggy. Felt that the author spent too much time on details that barely adds value to the story (in terms of plot & world-building). Also, an overload of terminologies that aren't crucial to the story.
Also, the withholding of information was dragged out TOO LONG. It can only be so long before either 1) people give up on this read 2) it gets all anti-climatic.
4. Teresa, the one and only Girl in the Glade. Her character was superbly one-dimensional and I felt that she simply existed because the story needed a girl. She could've been a guy & it wouldn't make a difference. And also (view spoiler)
5. What's-that-slang? I didn't really hate the weird slang used in this book, but it came to a point that they were used in so many diff contexts that they confused me. At one point I got confused between 'shank' and 'shuck'. Also I still can't figure out what 'shuck' actually means (I think it's like a combination of 'suck' and 'shit'? Pls refer eg below) or how they derive 'greenie'. Huh.
********
The wins:
1. The overall premise. Sounded very promising and it definitely keeps you guessing. I had a few theories about the maze and although I was only half-correct, I'm really keen to see where this is all heading.
2. The secondary characters. Really enjoyed reading the presence of Chuck, Newt, Alby, Minho; in fact I think I enjoyed them more than Thomas himself. The movie did their characters justice ;)
3. Had some good twists I didn't anticipate. I like it when I'm wrong ;) And I think the epilogue was well-played, definitely wants me to keep going on with this series.
4. A very refreshing read for me. It was finally nice to read one where the lead is a boy, instead of the usual heroine in today's YA dystopian reads.
********
Overall verdict: It had a really good premise but a lot of things were executed poorly. The author succeeded in delivering a well plot-driven story that keeps the readers intrigued but failed to produce characters that could appeal, or at least connect to the readers.
Sidenote: Contrary to what the book promotes saying "A Must for Fans of The Hunger Games", this actually felt more like the TV series "Lost" and NOTHING like THG.
3 THIS SOUNDS LIKE "LOST" STARS ★★★
“Just follow me and run like your life depends on it. Because it does.”
So, the good and bad news:
Bad: The movie significantly deviated from the book. A lot of key events were different, the chronology of events changed & almost everything was just a big WTF IS GOING ON ANYMORE.
Good: The deviation wasn't entirely a bad thing because it actually addressed a lot of problems I had with the book.
Should you read the book before watching the movie?
My answer would be NO.
Put it this way:
The only similarity between the book and the movie is the beginning and the ending. Everything else in between was a major clusterfuck.
So on to my book review now...
A FAIR WARNING: Jasmine takes her YA dystopian reads very seriously (easily her top fav YA genre) which means you might be seeing a superbly
********
The Maze Runner abruptly starts with Thomas being thrusted, via The Box (aka the lift), into a strange new world inhabited by other teenage boys like him. He remembers nothing of his life before this or how he even got there. It gets worse when all the other boys are uncooperative and refuses to reveal much about their current home, which we then learnt is called The Glade.
And surrounding the Glade, is The Maze which technically is made up of really tall stone walls and contains vicious creatures called The Grievers. A stung by one of these would cause someone to go through The Changing and can be cured through The Grief Serum.
Only a group of boys called The Runners are the ones who are allowed to enter the maze and everyday they've been trying to find a way out but failed miserably. Until Thomas came along.
Have I lost you with all the terminologies?
Trust me, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
********
The misses:
1.
THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. I could write a long list of them but I'd spare you all (or we can discuss it thru PM for anyone who has already read it).
2. Almost zero character development. Everyone felt so one-dimensional and the author's writing focused more on telling me what to feel for these people than actually let me feel it. (view spoiler) And also it didn't evoke any emotions in me when (view spoiler)
3. Bad pacing. The first 30% felt like a torture to read, it was very unnecessarily draggy. Felt that the author spent too much time on details that barely adds value to the story (in terms of plot & world-building). Also, an overload of terminologies that aren't crucial to the story.
Also, the withholding of information was dragged out TOO LONG. It can only be so long before either 1) people give up on this read 2) it gets all anti-climatic.
4. Teresa, the one and only Girl in the Glade. Her character was superbly one-dimensional and I felt that she simply existed because the story needed a girl. She could've been a guy & it wouldn't make a difference. And also (view spoiler)
5. What's-that-slang? I didn't really hate the weird slang used in this book, but it came to a point that they were used in so many diff contexts that they confused me. At one point I got confused between 'shank' and 'shuck'. Also I still can't figure out what 'shuck' actually means (I think it's like a combination of 'suck' and 'shit'? Pls refer eg below) or how they derive 'greenie'. Huh.
“You are the shuckiest shuck faced shuck in the world!”
********
The wins:
1. The overall premise. Sounded very promising and it definitely keeps you guessing. I had a few theories about the maze and although I was only half-correct, I'm really keen to see where this is all heading.
2. The secondary characters. Really enjoyed reading the presence of Chuck, Newt, Alby, Minho; in fact I think I enjoyed them more than Thomas himself. The movie did their characters justice ;)
3. Had some good twists I didn't anticipate. I like it when I'm wrong ;) And I think the epilogue was well-played, definitely wants me to keep going on with this series.
4. A very refreshing read for me. It was finally nice to read one where the lead is a boy, instead of the usual heroine in today's YA dystopian reads.
********
Overall verdict: It had a really good premise but a lot of things were executed poorly. The author succeeded in delivering a well plot-driven story that keeps the readers intrigued but failed to produce characters that could appeal, or at least connect to the readers.
Sidenote: Contrary to what the book promotes saying "A Must for Fans of The Hunger Games", this actually felt more like the TV series "Lost" and NOTHING like THG.
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Reading Progress
September 9, 2014
– Shelved
September 9, 2014
–
0.0%
"Hoping to finish this one before catching the movie! Finally unwrapping my paperback series now LOL.
"
page
0
"
September 10, 2014
–
Started Reading
September 10, 2014
–
30.47%
"SHIT JUST GOT REAAAL. This is getting pretty awesome & has got my heart pounding!
"
page
117
"
September 10, 2014
–
97.4%
"It's 1 am & mission accomplished! Now I'm all giddy with excitement because I'll be watching this movie in less than 12 hours! :D
"
page
374
"
September 10, 2014
–
Finished Reading
September 11, 2014
– Shelved as:
cheat-my-feelings
September 11, 2014
– Shelved as:
freakin-cliffies
September 11, 2014
– Shelved as:
mystery-suspense
September 11, 2014
– Shelved as:
series
September 11, 2014
– Shelved as:
young-adult
September 11, 2014
– Shelved as:
woah-dystopia
Comments Showing 1-50 of 68 (68 new)
message 1:
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Patty ~ Wrapped Up In Reading Book Blog
(new)
Sep 10, 2014 05:04AM
Glad you're enjoying Jasmine!! :)
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Patty❤️❤️Belongs To❤️Kellan Kyle❤️AND❤️Jesse Ward❤️❤️ wrote: "Glad you're enjoying Jasmine!! :)"
Thanks so much dear!! ♥♥ It's really an exciting read! :D
Thanks so much dear!! ♥♥ It's really an exciting read! :D
Great review. I love watching a movie when I've read the book just to compare.
Omg yes, so many plotholes.
I can totally see the Lost reference. It also reminded me of Incarceron, Lockdown, and Lord of the Flies.
I can totally see the Lost reference. It also reminded me of Incarceron, Lockdown, and Lord of the Flies.
~♥~Cathy~♥~ wrote: "Great review. I love watching a movie when I've read the book just to compare."
Thanks Cathy! ♥♥ OMG ME TOO! I have the tendency to analyse the movie while I watch it and keep comparing it to the book ;) But sadly in this case, it deviated so much that I was completely confused! :O I kept wondering if I would have liked it better had I not read the book =\
Thanks Cathy! ♥♥ OMG ME TOO! I have the tendency to analyse the movie while I watch it and keep comparing it to the book ;) But sadly in this case, it deviated so much that I was completely confused! :O I kept wondering if I would have liked it better had I not read the book =\
Nenia wrote: "Omg yes, so many plotholes.
I can totally see the Lost reference. It also reminded me of Incarceron, Lockdown, and Lord of the Flies."
TOO MANY PLOTHOLESSS. I was just internally yelling at all of them! D: Oh I've yet to read the other 3 you mentioned although Lord of The Flies sounds awfully familiar..
I can totally see the Lost reference. It also reminded me of Incarceron, Lockdown, and Lord of the Flies."
TOO MANY PLOTHOLESSS. I was just internally yelling at all of them! D: Oh I've yet to read the other 3 you mentioned although Lord of The Flies sounds awfully familiar..
Patty❤️❤️Belongs To❤️Kellan Kyle❤️AND❤️Jesse Ward❤️❤️ wrote: "Amazing review love!! :)
Love all the gifs!
xoxoxo"
Thank you Patty dear!! ♥♥ Oh I love them too!! :D Dylan is such a sexy cutie in the movie ;) ♥
Love all the gifs!
xoxoxo"
Thank you Patty dear!! ♥♥ Oh I love them too!! :D Dylan is such a sexy cutie in the movie ;) ♥
Yeah, I don't get why people keep slapping "read this if you liked THG" on every dystopian.
Also I didn't know the movie was out yet? I should check it out. If only for the actors ^^
Also I didn't know the movie was out yet? I should check it out. If only for the actors ^^
Christine The Dark Romance Junkie *Mafia Princess* wrote: "Oh no :( I guess I'll just watch the movie, then! Awesome and very honest review, Jasmine♥♥♥"
Thanks so much babe! ♥♥♥ Yes I think you'll enjoy it better if you just watch the movie on its own! :) :) It was just so confusing for me since it deviated way too much from the book :( I hope you enjoy watching it! :D
Thanks so much babe! ♥♥♥ Yes I think you'll enjoy it better if you just watch the movie on its own! :) :) It was just so confusing for me since it deviated way too much from the book :( I hope you enjoy watching it! :D
Thibaut wrote: "Yeah, I don't get why people keep slapping "read this if you liked THG" on every dystopian.
Also I didn't know the movie was out yet? I should check it out. If only for the actors ^^"
IKR?! God it's annoying! It's all a marketing ploy since THG catapulted the dystopian read in the movie industry. Ugh.
Oh for some reason, it's been released in my country today ;) Not sure why it happens sometimes that it gets released earlier than the USA, lol!
Also I didn't know the movie was out yet? I should check it out. If only for the actors ^^"
IKR?! God it's annoying! It's all a marketing ploy since THG catapulted the dystopian read in the movie industry. Ugh.
Oh for some reason, it's been released in my country today ;) Not sure why it happens sometimes that it gets released earlier than the USA, lol!
Mysza wrote: "Sorry babe:( Great review!"
Thanks so much dear!! ♥♥ It's alright! I still liked it to some extent :D
Thanks so much dear!! ♥♥ It's alright! I still liked it to some extent :D
J *I did it all for the nookie.The book nookie* wrote: "Terrific review Jasmine! Sorry it was a bust!"
Thanks so much hun!! ♥♥ No worries, moving on to the next one! ;)
Thanks so much hun!! ♥♥ No worries, moving on to the next one! ;)
Love ur review sweets! I love LOST!! oh, jack!! *swoon*
Sorry this didnt work for u babes..but what a review! So thorough :))
PS- reading deliver now...god the fucked upness...you might get some totally random and confused PMs/ profile comments from me...so beware!
Sorry this didnt work for u babes..but what a review! So thorough :))
PS- reading deliver now...god the fucked upness...you might get some totally random and confused PMs/ profile comments from me...so beware!
SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ wrote: "Great review Jasmine! Sorry it missed the mark a bit.. = S"
Thanks Sue love! ♥♥ No worries, moving on to my next one! :)
Thanks Sue love! ♥♥ No worries, moving on to my next one! :)
Supreet wrote: "Love ur review sweets! I love LOST!! oh, jack!! *swoon*"
WOOHOO! Lost was srsly a mindfuck tv series HAHA! Thanks sweets! ♥♥ I think the movie can be appreciated better without the book ;)
PS: OMG so excited for you babe!!! ♥♥ YES YES I'll be waiting BAHAHAH! I'm super eager to hear your thoughts! ;)
WOOHOO! Lost was srsly a mindfuck tv series HAHA! Thanks sweets! ♥♥ I think the movie can be appreciated better without the book ;)
PS: OMG so excited for you babe!!! ♥♥ YES YES I'll be waiting BAHAHAH! I'm super eager to hear your thoughts! ;)
Arianna wrote: "Great review, Jasmine!Sorry it was a bust!Better luck with the next one!:)"
Thanks so much girlie! ♥♥ I hope the same too! :)
Thanks so much girlie! ♥♥ I hope the same too! :)
Sandyღ wrote: "Great review Jasmine:) Guess I'l just watch the movie then!"
Thanks so much sweetie! ♥♥ Hope you'll enjoy the movie then! :D
Thanks so much sweetie! ♥♥ Hope you'll enjoy the movie then! :D
Brandi wrote: "Great review. Cant wait to read this one. I can never watch the movie until I read the book first."
Thanks Brandi! ♥♥ Oh I feel the same way too! That's why I HAD to finish reading this before I watched the movie today ;) Sadly, the movie deviated almost 90% from the book which brought on some massive confusion for me when I watched the movie. And that may have caused me to not enjoy it as much :(
Thanks Brandi! ♥♥ Oh I feel the same way too! That's why I HAD to finish reading this before I watched the movie today ;) Sadly, the movie deviated almost 90% from the book which brought on some massive confusion for me when I watched the movie. And that may have caused me to not enjoy it as much :(
Super review Jasmine! I love your warning, LOL! Sorry you had so many misses with this one. Movies and books are always so hard to compare. I usually do one or the other because I end up getting pissed off at the discrepancies. Good luck on your next one babe! xo
Great and honest review, Jasmine! I guess I`ll only watch the movie...I just have a soft spot for Stiles ;)
BRILLIANT REVIEW Jasmine!! Thanks for making me choose. I choose movie, so I'mma take this off the TBR. I appreciate every bit!!
And Anja: I adore that kid!! He is gorgeous
And Anja: I adore that kid!! He is gorgeous
Karéz wrote: "Great review, Jasmine. <3
Sorry that it did not held your expectations! :("
Thank you sweetie! ♥♥ No worries! Moving on to the next one! :)
Sorry that it did not held your expectations! :("
Thank you sweetie! ♥♥ No worries! Moving on to the next one! :)
Lady Vigilante (Feifei) wrote: "LMAO! I had a blast reading your review dear! :P"
BAHAHA! Thanks so much sweetie! ♥♥ :D Glad it entertained you LMAO! ;D
BAHAHA! Thanks so much sweetie! ♥♥ :D Glad it entertained you LMAO! ;D
Kirsten wrote: "Super review Jasmine! I love your warning, LOL! Sorry you had so many misses with this one. Movies and books are always so hard to compare. I usually do one or the other because I end up getting pi..."
Thanks so much Kirsten dear! ♥♥ I totally agree with you on that! But I have this tendency to read the book before the movie LOL. But in this case yeap, I was just so confused and mad over the discrepancies, which may in turn ruin my movie experience :( But no worries, I'll get over it hehe :) Thanks hun! ♥♥
Thanks so much Kirsten dear! ♥♥ I totally agree with you on that! But I have this tendency to read the book before the movie LOL. But in this case yeap, I was just so confused and mad over the discrepancies, which may in turn ruin my movie experience :( But no worries, I'll get over it hehe :) Thanks hun! ♥♥
Anja wrote: "Great and honest review, Jasmine! I guess I`ll only watch the movie...I just have a soft spot for Stiles ;)
"
YAY! Thanks so much Anja sweetie! ♥♥ Yes do watch the movie on its own! And Dylan was such a sexy cutie in the movie! :D ♥♥ You'll enjoy him hehe! :)
"
YAY! Thanks so much Anja sweetie! ♥♥ Yes do watch the movie on its own! And Dylan was such a sexy cutie in the movie! :D ♥♥ You'll enjoy him hehe! :)
Kat Stark wrote: "BRILLIANT REVIEW Jasmine!! Thanks for making me choose. I choose movie, so I'mma take this off the TBR. I appreciate every bit!!
And Anja: I adore that kid!! He is gorgeous"
THANKS SO MUCH KAT! ♥♥ You are most welcome! ;) I definitely urge you to not read this because it just pissed me off on so many diff levels haha! And the movie varied so much that it threw me off while watching (and possibly ruin my movie experience) :(
So hopefully you do enjoy this movie hun!! ♥♥ Dylan is indeed a cutie pie in the movie :D
And Anja: I adore that kid!! He is gorgeous"
THANKS SO MUCH KAT! ♥♥ You are most welcome! ;) I definitely urge you to not read this because it just pissed me off on so many diff levels haha! And the movie varied so much that it threw me off while watching (and possibly ruin my movie experience) :(
So hopefully you do enjoy this movie hun!! ♥♥ Dylan is indeed a cutie pie in the movie :D
ღFloღ the coffee addict wrote: "Absolutely brilliant review, hun!! I'll be skiping the book. I just want to see Dylan. ;D"
YAYY! Thanks so much Flo dear! ♥♥ Yes skipping won't do you any harm ;D Do enjoy the movie on its own babe!! ♥♥ You'll enjoy ogling at Dylan ;D
YAYY! Thanks so much Flo dear! ♥♥ Yes skipping won't do you any harm ;D Do enjoy the movie on its own babe!! ♥♥ You'll enjoy ogling at Dylan ;D
Kat Stark wrote: "And Anja: I adore that kid!! He is gorgeous"
Thanks so much Anja sweetie! ♥♥ Yes do watch the movie on its own! And Dylan was such a sexy cutie in the movie! :D ♥♥ You'll enjoy him hehe! :)..."
___
Oh, I would SO get my Cougar ON with him! ;P
Thanks so much Anja sweetie! ♥♥ Yes do watch the movie on its own! And Dylan was such a sexy cutie in the movie! :D ♥♥ You'll enjoy him hehe! :)..."
___
Oh, I would SO get my Cougar ON with him! ;P