Thursday, January 20, 2011

Same Book, Second Look - Scorch Trials by James Dashner




Published: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publisher: Oct 2010
Pages: 360
Copy Provided by: Library
Summary: Goodreads

Summary:

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

Review:

I have to say, I'm really enjoying this series by James Dashner. Scorch Trials was just as fast paced as The Maze Runner and added new elements of intrigue as the main characters have to make their way across a harsh environment and other unconrolled, unpredictable elements. It really tested the survival skills of these characters. I LOVED it. What I also enjoyed is that the characters are flawed and you often wonder about their motivations. They're complicated...

Some will die and others will press on. Overall, another riveting novel by James Dashner. Can he keep the story moving just as well through Book #3? I sure hope so! If you'd like to read Curlypow's review of Scorch Trial click HERE.

I should mention that this is not for a younger reading audience. There is still plenty of violence and some graphic descriptions. Especially if someone has a highly active imagination, this might not be the series for them. My nephew is 12 and I'm thinking I might hold off on giving him this series for another year.

As mentioned in my post about The Maze Runner, if you enjoyed this one, you might also like the Gone Series by Michael Grant. It's a beafy series though so not for reluctant readers. Another dystopian series that I have yet to check out is Life as we Knew It, Last Survivors series by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Has anyone else read it?

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