Death Games on Planet Boy: Book Review of Maze Runner

 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In The Maze Runner, James Dashner’s YA dystopian novel, Thomas wakes with no memory to find himself in a self-sufficient community of boys. The boys have organized themselves and each has a job, from cooking to cleaning to growing crops to raising livestock, each boy has his role—the most dangerous of which is maze running.

The area the boys live in is surrounded by a maze, and the maze runners wake early and return just before sunset, spending their days running through the maze, memorizing turns in order to make maps and look for some kind of escape.

Doesn’t sound so bad, right? Better than slaughtering animals. It would be, if it weren’t for the grievers, mechanical monsters that mostly come out at night, but have also been known to haunt the maze during daylight hours, as well.

Thomas’s arrival is like a slice of pizza from a still hot pie—the cheese pulls and pulls, uncovering the other slices. Any safety the boys thought they had is gone. Any chance of survival relies on solving the maze, and Thomas might be the key the boys need to escape.

As a dystopian novel, the story is very stylized, especially in terms of the all-boy society that has arisen. In many ways, the boys are not stereotypical at all—they get along well and rarely fight. They are totally responsible and no one seems to slack off at their jobs. They are even pretty nice to each other. The Gladers, as they call themselves, are almost the antithesis to Lord of the Flies. As they say, “Sucks to your auntie.”

Would I teach this book? James Dashner does an excellent job of creating a suspenseful and exciting plot that brings up questions such as: Should we sacrifice some for the good of all? What are the limits humans will go to save themselves? What happens when you give children power?

Coincidentally, The Maze Runner is one choice in the dystopian book club based on Units of Study that I am currently teaching. Several of my students are reading the book and seem to be enjoying it so far. I am also enjoying the connections that the Units of Study asks students to make as well as offering students a variety of book choices at different ability levels. So, yes, thumbs up on teaching the book in a middle school class. Keep in mind that there’s a lot of violence, so those who are sensitive might not enjoy it as much. There is also a whole lot of boy, so if you are looking for heroines, you won’t find them here.

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Everyone Has a Cinderella II: Review of Stephen King's Gwendy's Button Box.

 

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gwendy’s Button Box , written with Richard Chizmar, is not Stephen King’s finest—in part because it is so short. For a work by Stephen King it feels truncated. Not like a short story—his short stories are generally full and do not feel lacking—but as though someone had said keep this one short, and perhaps they did.

During the summer before middle school, Gwendy is approached by a strange man in a bowler hat who wants to talk. He has no designs on Gwendy, but he does have a proposition for her—take the button box, enjoy its power, but don’t abuse it. Gwendy appreciates what the levers do—one produces silver coins and one produces magical chocolate animals that act like a drug to soothe the body and elevate the mind. The different colored buttons across the top represent areas of the world, and to push one would bring disaster to that place. The black button, the cancer button, as Gwendy thinks of it, will bring a particular kind of violence.

As Gwendy grows older, she finds that the box has a curious affect on her: she becomes a natural winner, seemingly good at everything. Though she tries not to call attention to her new gifts, sometimes they call attention to themselves--and not always in a positive way.

Would I teach this book? Being that it is not my favorite, I doubt it. However, it is an entertaining book and would probably be enjoyable for many high schoolers. I might recommend it as a pleasure read. It is not, however, the substantial read that is the typical Stephen King book. In fact, I might call it King Light.

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