The Maze Runner + Author signing!

The Maze Runner
by James Dashner

Thomas wakes up in a community of boys - called the Glade. He has no memories of who he is besides his name and any real memories. The things around him seem familiar, but he's not sure why.

What he does find out though is that their community is surrounded by a maze. One which the boys have been trying to crack for two years. And not only that but there are creatures called Grievers out there - one of the reasons the doors to the maze close at night. If one of these creatures pricks you with a needle, you become different and can only survive with the supply of antidote. Only it doesn't completely cure the boys - it makes them change and remember a bit of their past lives.

Thomas is still trying to figure out why he feels a need to become one of the maze runners - a job not often given to newbies, when something strange happens. The day after he arrives, another person is on the way and when the contraption carrying that person opens, it's a girl. A girl he recognizes.

The girl brings a message to all of the boys - she is the last one to be sent to help them and things are about to change. And then she goes into a comatose state. Will the Maze be solved in time or will something horrible happen to keep the boys from discovering the real purpose behind it?

I just ate this novel up. I couldn't put it down. I actually had to go online and make sure it was a series when I finished.

Why did I love it? The suspense, the not knowing everything up front, the mystery behind where the Maze came from and what it's purpose is. The reader is thrown into the world just like Thomas is - except the reader will probably panic more than Thomas does. He seems unreasonably calm, even when meeting his first Griever. There's something more to Thomas and some of the boys begin to mistrust him while others make him their champion.

This book ended with a billion questions in my head and a want, no - a need - to learn more behind the world in which these characters come from. The purpose behind the Maze is only slightly revealed, with some seriously huge gaps in backstory that absolutely make you need the next book in the series.

I loved this book so much, I may have to beg an ARC from Random House in May. I never ask, but I may have to for this one.

This book deserves a fabulous 5/5 Roses


Author signing!

So, Monday evening I went to small little indie bookstore called The Magic Tree House Book Store to see James Dashner. I hit some yucky traffic and parked too far down the street, so I was about 20 or so minutes late. I come in and there's James Dashner and 3 other people. I learn that two of them are the booksellers and one is his media guide.

Well, call me selfish, but it was really freakin' awesome to just chat with James and the booksellers and even his media guide had some great questions and comments. I like that intimate feeling where you're not just hunting for questions to ask to participate but being asked questions yourself.

They got me talking about book blogging and the effect of author's having an online blog and being on twitter. It was a ton of fun. One great thing that I learned from James is that he most likely, when the trilogy is published, start working on a prequel to answer even more of the backstory. I think that would be absolutely fantastic!

We talked about giving books a soundtrack to read to versus one that an author wrote a book to and tons of other things. As the night was closing and my eyes were going all bloodshot from the contest... I had him sign my books - an ARC (giveaway soon!), a finished copy, and then his first book in the 13th Reality series - which he told me is being taken on by.. umm... I can't remember which BIG publisher - but they're being republished in paperback and really pushed this time around. I still have to read that series, but I will get to it!

So, I had a great time. Got a hug at the end from James for coming - he really is AMAZING, but I did forget to take a picture. We were just talking so much that it slipped my mind.

Anyways. . . Check out James' blog The Dashner Dude and the Maze Runner website which has this hard but addictive Maze Runner game on it. Also, you can chat with James on twitter @jamesdashner.