Book Review: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

The Scorch Trials is book two in the Maze Runner series. The book picks up right where The Maze Runner left off with Thomas. Thomas and his friends have escaped the Maze and are now with the people who rescued them from WICKED’s lab. The rescuers tell the teens that they are safe now but are actually still with WICKED, the organization that put the teens in the Maze.  And of course, things start going wrong. Teresa goes missing from the dorms where the Gladers are staying. And things get weird. And when I say weird I really mean super creepy. There are some things that totally grossed me out in this book. And were downright weird. But I loved to see a new side of Dashner’s imagination within the same world of the Maze Runner and The Kill Order.

The theme for this book is that Thomas and his friends have to go through “phase two” of the trials, the Maze being the first phase. WICKED tells the kids that they have been infected with a virus called the Flare that will eventually make them go insane and ultimately kill them and the trials are to test them and that it's all for the greater good of the world…uhhhh….

 Anyway.. As phase two, WICKED forces Thomas and his friends to cross what is known as the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world. Once they cross they must find the “safe haven” and they have to do so in two weeks to receive the cure for the Flare. It turns out that Teresa was kidnapped while at the dorms after being “rescued” from WICKED and placed with girls from the other Maze….yeah there were two mazes. One full of boys and one full of girls. All the while, the group of girls are trying to get to the “safe haven" too. And WICKED has made sure to stack the odds against them. Without the walls of the Maze surrounding them, the Gladers are faced with insane people called Cranks, the people who are infected with the Flare. They also face lightning storms and robotic monsters. I don’t want to give anymore of the story away so I’ll stop there. This book is not for the squeamish and has some pretty gory parts but is a crucial book to read in the series! 

Recommended age:

14+

On to the ratings!

Stars..

0 = None 10 = Tons

THE FEELS:

Throughout the book Thomas deals with the grief of losing one of his friends and also has more than one love interest.

5/10

Violence:

There is violence throughout the book and one scene where bodies are hanging from a ceiling later it is revealed that they were not real bodies that they were digital images placed there. The group battles Cranks and some of WICKED’s monsters as well but the violence is all necessary in order for them to survive.

8/10

Sexual content:

Thomas kisses Teresa and Brenda tries to kiss Thomas.

1/10

Crude language:

0/10

Other elements:

Again I’ll say that it may be creepy for young kids.

Overall:

Overall I liked the book and the series quickly became one of my all-time favorites. James Dashner’s imagination is incredible and so is his style of writing. Instead of seeing it as a creepy book take a new perspective and take it as what it is…an art form and totally fictional!

8/10

Xoxo

- Sarah