The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner  

by: James Dashner 

Synopsis: Thomas wakes up in a elevator-ish metal box, with no memories other than his name. When the box opens, a group of some 50 teenaged boys are staring down into it. He climbs out and finds he is in some sort of farm surrounded on all sides by giant walls with only four openings to the "outside" which really is just a maze that surrounds the outside of the Glade. Every night the doors to the maze close, at first Thomas thinks to keep the boys in, but really they close to keep them safe from the monsters inside the maze. The day after Thomas arrives, a girl comes up in the box, the first girl ever, Teresa, and right before she goes into a coma, she tells the astonished boys that everything is about to change. And everything does begin to change in the worst possible ways. Thomas makes friends and enemies along the way as he tries to figure out how to fix everything before the worst happens. 

Review: This is probably my favorite book, or at least one of my favorites. It is impossible to put down. If you don't like dystopian books then you probably won't enjoy it, but I love those types of stories. It's adventurous, funny, and full of friendships. It shows that even kids know not to give up and also shows the power of friendship. I always recommend this book to anyone who asks me on what book they should read. Overall the story is fun and it definitely adds some humor to an intense situation. 
It also is a series and has been made into a movie last year. 

Favorite Character: My favorite character is definitely Newt, one of the friends Thomas makes. He is the perfect mixture of funny and serious, he is an amazing friend to Thomas and is a great leader when he needs to be. Overall he is just a great person

All the Light We Cannot See

All The Light We Cannot See

by: Anthony Doerr 

   Synopsis: Set in France during World War 2, this is a story about a Blind-French girl and a German boy whose paths eventually pass. Marie-Laure lives in Paris and is the daughter of a widower locksmith who promises to always protect her. He keeps his promise and takes her away to a smaller city when the Nazis invade Paris. Werner is an orphan who, like all the boys in his village, will work in the mines; but because of the Nazis' new opportunities and his amazing talent, he is able to go to school and further his knowledge in science. 

Review: It's always interesting to see the other side which this book accomplishes wonderfully. It's sad like all World War 2 books are, but it was also exciting and I couldn't put it down. Doerr does an amazing job weaving these stories together and even though it's a long book, it's a fast read. 

Favorite Character: This is a hard choice because I loved both characters, but I did realize as I was reading it, I looked more forward to read Werner's chapters. It seemed that Werner had a more interesting life and overall his chapters were just more exciting. 

What She Left Behind

What She Left Behind

by: Tracy Bilen 

Synopsis: Sara's mother finally decides it's time to escape Sara's abusive father. Sara's mom doesn't come to pick her up and she's terrified. Her father says she's on a business trip, but she knows he's lying. She doesn't want to get her friends involved but that's hard to do when your falling for when of them.  Her mom is gone and she believes he father had something to do with it. Her father is growing more violent as each day passes and Sara has to figure out what happened to her mom before it's to late ... for them both. 

Review:This is a great book for teenage girls, it mixes romance, friendship and suspense perfectly. Personally I liked the flashbacks/memories but I definitely understand why some people wouldn't enjoy that as much. Occasionally it would be to much, in the sense that it was almost always just her thoughts, and at times her thoughts became jumbled. Overall it was an easy read that kept me interested throughout the entire text. It was definitely hard to put down. 

Favorite Character: Alex, because he was always positive and brightened the mood. 

Favorite Quote:  "Alex frowns. 'I hadn't really planned on going back to class... but for you, I'll go.' He smiles again and waves as he jogs backward" (Bilen 180).