The Scorch Trials By James Dashner

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner is the sequel to The Maze Runner.  It is a fiction book, and like The Maze Runner, is similar to The Hunger Games.  In this book, the Gladers have escaped the Maze, and have been taken away to "safety" by people who claim to have rescued them.  The Gladers think they are safe, but in reality, they're not.  This book is about their continuing struggles.

Since escaping the Maze, the Gladers have learned many things.  First, they've learned they are under the control of a group called WICKED.  Although the Gladers viewed the Maze as an unspeakable horror, WICKED claims that all the challenges they face the Gladers with have a purpose.  Also, after escaping the Maze, the Gladers are exposed to the real world, which isn't looking too great.  The climate has become brutally hot, and with the climate has come a new disease known as the Flare.  People infected with the disease have gone completely insane, and the world looks like it is about to fall apart.

After being "rescued", the Gladers relax, thinking their troubles are over.  The next day however, things begin to go terribly wrong.  At first, they wake up to see the dead bodies of their "rescuers" hanging from the ceiling.  What's more, Teresa, the girl from the Maze, is missing.  Instead, they find a boy in her room.  The boy's name is Aris, and he explains to the Gladers that he was also from the Maze.  But his Maze had all girls and only one boy, the complete opposite of the Gladers' Maze.  Thomas and the other Gladers begin to realize that things are going to get very interesting.

A few days later, a man comes, bearing news for the Gladers.  He explains that he is from WICKED.  After reassuring them that WICKED is "good", he tells them about their next task.  They are told they must cross the Scorch, the most burned and dried-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven within two weeks.  The next day, the Gladers begin their journey.  And, right from the very beginning, Thomas knows that whatever WICKED has planned this time, it's not going to be easy.

This book was incredible.  James Dashner really knows how to make a book grab your attention from the very start and keep you on edge until the end.  There is still one more book in this series, and then a couple of prequels.  By the end of the series, I believe the question I'll be asking myself is whether or not the ends justified the means.  WICKED claims that all the challenges they inflict upon the Gladers have a purpose.  In fact, they believe they might even save the world by doing what they are.  I have no doubt that they will accomplish the ultimate goal they have set in mind.  However, by doing these things, they are putting these young boys through a lot.  They have exposed them to unthinkable horrors and have drained them both physically and mentally.  These boys will never be able to forget or fully recover from the things they have experienced.  So, by the end of the book, I'll have to determine whether or not the ends justified the means.  I'll have to decide whether or not putting these boys through all these things was really worth it in the long run.  This book has made me really excited to read the next ones and find out what happens.

In short, this book was amazing.  I encourage everyone to read it!  A