The maze runner is a a book that has similarities to The Hunger Games, and Divergent it is a dystopian novel, that has been adapted as a film and has been realised on DVD [at all good retailers] and is streaming on some Netflix services.

The Maze Runner is the first book in a series of novels written by James Dashner first published in 2009. The books similarities to others that have gained popularity in recent years and months among teenagers across the world over is stricking

First of all the setting is a post-apocalyptic world with the characters unable to influence or even control the world around them. Second the young teenage hero or heroine decides to fight for their right to be their own person with friends or family and finally the heroes are tested in a trial that could result in their life or death.

Thomas, sixteen year old protagonist arrives to a new area remembering nothing apart from his name. His memory has been completely cleared and he finds himself in a maze with other teenage boys who have been through exactly the same thing. Thomas feels this itching urge to help the residents of the maze to find an escape. The maze is gigantic and there are fifty boys who live on a farm in the middle of the maze, with no exit called the Glade.

Whereas is the Hunger Games the hero, Katniss Everdeen, the story starts in, Panem, are introduced at the beginning and only further in the book the actual trail of the hunger games start. In contrast, The Maze Runner kicks off directly in the middle of the story, as the author penned on paper “seemingly unsolvable maze must be solved”

The story is one of the the most action-packed and reading that I have personally done in a while. It felt as if I was watching a movie I forgot I was even reading. In contrast to The Hunger Games, where twenty-four boys and girls must kill each other, The Maze Runner is so difficult because it a mystery for the readers and the characters alike. In my opinion, The Maze Runner is more suitable for younger adult or even younger readers.The book is also written in the the third person, this allows the audience to gain another perspective on what is going on rather than being written in first person. The Hunger Games is written in the first person, which gives the reader an exclusive insight into Katniss’s deep inner thoughts. Therefore puts you right in the middle of all the action that is happening left right and centre.

In my opinion The Maze Runner has so many different layers and challenges that it makes the hunger games look like a child’s game. Thomas and the gladers don’t fully understand the world around them yet they have to try and do the impossible and escape! Pick up The Maze Runner and the other books in the series from all good bookstores and retailers or online.