The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials
By James Dashner
Delacorte Press, 2010. 361 pgs. Young Adult

In the second book of The Maze Runner series, Thomas has stepped out of the frying pan and into the fiery, baked land known as "the Scorch" - the most barren, wasted area earth has known since sun flares devastated the planet years ago. Thomas and the other Gladers have two weeks to cross the Scorch, somehow enduring the extreme heat and barren earth, as well as the Cranks - people driven to murderous insanity by a disease known as the Flare. And it doesn't help knowing that the masterminds behind these Trials, WICKED, are stacking the odds against them. Thomas longs to be free from the manipulation of WICKED, but he can't help but feel that the path to freedom might be locked within his own mind.

James Dashner delivers another action-packed, gripping segment of this story. A few moments in the book had me especially terrified, and the reader shares in Thomas's frustration as WICKED's mind-games constantly keep you guessing about what is real, what is not, and above all what will happen next. I think that this series will especially appeal to teenage guys, although I think anyone who is a fan of young-adult or science fiction novels will enjoy this. I'm eagerly looking forward to the final book in this series.

BHG