-I read a lot.
-I like to share what I’ve read.
-I am the worst book reviewer in existence.
-I like to doodle.

In case you can’t fit those cryptic clues together into a cohesive thought (and no one would blame you), let me lay it out: today I will be sharing what I loved most about the books I’ve recently read through the haunting, elegant magic of computer doodling. With maybe a dash or two of artistic license – I’m guessing the Monstrumologist doesn’t typically send out Christmas cards, but hey, you never know.

Enjoy.

(Disclaimer: These are just for fun, guys. I’m not selling or trying to profit from them in any way. But if you are an author and you don’t want your characters depicted here, please let me know and I will gladly take it down for you, no drama. I just liked your book, is all. :)

Holly Black has returned to the Curse Workers world with her second book in the series, released in April…

Now is your chance to get your questions about the book, the series, and all things Black-a-licious.  She’ll be doling out answers thru May 13.  Click here to find out more.

P O S T C A R D S   F R O M   T H E   N E P H I L I M

While on tour, Cassandra Clare gave out postcards that told a story… now she’s sharing the story online… Click here!

S H O R T   S T O R Y

In honor of the paperback release of THE DEMON’S COVENANT, Sarah Rees Brennan is releasing a short story on line…

This story is set immediately before the events of THE DEMON’S LEXICON, no actual spoilers but some heavy hinting at spoilers in Lexicon and Covenant. Containing some major, some minor, and some only-mentioned characters in the series.  Click here and start reading!

C O V E R   R E V E A L

Jame’s Dashner is giving you a sneak peak at the cover of THE DEATH CURE, sequel to THE SCORCH TRIALS the final book in the THE MAZE RUNNER trilogy. Click here!

I also thought about a really sad time in my life. While I was reading a miscarriage book, I found a note tucked inside that said, “I am so sorry you are reading this.” Wow! That was so powerful at the time and I still remember how it made me feel connected to the other women who had the awful misfortune of losing a child. I was sure to gently place that note back into the book before I returned it. I prayed that it would find some else and help them heal, even if just a little bit.

I love the way reading helps me make connections to really important and powerful things in my life! That totally ROCKS!

But, I didn’t think about these things for long, because I am so into The Scorch Trials! I can’t wait to see what will happen next. On the back cover it says (in all caps) THE MAZE WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING. I’ve been sneaking up on Schmoopy for a few days now and saying that in a creepy voice. He doesn’t think it is as hysterical as I do, even though he started it. I totally crack myself up every time I do it.

I’m so funny to me!

What are your Friday Reads?

So I immediately logged onto Amazon and ordered book 2. I have spent the entire month of March reading it, not because it was bad, or ridiculously long. The exact opposite, in fact. It was brilliant. Ten times better than The Maze Runner, and twenty times better than most teen books on the market.

In The Maze Runner, Thomas, along with a group of teenage boys and one girl are trapped in a place called the Glade which sits right next to a giant maze. Even though their memories are wiped and they have no idea why they’re stuck in there, they realize that they have to find a way out. But it’s not easy with these deadly, unearthly creatures called Grievers roaming through the maze at night. By the end of the book, they find a way out (but I won’t give away the “how”). But when they reach the outside world, it’s nothing like they expected. There’s been an apocalypse, and most of the survivors have been infected by a disease called the Flare, which essentially makes you crazy, wither and die.

In The Scorch Trials, the boys realize that their problems are far from over. In fact, in the Glade they lived a life of luxury compared to what’s to come. After being nearly starved to death, they learn about their next adventure (and by adventure, I mean a horrifying, deadly, depressing and questionable journey through a desert and the remains of a city, inhabited by crazy people who are infected by the Flare). And the worst part? They are infected, too. If they don’t make it to the “safe haven” in the alloted time, they won’t receive the cure.

Thomas knows that this is just another test by the organization called WICKED. He knows that they are studying him and his friends to see how they respond to the ”variables.” And he knows that he was somehow a part of WICKED before his memories were wiped. How does he know all of this? Because his memories are starting to come back in his dreams.

The increase in intensity from the first book to the second is astronomical. I went days without reading it just because I was afraid I would read through the night and finish it. But yesterday I did finish it (sad face). And again I’m left wondering, “what’s next?!” I can’t wait until October for book 3. I just can’t.

James Dashner, you’re my new hero. (Please send me an advanced copy of your book to review. Pretty please?)

Dashner has done a beautiful job of creating a unique mystery full of suspense and even a little bit of terror.  As Thomas solves the mystery of the maze – and everything else in this place – we discover along with him.  The discoveries, characters, and trials make the book a page turner that you won’t want to put down.  The solutions are unpredictable, allowing for surprises in each chapter, sometimes making the reader wonder if it’s unsolvable.

James Dashner has written many other books, including the 13th Reality series.  (Check out his blog.) Also, there is a published sequel to The Maze Runner called The Scorch Trials and a reported third book coming out soon, too.  Has any one read the sequels?  Please tell me what you think!

Right. So, if you read “The Maze Runner”, then you’re familiar with the events leading up to “The Scorch Trials”. If not, try this handy summary from Wikipedia.

Thomas, Minho, Newt, Frypan and the other Gladers that made it out of the Maze alive now find themselves confronted by different problems. Not only are they still being tested (analyzed, patterned, etc.), but they aren’t home-free yet.

The telepathy that Thomas had with Teresa seems to have vanished, and Teresa has disappeared and been “replaced” by a boy named Aris who claims to also have escaped from the Maze, only as part of a larger group of girls – the total opposite of Thomas’ experience. Aris also has telepathic abilities and is able to “speak” with Thomas, too. Add to that the strange appearance of a white-clad individual labeled “Rat Man” who informs them that they all have “the Flare”, the disease which has killed most of the human race and made killers out of many of the survivors. Their only hope is to travel the great distance to the Safe Haven where they will receive the cure for the Flare. Oh, and P.S. – the girls that made it out alive are supposed to kill Thomas. Merry Christmas, Maze Runner.

All in all, “The Scorch Trials” was still a page turner, but I personally started fading out whenever Thomas started getting introspective and whenever the characters starting talking too much. The plot is incredible, but will the book be enough to hold your attention? My guess is, yes, it will. Also, Mr. Dashner, for the love of all that is sacred, I hope you keep this as a trilogy. The repeated suspense over Thomas and Teresa’s fates could kill us.

Thomas and the rest of the Gladers have finally escaped from the maze, and they are under the mistaken impression that life will actually become a little easier for them.  Anyone who’s finished the first book already knows, however, that this false sense of security is all a part of WICKED’s grand plan.  They literally want to trick the kids into feeling safe and then betrayed in order to observe their reactions and gather pertinent data.

The Grievers back in the maze were pretty nasty adversaries, with hypodermic needles and circular saws that came out of their bodies…  But they’re nothing compared to the zombie-like “cranks” [people infected with the Flare] found here.  As if the new, even more hazardous location and enemy weren’t enough to deal with, the Gladers also discover that there was another maze experiment running in parallel with their own — and that they are now competing against that second group in this trial.  They may have thought that life inside the maze was tough, but they haven’t seen anything yet!  Lives are lost and alliances shift as they try to work together to complete another nearly-impossible task.

Though I wouldn’t consider it purely gratuitous, I feel it necessary to warn readers that this book has a bit more graphic violence than the first.  I’m not sure whether to expect even more gore in the third book, The Death Cure, but I’m willing to take my chances when it’s released on October 11th!

Happy Reading!

The Scorch Trials

The Maze Runner

Click the Cut to find out more about these two very awesome/interesting books!

The Maze Runner starts off as a story about a boy named Thomas, who wakes up in a metal box/elevator with no memories of who he is, or where he’s suppose to be. All he knows is that his name is Thomas and that he is obviously male.  Thomas gets sent to a place called The Glade, a clearing within a giant maze, where there are many other boys just like him with no memories and only a name to go by.  Supposedly, a boy is sent every month (or is it week?) on the same day at the same exact hour, however on the day after Thomas’ arrival a girl is sent up unknowingly triggering the end of the maze.  Its up to Thomas and his comrades to figure out the maze and get out before the Grievers (the monsters in the maze made by the organization WICKED) kill them all.

Then the Scorch Trials begin! Thomas and his friends are told that they are actually part of an experiment that the organization WICKED is conducting to record their reactions in life threatening situations.  They have all been infected with a virus called The Flare and they must cross the land now known as the Scorch to find the cure.  Once again, as Thomas begins to slowly regain his lost memories he and his friends face eminent peril and must fight for their lives against crazyass, nose grabbing, Cranks and even more monsters courtesy of WICKED.

Of course I’m being intentionally vague with the whole story, naturally its far more in depth than my crappy summary tells and very much worth a read. I guarantee it’ll keep you guessing, keep your reading, and keep you wanting and waiting for more! Tho I will admit that Dashner could have gone sooo much more in depth with this whole series, really could have made it into a more thought provoking series.  However it serves its purpose of entertaining and keeping a reader interested.  I absolutely loved this book the characters were my favourite! Minho is sooo WIN! I loved him too, haha!

This series is a trilogy with the 3rd book (The Death Cure) still in the making and slotted to release some time in Ocotober.  Keep your eyes peeled for it!! and read the first two!

Book two of the trials, instead of answering any questions, only serves to bring up more questions. (Sort of like Lost right?) Thomas slowly gets some of his memories back, but they only serve to make things even more confusing. Is WICKED good, as Teresa first claimed while still in the Glade? Was Thomas really a party to all of it? (My only concern with this book is that once we have all the information, it isn’t really going to make sense, but that may only be because I haven’t thought of an answer that makes satisfying sense.)

This is the first time I’ve read a book where I can’t really think of where things are going. I can’t figure out how or why the different pieces we’ve been given fit together. I love it. Dashner packs the pages with never-ending excitement and terror. Hunger Games finally has an equal in terms of exciting YA novel. I know it won’t be for a while, but I can’t wait until book 3, The Death Cure, arrives.

With all the intrigue of The Hunger Games, James Dashner’s new series will keep you guessing until the very end. Check out the book trailer below.

The first book, The Maze Runner (PB $17), is available instore now. The second installment, The Scorch Trials, is forthcoming.

Fragment by Warren Fahy

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

I’d love to hear comments from any else who has read them.

-Tara

Title: The Scorch Trials (Book two in The Maze Runner Trilogy)

Author: James Dashner

My Rating:

Synopsis:

The Maze was only the beginning. Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.
In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, shelter, and safety…until Tersea triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered a long time ago.
Burned by sun flares and baked by a  new, brutal climate, the earth in a wasteland. Government has disintegrated and with it, order, and now, Cranks, people covered in festering wounds, driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim…and meal.
The Gladers are far from done running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves face with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Thomas can only wonder–does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

Review:
The minute I finished The Maze Runner, I was at my local bookstore (I’m a fan of Borders by the way) searching high and low for book two in the series! I took it home, plopped down on my couch, and read all night long. I finished the book in two settings. I couldn’t put it down. It stressed me out, made me nervous, and scared me, yet I could not get that book out of my hands.

Book two did not disappoint. I went into it with the same enthusiasm as I’d had having finished the Maze Runner. This book picked up right away where Maze Runner left off. This time, however, there was no gradual build up to the climax. The entire book kept me on my toes and tense. Honestly, I’m a little sore from sitting so tense for so long! As soon I figured out that they were still with WICKED, my heart sank. I was so ready for them to have their lives back! The things that the boys have to go through were just horrible, yet very well imagined by Dashner. Dashner creates this world that we hate, yet at the same time, we wonder if this could really happen. Sometimes, I hated Dashner (but I always came back to loving him of course ) I was so angry at some of the things these characters were having to go through and I just wanted it to end for them. I thought The Maze Runner was violent (however fitting and necessary for the story), but The Scorch Trials was ten times worse (but once again fitting and necessary).

The Cranks were terrifying. I found it quite humorous how they always said, “I’m a Crank.” They knew they were crazy, but they couldn’t stop themselves. They reminded me of zombies, and who doesn’t love zombies?

Without giving too much away, there are numerous twists and turns and tricks throughout the bit. Each one blew my mind just as much as it did to Thomas. Just like in The Maze Runner, I’m a huge Thomas fan. Often in books I feel like the protagonist is needy, or whiny, or stubborn, or cocky. But Thomas is an average guy who deeply cares about his friends and will do what it takes to make things right, even if he is in some weird way behind the Maze and the Trials.

Minho really steps up in this book and I love they guy! He’s a stand up, great guy, with a funny sense of humor. Newt is his composed self, always looking out for his shuck friends. And Frypan is there to add some wit and humor to the journey. Teresa is…well…I don’t want to give too much away….so I’ll just say, this is where things get a little crazy!

The book ends with Thomas just as hurt, confused, scared, and nervous as he was when he first came to Glade, if not more so. The book ends leaving me just as hurt, confused, scared, and nervous as Thomas! After the Maze Runner, I’m sure you’ll be wanting this book and will finish it quickly! But careful!!!! The final book in the trilogy doesn’t come out until October 2011! I can’t wait!

The Scorch Trials is the sequel to one of my favorite books last year, The Maze Runner. Both books are action-heavy and feature REALLY AWESOME/SCARY monsters and places, and the characters are subjects of experiments run by  a mysterious organization called WICKED. It all sounds pretty cool, (and it all IS pretty cool!), but I can’t help but be a little disappointed by the actual writing and plot development.

If you haven’t read The Maze Runner, the premise is pretty simple: a bunch of boys are dropped into a gigantic labyrinth with no memories of where they came from or explanation of why they’re there. So they start exploring the maze, trying to find a way out. But if you don’t get back to the center of the maze (known as the Glade) by nightfall, the entrances to the maze close and terrifying monsters called Grievers will kill you. Grievers are like giant slugs with deadly Edward Scissorhands appendages. Fun, right?

The Scorch Trials picks up right where the first book leaves off. Thomas, Teresa, and the other Gladers have found a way to escape the Maze, and they’re met by a group of people who say they’re there to rescue them. They all get a real meal and a good night’s sleep before they realize it’s a trap, and that they’ve actually been thrown into another bizarre experiment.

This is where my problems begin. ANOTHER experiment? Really? I was skeptical when Katniss had to go back into the Hunger Games in Catching Fire, but then Suzanne Collins made it awesome by changing up the formula in a clever way and having something completely game-changing happen at the end. But in The Scorch Trials, it’s kind of more of the same. The landscape is different – instead of being trapped in a maze, the Gladers are out in an open desert and then the ruins of a city. But there’s never much direction. They’ve been given instructions on where to go, but as a reader you can never figure out if they should be following those instructions or if it’s another trap. There’s not enough development for characters like Teresa or Aris to get a sense of how they should react in any situation or whether you should trust them, which is IMPORTANT since they are set up as backstabbers.

But all that said, I keep reading this series because COOL STUFF HAPPENS. I mean, how can you not like a book that features zombies and ridiculous lightning storms in the desert? And Alex Mack-silver goo-monsters that turn your head into a metal ball and kill you? And giant humanoids that you kill by attacking vulnerable bulbs all over their bodies, just like in a Zelda boss battle?

I mean, this is all good stuff. I just wish there was a more cohesive plot, and that the characters were more defined. They’re sort of interchangeable at this point. I didn’t really have an emotional response to any of the kids dying in this book, because I couldn’t remember who they were. And that’s kind of a problem. Furthermore, by the end of the book, we didn’t have any more answers than at the beginning. Thomas still doesn’t know who WICKED is or what their agenda is, he doesn’t know why he found signs all over the city saying that he is the real leader, and he doesn’t know why he and Teresa are special or why everyone is being put through these trials. I feel like there needed to be more payoff in order to keep the reader invested.

So, the bottom line is this: I like this books a lot, but there are some pretty big problems keeping me from loving it. I actually think this is a series that might fare BETTER as a movie, since the best parts are the cool hybrid monster-machines and the scenery, and the weak parts are things like characterization. I’m very excited to see how the upcoming movie version of The Maze Runner turns out. And I’ll pick up the third book and final book in the trilogy, but it better deliver some real answers.

Today’s trailers are from one of the best dystopian series I’ve ever read! James Dashner’s eery story tells of teens locked inside of a giant maze, feeding themselves and fending for themselves against what lies beyond the walls…Grievers is what they’re called. If you haven’t picked up this series, you must as soon as you can!! The Maze Runner was one of the first YA books I ever read and it’s one of the books that made me love YA so much! Here is the trailer for The Maze Runner:

The sequel, The Scorch Trials released October 12th and continues the unfortunate story of Thomas and the rest of the Gladers. So check out this shucking awesome trailer:

In other news, Catherine Hardwicke is in early negotiations to direct “The Maze Runner” film with 20th Century Fox! Cathrine might be be known for directing the Twilight Saga and most recently “Red Riding Hood” with Amanda Seyfried. Check out the article HERE for more info on “The Maze Runner” movie!

Today’s trailers are from one of the best dystopian series I’ve ever read! James Dashner’s eery story tells of teens locked inside of a giant maze, feeding themselves and fending for themselves against what lies beyond the walls…Grievers is what they’re called. If you haven’t picked up this series, you must as soon as you can!! The Maze Runner was one of the first YA books I ever read and it’s one of the books that made me love YA so much! Here is the trailer for The Maze Runner:

The sequel, The Scorch Trials released October 12th and continues the unfortunate story of Thomas and the rest of the Gladers. So check out this shucking awesome trailer:

In other news, Catherine Hardwicke is in early negotiations to direct “The Maze Runner” film with 20th Century Fox! Cathrine might be be known for directing the Twilight Saga and most recently “Red Riding Hood” with Amanda Seyfried. Check out the article HERE for more info on “The Maze Runner” movie!

 The Scorch Trials picks up right where the Maze Runner left off.  Thomas and his friends are now in a holding center with little knowledge of the outside world and no idea who to trust.  Thomas can no longer hear Theresa telepathically, and he is worried that she is dead.  After nearly starving for a few days, the gladers are given another challenge.  They step through some kind of portal into an underground passage that contains a horror that makes the grievers look like bunny rabbits.  When they finally reach open air, it is in a place that sounds like the title… a scorching hot, desert wasteland.  The boys must survive deadly lightning storms, victims of The Flare who are more like zombies, and another group of gladers full of girls.  James Dashner explains with great detail each new horror the boys encounter.  When WICKED tells the boys this new trial would be worse than the maze, they weren’t kidding.  The action is nonstop and the plot keeps twisting as new characters join the game.  We learn a little about this new scary world, but not much.  Thomas picks up old memories, but they are sketchy enough to keep the readers guessing.  Readers who loved the Maze Runner will enjoy this sequel.  Book 3:  The Death Cure comes out in 2011.

Some ideas for discussing with teens:

Should Thomas have trusted Theresa?

What about Brenda and Jorge?

What do you think WICKED means by variables?

Would you rather face the silver ball that decapitates you or the orange, faceless monsters with the bulbs?

What do you think the next trial will bring for Thomas and the gladers?

What could WICKED possibly hope to gain by putting these teens through these trials?

Would you rather be in the Maze or the Scorch?

Why do you think WICKED allowed the girls to have weapons, but not the boys?

Publisher:

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

From RandomHouse Canada website.

It’s not often that I think a sequel does a better job than the original, but that is definitely the case here. While I thought The Maze Runner was an okay book, The Scorch Trials friggin’ blew me away.

This is one of those books that’s kinda hard to review, because I don’t want to give anything away. It’s filled with a lot of oooh and aaah moments that I think readers need to discover for themselves. So bear with me if this review seems a bit vague.

When I read The Maze Runner, I wasn’t really impressed with it. At all. Except for the last chapter. I knew that I was going to enjoy The Scorch Trials much, much more. There’s just a lot more interesting things going on in this book.  There’s more action. Personally I found the maze thing in the first book sorta, well, boring. But here, in The Scorch Trials, Thomas and the gang are actually working their way from point A to point B, not just getting up each morning and surviving. There was a different energy to this book as a result.

While I enjoyed the group dynamic aspect of The Maze Runner, Dashner severely ups the ante and the tension this book. Everyone has a serious case of mistrust and who’s with who is constantly changing. Not knowing who had Thomas’s back kept me off-balanced, but in a very good way. It was stressful not knowing what everyone’s agenda was and I liked it.

I also have a slight (okay, serious) obsession with all things plague so the fact that one of the obstacles for Thomas et al. were the Cranks (people who had been infected with the Flare disease) was awesome. This aspect of the story really drew me in and sealed the deal: this was a book I was going to love, and I did.