Review--The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.

There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.

James Dashner's The Scorch Trials is the second installment in the Maze Runner series and pretty much picks up where we left off. Thomas and the boys have survived the maze and escaped. It's finally over, all the torment and pain has been conquered and things can finally go down the path of normalcy. Or so they think.

After a night of normalcy, Thomas and the boys awake to find their rescuers dead and Teresa is missing. In her place is a boy named Aris who bears a frighteningly similar tale to the Thomas and the rest of the boys, with a few differences. Aris was the only boy among a group of fifty or so girls. He was the last to arrive before chaos ensued. Now the members of WICKED have presented the boys with their next trial. Survive the Scorch, get to the endpoint before two weeks is up and they'll be given the cure to the Flare, a disease that has run rampage all over Earth and which now each boy has contracted. They need the cure or else they'll go mad and eventually die.

And so begins the exciting race of the next challenge. Except instead of monsters with sharp blades popping up, they have the Cranks. Cranks are people infected with the Flare, but are so far gone they are insane.

This was quite the exciting read, almost more so than its predecessor. This world is hot, very hot, so traveling the Scorch makes things even more difficult. Then Thomas starts getting strange messages from Teresa. Something odd is going about and WICKED is behind it all. Thomas is certain about that despite still not having his full memories back.

The Scorch Trials was yet another trilling and fast paced read! This is definitely a strange future Thomas and the rest of the boys are enduring. There are so many dangers and unknowns, it's impossible to tell enemy from friend. Enemies can even be the people you thought you knew. WICKED is the enemy, despite what Teresa's message claims from the beginning, Thomas is sure of that. And his own haunting memories of once being apart of this group and helping them with the creation of the maze takes a toll on him.

I am definitely diving into the next and final book of the trilogy as we have a bit more of a cliffhanger. This series is way more exciting than I initially anticipated. There's a lot of action and suspense and James really knows how to keep readers on their toes! This is one thrill ride you do not want to miss out on!



Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars