The YA Dystopian Book Club discussion

The August Group Read is.... The Maze Runner!!!

So go get your copies and get ready to start reading in August so we can all discuss is together. And if you've already read it then never mind - join in the discussions anyway! When you've read it how about answering some of these questions :D

1. Who was your favourite character and why?
2. Did your opinion about it change as you got further into the story?
3. Did you like the writing style?
4. How about the romance/lack of it? Was there too much or too little?
5. What do you think Gally saw during his changing? (don't answer if you've read the rest of the series)
6. Are you going to read the sequel, or have you already read the rest of the series?

I'm jumping the gun on this because it's only July, but I start my first job (!) in August so I don't know if I'll have enough time to answer :)

Potential spoilers abound, but I tried to stay as vague as possible so I wouldn't ruin this for anyone.

1. I actually really liked Minho. I thought he was strong and impressive and (I might be beating a dead horse on this) I like seeing some diversity in YA novels. He wasn't nice at first, but I didn't mind that.

2. I thought the story started out very mysterious--sort of like Lost--and was more about exploration and character development. But I also thought that as the book progressed it became more intense. There was a sense of urgency that definitely started up in the middle of the book.

3. I did like the writing style, but the slang was hard for me. It was too forced (I make the same argument with 'bubbly' in Uglies). It was like they spoke perfect English but just inserted slang words every now and then. I would have been more impressed if the slang was really heavy--like in Blood Red Road. But that aside, the narration itself was fast-paced and easy to follow.

4. I really didn't think there was any place for romance in the story. This big group of boys had no need for a girl and I thought it was forced and sort of superficial. It also sort of bugged me that after so long, this chick shows up and she's coincidentally SUPER HOT. If she had just showed up and there were no romantic suggestions, the plot would have been fine.

5. Gally not Gale? I might know too many spoilers to answer this.

6. I've read the whole series and am awaiting the Kill Order. I loved Maze Runner (5 stars) and Scorch Trials (5 stars) but I was REALLY disappointed with the Death Cure (3 stars).

Good luck starting your job Cathy! I hope it goes well :) Oh, and I changed the name from Gale to Gally, I think The Hunger Games must have been in my head when I was writing the questions.

I'm just going to answer some of them now and answer the rest when I've thought of an answer!

4. I agree with Cathy - The romance was NOT needed. I'm glad that a girl came in but it's just really annoying that there was something going on between them so soon and in the middle of all the excitment there really wasn't time for romance in my opinion.

6. I've read the first 2-3 chapter of The Scorch Trials but I might not be able to read it properly in a while. I plan to read them all by the end of the year though :)

I just finished this today and really enjoyed it.

1. My favourite character was Chuck because I could relate to him and thought that he was the most realistic character in terms with how you might cope in these circumstances. I did also love Minho.

2. I think in general all the characters became more likeable as you got into the story.

3. Yes, this was easy to read and I think it built pace and excitement well.

4. I agree with what has already been said. Adding a girl was good in that it was part of the break down of order in the maze but it was unnecessary to add a romantic element. I might change that opinion if I read the other books.

5. I don't know what Gally saw and am still wondering how real any of the recovered memories were.

6. I think I will read the rest of the series out of curiosity but worry they can't hold the same air of mystery and excitement of this one.

Another question - Has anyone read Lord of the Flies by William Golding? I haven't but I wondered if this book compared to it in any way.

I've never read the lord of flies so I'm not sure if it's similar but I've seen the movie and the ideas are a little similar - young boys being stuck somewhere with no adults and having to look after themselves.

I recently finished the rest of the series (except the kill order, which has only just come out) and I'm glad they were just as good as the first in my opinion. The second one is especially good because of how frustrated some parts made me and I can't wait to read The Kill Order to see how this disaster was to live through in the beginning.

1)My favorite character was Chuck. He was just so cute and innocent, and he always had a positive outlook on things.

2)I really liked the beginning of the book. It was secretive and interesting. I wanted to keep reading just so I could find out what's going on. But then as the book went along I just.. I don't know. I liked the beginning better than the end.

3)On the one hand I really didn't like it because I would much rather have seen thing more through Thomas's POV but on the other hand I liked how you could picture everything that was going on.

4)I honestly thought the romance was a nice touch on it. I mean, the book was okay, I guess, without it but I really liked when they added the romance in. It gave you something else to focus on besides them all being killed one by one.

5)I think Thomas and Teresa was like some evil dynamic duo and what Gally saw was them being that. (Also, at first I though that Thomas and Teresa might have been related somehow, and that's how they can talk in each others heads, but now I really hope not!)

6)I haven't decided if I wanted to read the sequel or not. I really didn't like the epilogue. It really kinda angered me. But I really want to see what happened to Thomas and Teresa, so I might. :)

Anitta wrote: "1)My favorite character was Chuck. He was just so cute and innocent, and he always had a positive outlook on things.

2)I really liked the beginning of the book. It was secretive and interesting. I..."

Even if you don't like the sequel that much (it was just OK for me), the third book is awesome and makes it totally worth reading the whole series :)

1. My favorite character was Minho. I thought the character development lacked quite a bit in this book, but Minho came across as very genuine. He seemed to be reasonable and thoughtful in his actions.

2. My opinion always changes throughout the book, the more I get to know the characters, the more I see how they interact with each other and their surroundings.

3. Mostly, it was fine. I thought the slang was somewhat arbitrary. They were only in the Glade for 2 years. While that is enough time to develop new words to adapt to one's surroundings (case in point, telephones to car phones to mobile phones to cell phones to smartphones), their slang wasn't related to their environment. Most of their slang was just a way to call each other names, and I think that calling each other jerks, idiots, etc. wouldn't have taken anything away from what they meant. The imagery was lacking a bit and there were parts of the Glade that I couldn't picture well. It didn't have the same emotional hold over me like most dystopian books do, and I missed that. However, I did care enough about the characters to want to finish it.

4. Honestly, I didn't see much of Thomas's and Teresa's interactions as romance. I know there were the hints of something, like them running to each other to talk or holding hands, but I thought those were more like friendly comforts. I know there were the more direct implications like towards the end when they said something like "I wonder if were we...", and that things like that will likely be addressed in future books, I thought that was okay. However, in my twisted mind, I kind of hope they find out that they are brother and sister, and then are completely grossed out by any feelings they have imagined!

5. This is an excellent question and I don't really have an answer to it. I didn't think much about Gally or his changing. I was more curious about what Alby saw in his.

6. Yes, I will. Although, I wasn't invested enough in the story that it is going to be a mustreadimmediatelyormylifewillbeover type of book. But I'll get there!