'The Maze Runner': A First Impression and Key Vocab.

The Maze Runner - First Impression and Vocabulary

I have recently started the novel, The Maze Runner, by James Dashner. I am currently reading chapter 4, and as I know very little about the story so far, I decided to write my first impression of the book and create a wordle. I am really enjoying the book so far. Dashner writes with an interesting flow that does not cut out the curiosity that comes as the story unravels. I am not disturbed by the many descriptions present in the book even though I might agree that the book's pace is quite slow for now.

In the Wordle I included the word confusion as it plays a pivotal role in the first chapters: Right from the start there is a lot of confusion. Both the reader and the main character, Thomas, are very confused about what is going on. There is evidence of this in page 1, "That...That was the only thing he could remember about his life. He didn't understand how this could be possible." As well as on page 2, "Yet he didn't know where he came from, or how he'd gotten inside the dark lift, or who his parents were. He didn't even know his last name." I think the reader decided to use this to connect the reader with the character and to add curiosity.

I included the word Glade, as it is both a new vocabulary but also the main setting of the story so far. Thomas founds himself in a dark lift and is directed to what is referred to as the "Glade". He does not know anything about his past and does not recognize anyone from the Glade. The Glade is home to teenagers like Thomas and he is welcomed by them. We also understand that there is some sort of hierarchy as Thomas pointed out in page 7, "That must be the leader, Thomas realized."

And lastly, I was forced to include the new vocabulary that Thomas heard in his new life. As he is welcomed by this group of kids, he hears words such as: Shank, Shuck, Keeper, Slopper and Greenie. We do not know their definitions and neither does Thomas but I am surely going to keep reading to find out.

The rest of the words in the Wordle are the main characters from the first chapters. I added them in order to get to recognize them and referring to them easily as I read. If you would like to read what other people think about the book you can click here or here to some other reviews. Also, if you would like to read The Maze Runner for yourself, you can click on this link to an online version of the book. If you would like to make your own Wordle, click here and if you click below you can watch the trailer of the movie, The Maze Runner. You could always compare the book!