The Scorch Trials by James Dashner – Review

Posted July 6, 2015 by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction in Reviews / 5 Comments

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner – ReviewThe Scorch Trials by James Dashner
Series: The Maze Runner #2
Also in this series: The Maze Runner
Published by Delacorte Press on 4/4/15
Genres: Action & Adventure, Dystopian, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Source: The Publisher
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing)
My rating:
4 Stars

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.

add-to-goodreads 

My Take

***NOTE: This review is for the second book in a series and may contain spoilers for the first book. Click the link to see my review of The Maze Runner.***

Awhile back, I reviewed The Maze Runner, but I hadn’t gotten to reading The Scorch Trials half of the collector’s edition because my son hid the book away from me so I couldn’t steal it from him (literally – he adored both books – if you’re interested in his thoughts about both books, check out his review over on Best Kids’ Reads). Well, I finally managed to read The Scorch Trials and I’m now excited to move on to the final book in the trilogy (and the prequel – I bought both books shortly after I got the collectors’ edition for review).

So, this book picked up right where the first one left off, with Thomas and the others finally feeling like they were semi-safe. Of course, that feeling didn’t last for long. Not by a long shot. Soon, they discovered that they were still part of WICKED’s strange experiments as they  were sent out into the Scorch (which is basically the burned out part of the world) with the crazy Cranks (those who have been infected) and told that they had to survive long enough to get to the other side of the unknown. Not so simple.

What I loved:

  • The Scorch. This book was pretty much non-stop action, and everything about the Scorch was brutal, from the blister-inducing sun to the deadly lightning storms to the half-mad Crank inhabitants.
  • New characters. We got some brand new characters who added a new flair to the series – first off, there was a mysterious group of teens who I won’t spoil. Then there were the Cranks, most notably Brenda, who plays an important part of the book. I was a fan of Brenda!
  • The mysteries deepen. Thomas is kept guessing in this book, wondering who he should trust(he can’t even be sure about the one person he has truly trusted in the past!). Making the wrong decisions might cost him his life! We also learned a bit more in this book about how Thomas and Theresa were involved with WICKED and what WICKED’s goals are, but there are still LOTS of mysteries left to unwind! (As a side note, there are even more hints in the bonus materials that are included in the collectors’ edition, but I didn’t read all of them because my son insisted that they would spoil some things even from the third book. I plan to read the rest once I’m done with the final book in the trilogy.)

The negatives:

  • Maybe too much craziness? There were a few times when the outrageousness of the crazy things that were happening in this book got to me just a little bit and I’d think, “Really? Giant metal head-eating balls? Really?” But my son adored every crazy moment – the more outrageous the better in his book!

So, this was a great follow-up to the first book – even more action-packed and exciting! – and now I can’t wait to see the movie in August! Watch for my review of the other two books in this series sometime between now and then! I give this book 4/5 stars.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Want to know more about the collector’s edition and The Scorch Trials movie?

Delacorte Press is pleased to announce the publication of THE MAZE RUNNER AND

THE SCORCH TRIALS: THE COLLECTOR’S EDITION (on sale April 14, 2015 / $19.99), which brings the first two books in James Dashner’s bestselling series together in one edition for fans and new readers to enjoy. Featuring exclusive bonus content within its 816 pages and carrying a first printing of 150,000, the collector’s edition will prepare fans and moviegoers for the second film in the franchise, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, which will be released September 18, 2015 and stars Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rosa Salazar, and Giancarlo Esposito. EntertainmentWeekly.com has described The Maze Runner as a “mysterious survival saga that passionate fans describe as a fusion of Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Lost.”

Over 10 million copies of the Maze Runner series have been sold in all formats, and Dashner fans continue to multiply as they are introduced to his heart-pounding stories, which appeal to readers of all ages. In addition to the original novels, this edition includes “The Maze Runner Files,” which was originally published as an eBook short. Now accessible to all readers in print format, “The Maze Runner Files” features top-secret information, overheard conversations, emails between WICKED employees, memos meant to be destroyed after reading, and a selection of the Gladers’ suppressed memories, all of which help fans unlock some of the mysteries behind the Maze, the Gladers, and the people who put them there. This edition also includes an exclusive fan sticker.

The year 2015 will be another exciting one for Dashner fans, with multiple books being published. The movie tie-in edition of The Scorch Trials will be released on August 4, 2015, along with a hardcover box set of all four novels in the series (The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and The Kill Order) on the same date. The film adaptation of The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) will release on September 18, 2015, and the final novel in the Mortality Doctrine series, The Game of Lives, will be published on November 17, 2015. All titles are supported by a major marketing and publicity campaign that includes an author tour in November. Follow James Dashner on Twitter (@JamesDashner), Facebook, and Instagram, and visit his website at JamesDashner.com.

James Dashner is a New York Times bestselling author and the winner of numerous awards for his novels. In addition to the critically acclaimed Maze Runner series, Dashner is the author of the Mortality Doctrine series, the Thirteenth Reality series, and two books in the Infinity Ring series. He lives in Utah with his family.

THE MAZE RUNNER AND THE SCORCH TRIALS: THE COLLECTOR’S EDITION

By James Dashner

Delacorte Press trade paperback / On sale April 14, 2015 / 978-0-553-53824-3 / 816 pages / $19.99 / $23.99 Can. / Ages 12 & up

 

Delacorte Press is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

About the Author

James DashnerJames was born and raised in Georgia but now lives in the Rocky Mountains with his family. He has four kids, which some might think is too many but he thinks is just right. Once upon a time, James studied accounting and worked in the field of finance, but has been writing full time for several years. (He doesn’t miss numbers. At all.)

In his free time, James loves to read, watch movies and (good) TV shows, snow ski, and read. (Reading was mentioned twice on purpose.) Most of all, he’s thankful that he gets to make a living writing stories and considers himself pretty much the luckiest guy on the planet.

 Author Links:

 photo iconwebsite-32x32_zps1f477f69.png  photo icongoodreads32_zps60f83491.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsae13e2b2.png icon_facebook_32x32

Tags:


5 responses to “The Scorch Trials by James Dashner – Review

    • My son ADORED these books – loved them way more than I did, but I definitely enjoyed them. I’m looking forward to the movie now!

    • I think I probably would have agreed about the first book if I hadn’t seen the movie first. I know that seems weird, but in this case, I think seeing the movie first actually helped me because I had an idea about where everything was going and I was constantly searching for little clues and differences between the book and the movie.

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.