by Kiran Jayasinghe
The Maze Runner is the first book in a series of five.
The Maze Runner focuses on a boy named Thomas. He arrives at a place called the Glade, with no memory of who he was. He and several other children who have lost their memories are trapped inside the Glade. The only way out is a giant maze that nobody has been able to exit yet. People called Runners run through the maze every day, hurrying to map out the maze before the doors to the Glade close at night. If the doors close, the Runners are stuck in the maze, surrounded by monsters called Grievers. Grievers sting anybody close enough and they turn Runners mad. Thomas manages to be the first one to survive a night outside the Glade — and from there, it’s up to Thomas to save the rest of the kids, because Thomas seems to be more involved in this trial than anybody else.
The Maze Runner is a captivating book that I couldn’t put down! The book keeps you in Thomas’s perspective, which keeps you in the dark just like the children in the Glade — and also keeps you on the lookout for clues that Thomas doesn’t find. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
The Life of Pi takes us through a young boy’s thoughts as he becomes stranded on the ocean. It’s centered around a boy named Piscine Patel. Piscine (also known as Pi) is intrigued by religion and God and disturbed by his father’s way of taking care of his animals. Pi’s father decides to sell their belongings and move his family to America for a fresh start. Traveling in a Japanese cargo ship alongside several cargo animals, Pi enjoys his first time on a cargo ship, let alone any vessel capable of floating on water.