"The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner || Book Review

The second book of the series was - for me - a much faster and easier read. I generally think that it was better than the "Maze Runner" - you can find a full review of it here and read it before this one, if you want - it sucked me right in from the first pages and kept my attention throughout the story up until the very end! I didn't get bored for a moment and I was always interested and intrigued to read on. The story is full of suspense and it has many intense moments that make you hold your breath. I also found the writing slightly better in this book.

Most of the descriptions - especially the descriptions of the storms - were excellent and transported me right into the place and moment! The images painted were so vivid I could see them in front of my eyes. My favorite descriptions were those of the places (the abandoned and destroyed Scorch and all the new places we saw) and those of the unexpected and wild weather phenomenons (all the rain, wind, the thunders). All these descriptions grabbed my attention and made the whole atmosphere incredibly strong and atmosphere is of great importance when it comes to this kind of book.

The pacing was great throughout the book it never got me tired or bored. Almost every chapter ends in a cliffhanger and it keeps you turning the pages, unable to stop.

One of the things that bothered me was that Thomas was always either falling asleep or fainting. I counted so many times that a scene ended with Thomas falling asleep or fainting or somehow losing consciousness that after a certain point it got kind of tiring. I can't tell if it was intentional or if Dashner missed noticing the repetition, but I certainly did and I did not love it.

 

****POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD****

I enjoyed the new character additions, mostly Brenda and Jorge but also the girls from GROUP B that we finally got to see, even though I kind of wish I would have seen even more of them. I even enjoyed some of the characters that were there for just a couple of pages, like the drunken cranks; I thought they were very funny. I have to say though, that I thought that some of the older side characters (like Newt and Minho were a bit neglected especially from the middle and on. I loved the existing interactions between characters, but I'd like to have seen a bit more with the neglected characters as well. Also I have to add that in this book Thomas seems to have much less of a personality than in the previous book as well as the rest of the characters and as well as the reader would expect him to have since he's supposed to be a leader and the chosen one and all.

I had been spoiled about Teresa's betrayal, so I was kind of expecting it, but I didn't know when or exactly how it'd occur, so I was still very anxious about it! I'll confess I was a bit disappointed when I saw that her betrayal was kind of justified (how she did it only because she wanted to save him) because this made it feel less like a betrayal, but in the end when it is implied that she is still with WICKED, still lying to him, or playing games, this made me think that she was - and still is - just lying and deceiving everyone all along and this really made me feel for Thomas and understand the betrayal better. So it was until after it all had happened and the seeds of even more doubt were planted that I felt the whole betrayal incident actually have an actual impact.

The only part that I didn't really like about the plot was Thomas getting shot and saved by WICKED, because this didn't make sense to me on many levels. I also did not love the ending, I thought it was just okay, but I guess this is how it should be, considering that there is one more book to follow. Even though the ending did not feel particularly satisfying, for the time being, I am quite confident that it has set a good foundation for the beginning of the next book which I expect and hope to be thrilling. It is a pivotal transition point in the whole story. 

I really liked the development in Thomas' character! He's finally done with it, he won't take more shit anymore, he knows what's happening and understands more now and he is fed up with the games. His character has gotten to a crucial point to his arc and I could really feel the change and the confidence that he will be stronger from now and eventually resolve all the problems that come to him. I also loved how he decided to get away from Teresa, it was a big and important decision for him, but it also felt normal and natural as if there was no other choice, as if it was the only thing he could do.

****END OF SPOILER SECTION****

To sum it up, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I liked it much more than the first installment of the series. It was suspenseful, intense, and interesting. The writing was overall improved; better pacing, slightly better vocabulary, stronger descriptions, better atmosphere... generally a much more solid story, stronger writing and more engaging characters and situations. There were only a couple of things I disliked about the book, but for the most part, I loved it. I rated this book 4* and I am very confident about my rating. I'm curious about the next one and I can't wait to get started!