Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety... until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim... and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED? [ synopsis from goodreads ]

 

Love love loved it! The best of the trilogy hands down. I've always enjoyed a dark book and this one really showed the horror of what could happen to civilisation in the event of a widespread disease like the Flare. There were truly heart wrenching moments (one in particular) and I liked the irony of the "good" guys not being good and the "bad" guys actually being good to some extent when all was said and done. A really satisfying ending to an otherwise harrowing tale.

I honestly have no clue what to say about this book. I loved it. I hated it (but in a "I actually loved it" kind of way). I've never been more stressed out reading a book as I was when reading this one. There were loads of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat and every moment was exhilarating. But it genuinely caused me anxiety because so much happened that was just confusing and made absolutely no sense at the time. It was basically one big spiral of WTF. But that's also what I loved about it. I like not being able to guess what's going to happen and this book was impossible to figure out. Ended on a pretty brutal cliffhanger so I'm excited to start the last book. Hopefully I'll actually get some answers with that one.

Having seen the film first, I can honestly say I was surprised to see how different it was to the book. Having said that, both were extremely good in their own regards. In the first pages alone, the comparisons to the Lord of the Flies was immensely obvious (not a problem to me, that's one of my favorite books) and as the story progressed, I found it difficult to put down. There were parts I felt a bit annoyed with (like Thomas constantly repeating the unusual nature of his amnesia and the peculiar language used by the Gladers. I mean, come on, these are teenagers. They're going to swear!) but I was able to easily overlook those when the rest of the story so easily drew me in. It felt raw and real and I could feel the fear of those kids as I read it. The maze itself was so extraordinary to read about, I'm almost sad it's no longer part of the story! Loved Newt and Minho's characters and I'm looking forward to finding out more about WICKED as well as what's happened to their world. Overall a really engaging read and I have to say, for being a young adult book, I was glad that it contained violence and death. That might sound a bit grim but it made the story more real and believable to me and almost made me forget that we're dealing with teenage characters. Looking forward to reading the sequel!

I am enjoying this series soooo muuuuuuch. I honestly have to actively tell myself not to read because I need to do other things. ... And then find myself starting another chapter and not doing anything I'm supposed to be doing, haha.

 

So, I'm honestly loving this book just as much as I loved the first one. I'm finding everything that's happening so intriguing. So many new questions have popped up and I'm ready for some answers. But, wow, loving the journey getting to all of these answers! Sooo, going to stop yapping and go back to reading, haha.