The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Death Cure by James Dashner
Random House, 324 pages
Purchased

"Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test. What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says. The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine. Will anyone survive the Death Cure?"

Oh man, I waited so impatiently for this book! When it was finally released, I was about to die from the anticipation of getting this book in the mail! If you haven't read The Maze Runner, you must get your buttocks to a bookstore STAT! It is amazing. If you liked The Hunger Games, this series is a must-read. On to the analysis... if you haven't read this book yet, you may want to skip to the rating at the bottom.

To begin with, I must say that I really enjoy Thomas as a main character. He is one of the few characters that I have read about in a young adult novel that actually thinks things through before he makes a decision. It is very refreshing. Also, I think it is important to make a note of the fact that I am an INSANE Minho cheerleader! I absolutely love him. He has the best comments at the most intense moments, which pretty much is the entire book. Last note about characters... I really do not like Teresa or Brenda at all, although Teresa did redeem herself a bit in my eyes by the end of the book. But, I still find Brenda as a weak and annoying character.

Even though The Scorch Trials is my favorite out of the trilogy, The Death Cure still is one of my favorite books. Some things kind of did appear out of nowhere, but Dashner typically went on to explain the situation, and if he didn't, it wasn't terribly important in the whole scheme of things. Like any Dashner book, the plot was riveting and kept you hooked the whole time. Even when Thomas is locked up in a boring old cell, the chapter is still fascinating!

The ending for me was a bit disappointing. I have no idea what I was expecting, but I think I had extremely unrealistic expectations. I am still grappling with myself and trying to decide if I liked the ending or not. But, like The Hunger Games, I was not a fan of the ending, and that is most likely because I am the most critical about my favorite books. I have heard from several people that they did indeed enjoy the ending, so maybe I just have to wait for it to grow on me.

Regardless of the minor facets of the book that I didn't particularly enjoy, The Death Cure was a stunning conclusion to The Maze Runner Trilogy. It brings up intriguing philosophical questions and leaves some things to the reader's imagination. It is one of those books that leaves you breathless while you think about it for the next few days. And most importantly, it leaves you with a major question for you to decide... Is Wicked really good?

Rating: 5 stars - I loved it! Buy a copy!