Maze Runner by James Dashner

What is the deal these days with authors writing tantalizing books that require a sequel or two for the whole story to unfold?

I believe that this opening volume of the Maze Runner Trilogy will appeal to readers of The Hunger Games, though I doubt they will be as rabid about it. When the protagonist of this Dystopian novel, Thomas, enters the maze glade through an elevator, his memory is wiped out. He joins other teens who have constructed a survivalist society on a glade near the maze. All the teens, or Gladers, have had their memories wiped out, too. No one knows why they're there, or where they came from. Every day special runners venture into the constantly shifting, monster-infested maze searching for a way out; for answers to their existence. Several of the teens who have been "stung" along the way give horrifying hints of a ravaged world outside the glade and this makes for exciting reading and poses a dilemma. Do they really want to leave the glade if things are actually worse outside? The climax of the book occurs with over 30 pages left in the story making the last few chapters seem like they should be first few chapters in the next book. Either way, I was left with a feeling that I want to read on so that I can figure out the answer to the question, is WICKED really good?

I listened to this book on audio CD as I traveled back and forth to work but found myself reading the book in between car trips because I was so anxious to learn what happened next.

3.75 out of 5 stars (It's my grading system, I can break up the stars into small increments if I want to! Ha!)