I think this was my favorite book of the five! I loved getting to know the characters and their relationships with each other before the maze. I have a lot deeper understanding of Thomas & Teresa. Now I know why Teresa & Aris were the final candidates - instead of Thomas. Teresa's life experiences as a young child (as Deedee) were certainly terrifying and obviously affected her deeply. She saw more of the horror of the Flare than the others, which is why she could be so focused on the end justifying the means. I have to assume that Teresa did NOT write the last memo attributed to her. I am sure it was Dr. Paige's spin on things, again. I honestly don't remember Teresa retaining her memory once she entered the maze. It's been too long now since I read The Maze Runner. I thought she was pretty much non-communicado in the maze - until they escape it. Did she actually have her memory, or was that another lie spewed forth by Dr. Paige? Teresa knew enough inside information though that at the end of the trilogy she told Thomas to only trust Dr. Paige - and Dr. Paige did arrange the "Plan B" escape. But I can't believe Dr. Paige intentionally gave the virus to her team because they didn't want to continue "using" children in their abusive ways to try to find a cure for the Flare. For such an apparently kind, loving woman, she was really evil!
Getting to know the characters better also makes me sadder whenever I think about what happened to them once they left the maze. I knew Thomas was close with Chuck in the maze, but now I know that he loved him like a brother. Now I know how much Thomas cared about Newt, which makes his story all the more tragic. Teresa came across more as a "best friend" in this novel, rather than a love interest of Thomas' - which explains why he falls for Brenda. Minho's "hot headedness" really bothered me in Book 3, but I see now that he was always that way.
I love that we meet Brenda and Jorge in this book! A small, but significant part of the story. I was shocked that Thomas had already been in the Scorch! Thomas comes across a lot more sensitive and caring in this book. I always liked him of course, but I didn't realize how much he struggled with what WICKED was doing. Teresa was a lot more focused on the "mission" than he ever was. He became a more sympathetic character for me. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place! Now I am even happier that Thomas made it to the "new world"!
If I had the time, I could have read this book in one sitting. I really loved it. Now I have to wonder if it would have been my favorite if I had read it before The Maze Runner - or would my opinions on each book have changed depending on the order I read them?? It's the Star Wars conundrum all over again. Do you read/view them in the order the author wrote them, or chronologically? For me, I will probably always read/view stories the way they were intended - in the order they are written.
Wendy's Rating: *****
No comments:
Post a Comment