I didn’t have much of a bar for this story to pass because I hadn’t heard much about it individually. If you read my review of the Maze Runner, you know I was frustrated at a number of elements in that story. I only hoped this one would be better than its predecessor. It had a promising start in this regard.

First, the world felt more realistic. This was a good change especially considering The Scorch was a real geographical location and not something built like The Maze. Still, the consequences the Gladers would face, such as the intense dessert heat and the possibility of losing your mind to something like The Flare, were much more dire and increased my investment in the story.

In addition to new challenges, we were introduced to a couple new characters. The ones that end up sticking around are Aris, Brenda, and Jorge. I don’t have much to say on Jorge; he wasn’t exceptional but he wasn’t poorly written either. Aris, however, is a character of interest.

On that subject, I’m still not a fan of the telepathy. I think this is because telepathy is closer to the middle of the Sci-Fi-to-Fantasy scale whereas the rest of this story is rooted firmly on the Sci-Fi side. Not that genre mixing can’t be done, but it just throws me off that this is the only thing that feels mixed.

Although, it was intriguing to find another person who had that ability. It detracted from the “Thomas and Teresa are so special” thing that had also irked me about this neat trick of theirs. Additionally, it’s becoming a more integral part of the story without any good alternative, so I’ll bite my tongue on this matter.

Going back, I have to say, I didn’t like Brenda as a character. At first, I just didn’t trust her (despite shipping her and Minho for all of three minutes simply because of the line, “That’s one sharp knife. Makes me like you more.”). Still, unlikeable characters can be some of the better written ones, so I had hope for her. Then, time went on and she didn’t seem to serve much purpose outside of causing romantic drama with Thomas and Teresa. The two get introduced, jealousy ensues, and I roll my eyes. It’s a basic way to take that trope, and I’m looking for something unique in these love-triangle scenarios as an avid reader.

Like The Maze Runner before it, The Scorch Trials was also a weirdly timed story. Again, it felt like months had elapsed, when they specifically had two weeks to reach their destination. Then, they spend most of their time kind of dilly-dallying in a city left in The Scorch. The mission gave me anxious energy to think about, so I’d imagine these boys would be a little more pressed in their actions.

I was very satisfied with the ending of this book compared to the first. This time, there was a sense of true relief - of hope - that didn’t exist when the Gladers were swept away on a bus. It felt like we were given the tiniest glimpse of the end as the sky-jet-thing flew out of The Scorch.

Overall, I’m not disappointed at this read. It was a standard story that most audiences could find entertaining. However, it also didn’t stand out as a jewel of YA dystopian literature. While the tropes of the genre we’re properly used, Dashner didn’t offer much on their improvement. Still, the story has become more engaging and I’m now curious to see how it ends. Next up, The Death Cure.