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Middle school readers have been eagerly anticipating this exciting conclusion to James Dashner’s Maze Runner trilogy. The Death Cure begins as Thomas, the leader of the Gladers, wakes up in isolation, imprisoned by WICKED.
He soon learns that he and most of his friends are immune to the Flare, the deadly epidemic which is destroying the human race; eating away at peoples’ minds and making them go violently crazy. WICKED is committed to finding a cure, using and abusing the Immunes in the process.
Thomas and his friends have been involved with WICKED since its inception, but their memories have been altered and their only firm recollections begin in the Glade, with flashes of recall returning in dreams. Thomas’s old friend Theresa has always insisted that WICKED is good. Now, the current leaders of WICKED want to restore everyone’s memories, but Thomas’s instinct tells him that they must resist and escape. Eventually they join an organization called “The Right Arm” whose goal it is to infiltrate and physically destroy WICKED.
The ending is not what the reader anticipates, nor is it immediately satisfying. Instead, it gives the reader pause to think about that ageless question: do the ends ever justify the means? When looking at this epidemic, is it right to sacrifice a few for the good of the many? Is the long-term survival of the human race only possible without a cure?
Middle school and high school readers enjoy Dashner’s non-stop action. Each conflict builds on the one previous with narrow escapes, new (and sometimes twisted) scenarios and characters, and the power of WICKED slowly encompassing their lives. Much like James Patterson, Dashner writes in short chapters ending with a strong element of suspense, coaxing the reader to want to continue to read.
A vision of a dystopian future similar in theme to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, this is a series which hooks both boys and girls and doesn’t let them go until the end.
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The Death Cure (Maze Runner Trilogy, Book 3)