Author James Dashner kicks The Maze Runner off when main character Thomas wakes up in a mysterious place memory wiped. Dashner presents the elements of suspense, friendship, and depression fantastically in this novel, and he connects the reader with the story very well.

Friendship is an important factor in the story The Maze Runner. It starts on chapter 3 when Thomas meets a friend after he arrives in the maze and ends on the last page of the book when he is leaving the maze with his friends. Not only is friendship important in this book but in life it is too. Life without friends wouldn’t be very enjoyable. This story is the same. Thomas and his friends venture through the maze encountering countless obstacles. If Thomas didn’t have his friends then he most likely wouldn’t have made it out of the maze alive. This connects to real life too. Kids throughout the world will encounter dangers to them such as drugs, and they will give in, but friends will get them out of that sticky situation. In The Maze Runner, main character Thomas trusts and hangs out with people that he shouldn’t. Thankfully, his friends are there to save him from those bad people who could get him into a lot of trouble or even get him killed. Friends are very important, fun to have around, and they can even save your life one day.

James Dashner ends every chapter with a “I must read more” suspense. Dashner intrigues the reader more and more in every chapter. For example, chapter 41 ends with one of the main characters getting stung by a feared monster in the maze. The reader automatically flips the page and reads on to find out what happens. Another example is in chapter 56. The chapter ends when a character that was thought to be dead shows up and kills another character. This was a very shocking and suspenseful part in the story. Readers will soon guess on to what will happen next, which makes the reading of that book more enjoyable.

  Depression was a big factor in The Maze Runner and for some people depression is big in their life. Many people struggle with depression in daily life, and for some it will result in suicide because they believe there is no other way out. This occurs worldwide in kids and adults. As sad as it may sound, it is true. In this tale, some of the characters experience depression, which leads to violent acts caused by that person. Depression in this story is also caused because characters do get killed and other characters that were close to that specific person get mad and experience anger, which can lead to depression. For example, Thomas experiences a lot of depression when Chuck, the youngest character in the story, gets killed. Chuck was Thomas’s first friend, and when Chuck died, Thomas was heartbroken and went into deep depression. If the reader has experienced depression, then that person can relate to the story.

Suspense, friendship, and depression were big elements in The Maze Runner. James Dashner connects the reader and these factors in an excellent way. A majority of the readers that read the book believe that others should read it too.