Kim
I really liked this book and I know a lot of people were complaining that the characters didn't have any personality. While they don't have a lot of depth to their characters, I believe that it was for perfectly good reasons. One being that nobody remembers anything about their lives before they arrived at the Glade, so how can you really have a deep character when most characters are built on memories that shaped them? The second reason is the story line revolves around the Glade and the Maze itself (which makes it a real page-turner). The only essential characters are Thomas and Teresa, and there is more depth to Thomas since he is the main character.
At first I thought this book was really confusing and I really wasn't sure what the whole point was. The first character used language that was difficult for me to understand and comprehend entirely what was happening. However, my curiosity and how well written the book was kept me going.
Mitchell does an amazing job at giving each character a very specific voice. They are each unique in the way they speak and their personalities, which makes it easy to keep each character's story separate.
I also really like the points that the book is trying to convey and how each character comes to realize it in their own way, which may sometimes be through one of the other characters.
All in all, it's a great book and I recommend it for sure.
It wasn't for me. I was trying something new but I just don't think these kinds of books are my jam. The narrator was lovely, which is likely why I just went ahead and finished it.
Solid 4.5 stars. Highly suggest listening to Leigh Bardugo's interview on the audiobook or reading her annotated chapter available in B&N version. It's even more stunning to know that a lot of the details are actually true.
I listened to the audiobook, which probably effected my comprehension of the story. There are a lot of Chinese names and words. It may have been easier to keep track of I'd seen them on the page. I thought the premise of the story was cool.