Thomas wakes in a dark lift, with no memory of where he is or how he got there. Trying to gather his thoughts and remember anything about himself and his life prior to awakening, he is stunned when the lift doors open and he finds himself surrounded by a large group of boys...in a place they call the Glade. Every single boy has arrived in the same way, with the same memory loss, and no clues as to why they are there.
In this strange prison, on a daily basis, the boys send a group of "Runners" through the maze that surrounds the Glade on a never ending quest to find a way out and an end to their captivity. Every 30 days another boy arrives in the lift, but with Thomas the rules begin to change. The very next day a girl shows up in the lift, the one and only girl that has ever arrived, and the very last person that will ever be sent to the Glade.
Thomas slowly realises that the Glade is familiar, he feels like he knows it, that he may have been there before, and more importantly that Theresa, the newly arrived girl is important to him. The feelings he have about her are so intense and sure he is certain they are connected in some way. He decides he must become a runner, he knows he can crack the mystery of the maze.
But the maze is a lot more dangerous and difficult than it first appears. It changes - every night, and is populated after dark by Grievers. Part insect, part machine, creatures who attack the boys on sight. If they are lucky they survive, but only to be changed in some way by the odd chemical or poison that they inject into the Gladers. Thomas is determined to gain the Gladers trust, but to learn the secrets of the maze he must face trials and tests that will put his life on the line - and not only his own, but those of all of the boys in the Glade with him.
To be honest I wasn't too sure I was going to really enjoy this book. Possibly because I had heard so many raves about how great it was, and I hate to admit it but that often puts me off... but by the time I finished the final chapter I was keen to discover what other tests the Gladers would face. And where these trials would lead them. And WHO or WHAT is WICKED?
