The Scorch Trials – Book and Movie Review (And My Random Thoughts)

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. But, IT WASN’T. So, unfortunately that means Thomas (and Newt…that’s who I mainly care about) have to go through another trial. BUT LUCKY FOR ME, THAT MEANS I CAN EAT ANOTHER BOOK OF THEIR ADVENTURES. (I promise I’m not a book eating monster, I’m just a teen fangirl….huge difference).

 

When I finished the first book and started reading Scorch Trials, my friend told me about how she absolutely hates Brenda’s character. (For those of you who haven’t read the book or seen the movie, you may be extremely confused). Brenda is a new character. Honestly, going into the book I was a little confused about if I should like her or not. One of my other friends told me Brenda was one of his favorite characters. Here’s my opinion: she’s not my favorite, but she is a good character. She’s pretty cool, actually.

When I read the first book, it took me a while to get through it. You know when you read a book, and it takes what feels like eternity because you didn’t like the first few chapters? Well, that happened with the first book, but not the second. After a few chapters in the first book, I started to like it. About halfway through, I started to love it. And now, in the second book, YOU COULD SAY I’M A LITTLE OBSESSED.

 

Today I came across some interesting facts about the Maze Runner Series (not specifically Scorch Trials) that I thought were super cool, so I thought I’d share them:

• People often compare all the YA novels out right now to each other. For instance, people thought that Maze Runner and The Hunger Games had many similarities. But the author of Maze Runner, James Dashner, said that he came up with the idea for this series around 12 years ago. Which was before The Hunger Games was released, in 2008. Although, Maze Runner was released in 2009.
• For the filming of the Glade, the shots were done on a farm. This caused a few problems, one of them being that the place was littered with snakes. They had to hire professional snake wranglers, and by the end of the film 25 snakes had been removed from the farm. The biggest one that they found was a 5 foot long rattlesnake.
• The cast of Scorch Trials had buckets of sand thrown at their faces in a few scenes. Because there is lots of sand in the movie (it took place in a desert, so obviously there will be lots of sand), the characters were constantly getting sand thrown in their faces. The crew would get buckets of sand, and use a fan to blow it on the characters. Kaya Scodelario, who plays Teresa, recalls the experience… “It was so much fun. Kill me if I ever see sand again in my life. I don’t ever want to see a grain of sand again. It was great.” (I’m still not exactly sure if Kaya is now terrified of sand, or loved the experience).

 

So, anyway, I just found those facts interesting. I would have listed more, but I have a lot to say about the book and the movie. Moving on…

 

Now, you’re probably wondering if it is an appropriate read. Yes, it is…mostly. Newt used some British profanity, as I mentioned in my previous blog post about the first book. There are two (I think, or it might be three?) kissing scenes. There is a mention of a “club” scene. Thomas gets drunk (only because he was forced to) and starts hallucinating.  I think this book is appropriate for teen readers, although I wouldn’t recommend it for elementary school aged children.

 

James Dashner, the author, continues to astound me with his plotting abilities. I’ve read no other book with this much plotting involved. He must have spent months, more like years probably, planning this book out. Hats off to Mr. Dashner!

 

As for the movies appropriateness… uh, well, it was almost rated R because of the violence and language. But, it wasn’t and was rated PG-13. The word “s**t” is used a few too many times. Other profanity used is: “a**”, “b**ch”, “b**tard”, “d**n”, and “h***”. I made the huge mistake of not looking up the movie first, assuming it would be just like the first. Well, it wasn’t. My mom was practically horrified while watching it. The violence was pretty bad. The “cranks” were made to look like zombies, but much worse. When the first one appeared, I nearly fell of the couch I jumped so high. Also, the club scene was worse in the movie than it was in the book. My parents made me turn away, but they said it was pretty bad. I would not recommend this for children. I wouldn’t even recommend it for young teens either.

 

Also, I just have to add this, even though the movie follows the concept of the book, it does not follow the plot…at all. I seriously was confused about ten minutes into the movie. My parents had to tell me to shut up a few times, because I was complaining about how the movie was nothing like the book. But, Newt made up for it.

 

Am I the only person who thought that Thomas Sangster (the guy who plays Newt) was around 20 years old?! No, he just turned 27. WHAT?! I had no idea. I showed my mom a picture of him and asked her how old she thought he was, and she said “maybe around 20, but that’s a little high, I think.” (Also I found out that he shares a birthday with one of my best friends, so there’s that). Also, Dylan O’Brien is 25. I seriously though all of them were either 19 or 20.

 

Overall, I award this book with 5 STARS!!! It was so good, and such an enjoyable read.

How did you like the Scorch Trails book? Did you like it as much as me? If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to click the little like button down at the bottom. If I get enough likes, I’ll do a Death Cure (the third book in the series) review also! Have a blessed day!