Three books, three reviews from three different Random Buzzers members! Check out the reviews for The Maze Runner, The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Starters below! Want to chat with the authors of these books? Head to their forum now! 

THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner

Reviewed by: IceyBooks (Icey Books Blog)

The first in a trilogy, The Maze Runner is a one-of-a-kind must read. Thomas, the main character, wakes up in a dark box. To his surprise, he is hauled out by a bunch of teen boys, and he doesn't remember anything before the Box, except for his name. Fortunately, none of the others remember anything before the Box either. Naturally curious, Thomas asks as many questions as he can about where he is, and how he got there, but the other boys never answer, they say he has to find out for himself - in time.

He does learn that he now lives in the Glade, which is run by teenage boys, and is surrounded by an everchanging Maze. The Gladers' goal is to find a way out of The Maze and get revenge on The Creators, who wiped out the Gladers' memories and sent them there. He also finds out that a new boy is sent up through The Box every month. But a day after Thomas arrives something strange happens: another teen is sent up - a girl.

For some reason, the Glade feels vaguely familiar to Thomas, and he feels that he was sent to find a way out of the that place. The problem is, The Maze can only be searched during the day, because gruesome creatures roam The Maze at night. Worse these creatures - called Grievers - don't only come out at night anymore...

The first third or so of the book was pretty slow for me, but once I got close to the middle, I just couldn't put it down! I would definitely recommend The Maze Runner to anyone. And mark my words, you'll learn some weird language, 'Greenie'!

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan

Reviewed by: PiratePony (Swords for Fighting blog) 

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now, and I do not know why I waited so long to read this. It was amazing! I love books with zombies in them and this one did not disappoint. In fact, it exceeded my expectations.

The main character, Mary, is a strong young woman who finds herself longing for more than her post apocalyptic world has to offer her. Since her world is encased in the forest, Mary dreams of the ocean that her mother used to tell her about. Although she longs for the ocean, she has always been taught that leaving her fenced in town means death or worse, becoming an Unconsecrated (zombie). She gets her chance to travel to the ocean when the fence is breached, and she has no choice but to leave or die. I really enjoyed Mary as a character and narrator. Although she did not always know what she wanted, I enjoyed following her journey.

One of the most difficult and heart wrenching aspects to this book was Mary's relationship with Travis and Harry. Travis and Harry are brothers both of which love Mary. Obviously, a sort of love triangle is created. Mary thinks she loves Travis, but she discovers that she may actually love the idea of the ocean more. Another problem is that Travis is set up to marry her friend, Cass, and Mary is set up to marry Harry. I really liked Travis more than Harry, but I felt Travis needed to step up his game. He falls in love with Mary while she is nursing him for an injury, but he never tries to end his engagement which frustrated me. Sometimes, I just wanted to yell at Travis, but I soon got over that after the fence was breached.


The Forest of Hands and Teeth was an excellent book. It was beautifully written. I did cry at one part because it was so heart breaking. I loved the story and the characters and sometimes I loved to hate some of the characters, too. I was engrossed in this book, so it was no surprise that I finished it in a day. There was not a happily ever after ending, but I really liked how it ended. It was just an extremely, beautiful book even with all of the zombies in it. I was extremely excited to read the sequel, The Dead-Tossed Waves, so I was so happy that I had it on hand to read immediately after finishing this book.

STARTERS by Lissa Price

Reviewed by: BeckyL (No More Grumpy Bookseller blog)

What if your parents died and you were left on your own? In the aftermath of the Spore Wars, everything has changed. With limited vaccine, only the young and the old were protected from infection. Now, an entire generation of Starters (teens) has been left parentless. Those like Callie Woodlawn and her brother have been living on the streets trying to survive. Unable to work thanks to legislation protecting Enders' -- those over 60 -- interests, teens are frequently rounded up and put into institutions. Desperate, Callie signs on with Prime Destinations, a new company that allows Enders to rent Starters' bodies so that they may enjoy youthful energy and activities once again. The money Callie will earn could save her and her brother. But something has gone very wrong. Callie finds herself sharing her body with the mind of a woman she is unable to trust. What are her renter's motives and will Callie be able to protect her brother?

Whoa! Lissa Price's crazy futuristic dystopian is amazing! Definitely one of those books that you can't put down once you've begun and a cliffhanger ending that already has readers (including me) on the edge of their seats until book two is released. 

The pacing and momentum of Price's writing is perfect. From the beginning, the reader is able to easily connect with Callie and is drawn into a story that is irresistibly intense. 

I find the plot here a bit close for comfort. There's more than a shred of believability in Price's imagined future and that makes it all that much more exciting and kind of creepy to think about. Either way, Starters is an absolute must read with great cross-over appeal for both teens and adults. Another great 2012 debut!