The Maze Runner
James Dashner
Author:
Age Range:
12+
Grade Range:
7th and up
Lexile Level:
HL770L
Dystopian
Genre:
Summary:
The Maze Runner is a fast-paced dystopian survival novel with very little sexual content, relatively mild language, and no meaningful substance use. The major consideration for parents is its violence and psychological intensity.
The story places teenagers in a deliberately dangerous environment in which injury and death are real possibilities, and several deaths occur. The violence can be frightening and occasionally graphic, but it is not presented sadistically or primarily for shock value. Instead, much of it grows out of the survival premise.
The novel also provides strong opportunities for discussion about leadership, courage, loyalty, sacrifice, ethical authority, and the value of an individual life when weighed against the supposed good of society.
StoryRoot suggested audience: approximately ages 12–14+, depending primarily on the reader’s tolerance for violence and suspense. The publisher likewise lists it for ages 12+ / grade 7 and up.
image of book cover for The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Content at a Glance
Sex & Relationships:
None-Mild
Language:
Mild
Violence:
Moderate-Strong
Mature Content:
Moderate
Substance Use:
None
Worldview:
Moderate
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Sex & Relationships
Rating:
None-Mild
There is essentially no romance or sexual content in this book. Teresa is the only girl in the Glade, and some of the boys comment on her appearance or describe her as attractive. Thomas feels an unusual connection to her, but their relationship is not romantic or physical in this installment. There are no sexual scenes, nudity, or sexual activity.
Language
Rating:
Mild
Most of the profanity is replaced by fictional slang used by the boys, including words such as “shuck,” “klunk,” and “slinthead.” These are clearly intended to function like swear words, and “shuck” in particular resembles a stronger English profanity in the way it is used. There are also occasional mild terms such as butt, crappy, and sucks, but little conventional strong profanity.
Violence
Rating:
Moderate-Strong
Violence is the primary content concern. The teenagers live under constant threat from the Maze and the Grievers, dangerous biomechanical creatures capable of injuring, stinging, and killing them. Characters fight the creatures with weapons, and teenagers also fight or threaten one another.
Several characters die, including young characters the reader has come to know. Injuries, attacks, blood, gun violence, stabbing/spearing, and disturbing deaths occur. Some scenes are frightening and emotionally intense rather than merely action-oriented. The climax includes multiple deaths and gunfire.
Mature Content
Rating:
Moderate
The larger premise is disturbing: children and teenagers have had their memories erased and are deliberately imprisoned in a lethal experiment controlled by adults. They know very little about who they are or why they have been placed there.
The story also includes kidnapping/confinement, psychological manipulation, grief, fear, bullying, trauma, insanity or severe mental deterioration, and characters confronting the possibility of their own deaths. A painful medical-like process called the Changing causes characters to experience fragments of traumatic memories.
Substance Use
Rating:
None
There is no meaningful alcohol, drug, smoking, or recreational substance-use content in the novel.
Worldview
Rating:
Moderate
The novel is not overtly religious and does not substantially discuss God, faith, or organized religion. Its worldview questions whether authorities can justify harming individuals for what they believe is a greater good.
The story raises worthwhile ethical questions about human experimentation, individual worth, sacrifice, obedience to authority, free will, loyalty, courage, and whether immoral methods can ever be justified by a supposedly noble goal. Thomas frequently challenges rules when he believes following them would allow someone to be harmed.
The book generally presents courage, friendship, loyalty, self-sacrifice, and protecting vulnerable people positively, while portraying manipulation and treating human beings as disposable tools negatively.
Other Content Parents May Want to Know About
The atmosphere is frequently tense and claustrophobic. Characters have no memories of their families or previous lives, and the boys live with continual uncertainty about whether they will survive.
The Grievers and the Changing may be particularly disturbing for sensitive readers. There are also themes of child death, imprisonment, loss of identity, experimentation on children, disease, societal collapse, and adults intentionally exposing young people to danger.
StoryRoot content guides are designed to inform, not decide. Families differ in what they consider appropriate for their children. These guides describe potentially sensitive content so parents and educators can make their own decisions.