The Scorch Trials is part two in the series of The Maze Runner, picking up where the first book left off. Thomas had finally gotten himself out of the maze, but now he has a whole new set of problems to face. He and his friends from the maze have been exposed to a deadly disease called the Flare. It is a fatal illness that is currently ravaging the entire world and driving the organization, WICKED, into desperation. WICKED is the mysterious group behind the scenes, controlling and analyzing their every move. So, the boys must travel all the way across the flat lands of the Scorch in order to receive the cure from WICKED. They are not the only ones out there, though. Along the way, they face vicious Cranks, citizens who have been driven hysterical by the disease, and Group B. Group B has been put under the same circumstances and also being promised the cure, yet the two groups struggle to gain confidence and trust within the other. To survive, they are forced to turn on each other and fight for their individual selves and safety.

As astounding as the book may sound, The Scorch Trials was a huge disappointment to me. If you are going to follow up such an amazing Bestseller, then you have to meet up to its expectations. In the beginning of the book, I was so pumped up from the terrific ending of The Maze Runner, that I did not realize how terribly written it was until the next hundred or so pages. I became bored out of my mind, and began only to read during our short “10 Minute Read” sessions. Of course, this only dragged the book further on and on and on. So I started to skim. And then skip. Pretty soon, characters and plots were getting all messed up and I wasn’t understanding anything, which made me hate it even more. I realize that part of me disliking the book so much was because of my unwillingness to give it another shot, but also because of the writer’s style. He could have chosen a more interesting topic to write about, or at least shaken things up a bit. Even though I was not entirely impressed by his work, I will definitely continue to read the next book once it comes out.