Welcome to Vox Populi, where Columba College ākonga cast a critical eye over pop culture happenings. This week, Emily McElhone (Year 7) guides us through James Dashner’s 'The Maze Runner' (2009).

If you’re looking for a relaxing summer read, then this isn’t the book for you. The Maze Runner will grab you by the seat of your trousers and throw you into the middle of a confusing puzzle.

This book keeps any knowledge of where you are or what you’re doing there from you until the very end. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. Thomas, the main character, emerges from a metal box to find himself surrounded by fifty other boys, with no memory of his past. In this dystopian future, the fifty boys have formed their own community in a stone labyrinth. A labyrinth that wants them dead. Not only does the maze change every day, but it is also inhabited by creatures called grievers which can, and will, kill anyone they come across. The boys have no idea why they're there, how to escape from the maze, or what they will find on the outside.

Award-winning American author, James Dashner, has brought this disturbing vision to life. The storytelling is vivid and compelling, making it impossible to tear yourself away.

The Maze Runner and its two sequels exist in a world where many of the issues that we have been facing for the past three years have been taken to their logical extremes. This series challenges your notions of morality and makes you think: is there an end result that can justify absolutely any means?