Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Teens are pawns of evil adults again in violent sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 9 parent reviews
Based on 69 kid reviews
Kids say the sequel is more engaging than the first book, offering a mix of action, horror, and intense character development amidst themes of betrayal and survival. While users agree on the dark and violent scenes, they often emphasize that the level of gore is manageable for mature tweens, pairing recommendations for readers 12 and up with clarifications on the minimal romance and language.
- better than first
- dark themes
- intense violence
- character development
- parental guidance
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Safe and sound -- that's what the survivors of the maze thought they were at the end of The Maze Runner. But that was just phase one. The "rescuers" are disposed of gruesomely (or is it an illusion?), and the government agency WICKED is back in control, forcing the remaining teens to endure the Scorch Trials: a two-week 100-mile march through a pitch-black tunnels, punishing desert, and, worst of all, a town full of crazed diseased people, who, if they're far gone enough, would love to eat them for breakfast. New revelations come out before the death march begins -- many of them tattooed directly on the boys' necks. Thomas' tattoo says he's supposed to be killed by Group B, the group of teen girls who survived an identical maze. And worse than that, Theresa is stolen from his group and sent to Group B, suddenly pitting him against his closest friend. Worst of all, all the teens are told they have the dreaded disease and need to finish the trials in order to get the cure or suffer madness and death.
Is It Any Good?
Teens who read THE SCORCH TRIALS just for the adventure and don't mind pointless carnage in a darker-than-dark dystopia will find a fast-paced read. Readers who look a little deeper will be depressed by the grimness of it all and struck by some nagging logical flaws. A government agency killing off teens? How can they really be getting anything from that? They could just swoop them up before the last lethal second and take them out of the trial instead. Why make machines that decapitate the teens in pitch-blackness? It shows that these people are sadistic, not scientific. The teens -- and readers -- are strung along, believing it will all make sense in the end. Memories will return and it will all be for the greater good. Really? Decapitation machines? The last book in the trilogy has a lot of explaining to do ...
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what a dark dystopian world this is. How is it different from other books you've read? Do you think the characters have anything to live for? Do you think scientists would be justified in killing human subjects for any reason?
Do you think all the violence in this book kept the story exciting or made the whole idea of teen test subjects too implausible?
What do you think the teens left alive will find out if their memories are ever restored?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Delacorte Press
- Publication date : October 12, 2010
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 17
- Number of pages : 368
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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