The Death Cure

The Death Cure by James Dashner, 2011 Delacorte Books

     Thomas has escaped the Maze, survived the Scorch, and after one last test he and his friends will be free and cured of the Flare. The survivors have been whisked away to WICKED's compound where the last tests will take place.
     The group is allowed to spend time together, but Thomas has been separated and placed in isolation. With no way to tell time the young man begins to lose touch with reality, it takes a force of will to maintain his grasp of reality. Finally the rat-faced man who met the boys before the journey through the Scorch comes to tell Thomas of the next steps.
     Thomas and the rest of the survivors from both Group A and Group B will regain their memories; WICKED tells them this will help them all understand why they joined the experiment. Thomas, Minho, and Newt refuse to go through with the procedure. The Rat Man explains some of the survivors are immune to the Flare, others are not, escape would be worthless as the immune are despised outside the compound. But the trio are adamant; they flee to Denver, Colorado where a large group who have yet to be infected lives.
     Thomas hopes the trio will be able to save the rest of the experiment survivors, but first they have to get WICKED, and its locator chip, out of their heads. While searching for the man who can remove the chips Thomas and Minho discover Newt is among the infected and as he helps them brainstorm a plan the disease takes his mind. The authorities take Newt to a city filled with people in varying stages of the Flare.
     Again, Thomas is gripped by the need to save his friends and when he and Minho risk going into the Flare-infested city to find Newt the extent of the infestation finally strikes them. Thomas hopes there is a place the survivors from the Maze to finally find peace, but any resolution will mean going back to WICKED's base and facing the demon in its lair.
     Teen and young adult readers will be interested in the conclusion of the story in the Maze and of the Flare; some romantic tension remains, with a focus on making the right choice.