The Scorch Trials

Last week I finished reading The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, the sequel to The Maze Runner. I've already put up my fantasy cast for The Maze Runner, and a lot of the same people show up in this book.

But, like all good sequels, we have some new comers to contend with. Without further adieu...

The first newcomer is Aris. This kid shows up out of nowhere and tells all the other boys that he's basically lived through the exact same hell as they have, except with a group of girls instead of boys. Nuts, right? He's also telepathic and pretty handy in a tight spot, until he's not anymore. I really, honestly pictured this kid: Loren Berman, who apparently after being in Sky High is now part of a sketch comedy troupe "Chowdah" at Columbia University. Go Loren Berman, eh?

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Rat Man. This guy doesn't have a name, and I don't know why I picture who I do, but it adds some levity to the situation. Rat Man shows up to tell all the kids who think they've been rescued that, in fact, they now have to go out into (basically) hell in search of a cure for a deadly disease they've all been infected with. He hides behind a glass wall, reads them their instructions and is completely unfazed by their humanity. He seems to see them as robots... or lab rats... or something. But Jim Rash could deliver this ridiculous speech and bring a moment of "I cannot believe this guy is for real" to the story.

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The next new character we meet is Jorge. He's a "crank," which is their term for a person who has been infected with this disease and is on his way to mental insanity. Though he isn't there yet, he's a bit unstable. He's also in charge of the not-yet-crazy cranks in a mostly abandoned city full of deranged psychopaths. Fun, eh? I pictured Greg Serano right from the start.

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With Jorge, comes Brenda. She's also sick, but not entirely crazy yet either. She's described as being beautiful, and through the story we learn that she's physically capable of taking care of herself, so she's pretty athletic, too. She's an adult, but young enough that this teenager seems to be a viable romantic interest for a while. I think Diana Agron has the hint of mystery about her that makes Brenda such a wild card.

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There are some new girls that we meet along the way, too, girls who lived with Aris in the mirror version of the Glade experiment, but they're so generic and briefly seen that I really don't care who plays them. Take your pick of any young, tough-ish seeming girls in Hollywood.

Please post your ideas in the comments- whether you agree with me or not!
You can read my review of this book on GoodReads.com