The Maze of Life

The Maze by Will Hobbs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Life can be rather difficult at times, especially if you are young Rick Walker. Raised by his grandmother after his mother and father basically abandoned him, his life has been a daunting maze ever since she died. Bumped around from group home to group home, Rick came to the conclusion that life in the foster care system sucked. One dead end after another, Rick was frustrated so he decided to hurl stones at a stop sign. For that he got arrested and sentenced to 6 months t the Blue Canyon Juvenile Detention Facility.

At Blue Canyon the most productive thing a person can do is lifts waits and go the library and read. The kids there are messed up and so are the prison personnel. Corrupt prison guard and maintenance workers steal air condition units and other things and when Rick Walker opens his mouth word gets out that his name is on a pack of cigarettes. Fearing for his life he decides to flee the facility and make a break for California. In his attempt at escaping he cuts his cheek scaling the fence.

All along he hitch hikes the highways. And he bumps into Nuke Carlisle at a gas station and just then an apb goes out. Rick makes a break for it and hides in someone else’s truck. A truck filled with meat goods that sort of trips him out. The truck stop at a camp sight located in the grand canyon. The grand canyon is aptly named the maze. It is this camp sight that will turn Rick’s life around and give him that break that he needs.

The condor is an endangered about to become extinct. Lon , the guy who he hitched with is a biologist overseeing the birds release into the wild. This is a story of salvation but like all stories of salvation there are trials and tribulations to be conquered. In the end no true salvation comes without self transformation.

Lon has a background just like Rick. Together they struggle to save condors and learn to fly in hang gliders. Together they also face the wrath of  Luke Carlisle and Gunderson. These villainous duo stockpiles weapon and are hunting for Indian artifacts. They want Lon and Rick gone quite literally. The story comes to a head in a violent confrontation, complete with flashfloods.

In the end Rick must face the music before the judge but this is a kids book and a good one at that. I will tell you it ends with a happing conclusion.


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