Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.

Synopsis (From Goodreads):
The massive labyrinth was built to protect Zadie Kalver's isolated desert town. Unfortunately, living in the maze's shadow makes her feel anything but safe. Even without its enchanted deathtraps and illusions, a mysterious killer named Dex lurks in its corridors, terrorizing anyone in his path.

But when Zadie's best friend vanishes into the labyrinth-and everyone mysteriously forgets he exists- completing the maze becomes her only hope of saving him. In desperation, Zadie bribes the only person who knows the safe path through-Dex-into forming a tenuous alliance.

Navigating a deadly garden, a lethal blood-filled hourglass, and other traps-with an untrustworthy murderer for her guide-Zadie's one wrong step from certain death. But with time running out before her friend (and secret crush) is lost forever, Zadie must reach the exit and find him. If Dex and the labyrinth don't kill her first.

Review:
I have very mixed feelings about this book.  On the one hand, I thought the dystopian world-building to be wonderfully creative.  The dynamics between people who are "skilled" and "blank" were very relatable to racial discrimination in real life.  How this society decided to ration out scarce resources was realistic (but infuriating).  But, however much I liked the idea of a labyrinth, with it's traps and puzzles, it didn't really have a logical function in the book.  There were a lot of unexplained elements that the reader was just expected to accept.  And the ending was quite unsatisfying.


World-Building:  
The author created a whole society around the idea that the survivors of a plague have needed to band together to conserve the few resources they have left.  All of the original survivors each had a "skill" or super-power.  But, over the years, some people, called "blanks" are born without any skills.  The town elders have decided that those without "skills" are not useful and are thrown out of town into the desert.  There, they are preyed upon by unscrupulous people to sign contracts as indentured servants.  I found this system to be, sadly, something I could see happen if water became more precious than gold.

This sets up a system of first and second-class citizens where value is determined by what skills one has.  But are skills the only thing of importance about a person?  What about character, or family connections?  How strange that some of these same questions are part of the recent immigration debate here in the U.S.

The Story of The Town:
I really liked the characters and story lines of the townspeople.  There were many interesting secondary characters who I wanted to know more about.  The author made me emotionally engage with their struggles and concerns. 

The Labyrinth:
The Sand Guardian is a magical being who tries to trick Zadie and Dex to prevent them from reaching the Stone Palace.  I thought the traps and puzzles were very creative.  But what was the point?  

Zadie tries to reach the palace because a force field has encased the town, trapping all the skilled citizens.  Only blanks can go through the force field without being killed.  But why have a giant killer maze when a force field could have been used to keep everyone away from the palace in the first place (blanks would have no reason to go the palace)?

Inconsistent logic:
When one is creating an original universe, there must be rules as to how the universe works.  Even if the rules are really far out (such as cats having superpowers), it's fine as long as the rules are consistent.

             
via GIPHY

The inconsistency that I found annoying was that the author gave different explanations as to why the skilled people had superpowers.  Was it magic or genetics?  This becomes important because the labyrinth, itself, is supposed to be powered by magic.  But what does the sand guardian gain by keeping the people from the palace?  That is a mystery that is never explained.

The Ending:
I don't think I'm giving anything away by revealing that Zadie does make it through the labyrinth.  

               
via GIPHY

But even though the main problem of the story was resolved, it was not very emotionally satisfying.  Suddenly, there was much more going on in the story, and I was left with more questions than answers.  I felt like this was just a big set up for a sequel.




Rating: 





Release Date:  June 4th, 2019

Author:  Meredith Tate

Publisher:  Flux Publishing

Genre:  YA Dystopian Fantasy

Page Length:  352 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation: Although there were some major holes in logic and plot, I did find this book to be a quick, escapist read.  This would be a better library selection than a purchase.