Wednesday, September 21, 2011

review: Variant by Robison Wells

pub date: October 4, 2011
publisher: HarperTeen
source: NetGalley
format: digital
appeals: mystery, boarding school, big-brother-is-watching
content: violence, but it's not graphic violence (for the most part)

thoughts:
Wow, wow, wow. What a great, exciting, wonderful novel! I really love this book.

Benson was a very sympathetic character. He was locked in a boarding school with high walls and lots of security. No one had ever escaped and those that try, die. All Benson wanted was to escape. It was his main focus for the whole book. And I am impressed with Wells, because Benson so easily could have become annoying and whiny. But he wasn't. He was focused and proactive and acted towards his goal.

There are a lot of twists in the plot and wow, how I loved them. I just had to keep reading to find out how Benson would handle everything. Maxfield Academy was a very believable environment, with believable teens dealing with their situation in a believable way.  

What makes it better is that Wells is a Utah author! Yay for Utah!

It reminded me of The Maze Runner by James Dashner, but way better. I wasn't a fan of the Maze Runner, but I so totally am a fan of Variant

summary:
Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.

He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

3 comments:

The Insouciant Sophisticate said...

You know, I didn't even think about Benson's level of whininess while reading it but he wasn't very whiny, which seems rather rare in YA. Also can you say cliffhanger? Grrr!

resugo said...

yes, I have to agree. The cliffhanger was cruel.

garrett said...

I had to go back and find this review. I haven't read a book that quickly in a while! Mostly because I'm lazy or tired or not interested... But I just wanted to know what was going to happen next! And the cliff hanger was KILLER! Glad the second (and final, according to the author's website) book is due this fall!