Review: Variant by Robison Wells

Variant

By Robison Wells

Synopsis From Goodreads:

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.

Goodreads | Amazon




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My Review:
Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐

When I went into this book I honestly did not have very high hopes. Variant has been sitting on my shelf for years and as time past so did my interest. The premise no longer sounded as captivating as it had the first time I read it. However, over the last few months I have been going through my TBR of forgotten books and stumbled upon this book. It was time to finally crack open this book to see what was written inside and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. 

Throughout Variant we follow Benson a foster kid that has won a scholarship to a prestige private school on the west coast. He is excited to start his new journey away from Pittsburgh and the foster life, but Maxfield Academy is not the prestige school he was promised. No teachers in sight, gangs ruling the school and no way out. 

Benson's one goal from the very start is to find a way out of his new prison. However, escaping Maxfield Academy is no easy task, especially when his peers thwart his every move. Yet, Benson is stubborn and will not stop trying...no matter what. 

I found myself hooked from the very beginning, a new mystery every chapter and I was surprised with how much I truly enjoyed this book. The mystery behind the school and students had me invested from the start. That final chapter left me hanging on such a huge cliffhanger I'm eager to purchase book 2, in order to find out what happens to Benson and his friends. I feel like I left Maxfield with more questions than when I arrived. 

This book is a great middle grade/young adult novel, it definitely keeps you guessing at every turn. 


Published by: K