Variant by Robison Wells

Genre: YA Sci-fi/Thriller
Publication Date: October 4, 2011
Pages: 356
Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher on NetGalley

Goodreads Summary

Benson Fisher thought 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.


My Opinion

I loved Variant so much! It’s an awesome sci-fi/thriller YA, and fans of James Dashner and Michael Grant are going to love the first book in this new series. When I saw that James Dashner blurbed this book, I knew I had to read it, and I’m so glad I did. I started reading yesterday afternoon, and finished before going to sleep. It was one of those books that I couldn’t put down until I got to the end.

This book is one big sci-fi mystery waiting to be figured out. I kept trying to guess what was going on, but each time I thought I had it right, a new twist was thrown my way. And wow, the twist in the middle was just … wow. I don’t want to give anything away, but I never saw it coming.

The main character, Benson Fisher, was likable and fantastically written. He’s strong willed, and had a tough life before coming to Maxfield Academy. He doesn’t let people in easily, and it’s great seeing his relationships with other characters progress throughout the novel.

Then there was the ending. Oh my gosh, major cliffhanger! I wish the next book was out now so I could start reading it already, because I need to know what happens next!

Find Variant on: Amazon and Barnes & Noble