Variant (Variant, #1)

by Robison Wells

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, where video cameras monitor his every move-and where breaking the rules equals death. All Benson wants is to find a way out. But when he stumbles upon the real secret the school has been hiding, he realizes that escape may be impossible.

• ISBN10: 0062026089
• ISBN13: 9780062026088
• Publish Date: 4 October 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062026088

Reviews

[Amber]

I'd heard Daph talk about this book a little bit before, but I had no idea why she was so amazed by it. Sure, it's set in a boarding school, but so are a lot of books. What makes this one stand out?

Then she bought me it for my birthday (THANK YOU!!!!!!) and I read it, and I can honestly say it's one of the best books I have read all year. I was considering rating this as an All Time Favourite, but I'm not sure about that so I went with Essential instead. Maybe I can decide once I've read Feedback, the sequel.

Full review here: http://www.booksofamber.com/2013/01/variant-by-robison-wells.html

[anne]

Ok - has game in it so may appeal to those who liked Hunger Games, though it is not at the same level of engagement. Spoiler alert - it contains paintball, cyborgs and Big Brother themes.

[sstaley]

From the very beginning you realize that Variant is not going to be like other books out there. I found I was drawn in from the minute he pulls up to the front doors of the school. Students standing at the windows are screaming at him, making this a very strange welcome to a new school. Oh yes, later Benson finds out it had been a warning for him to run while he had the chance. On the front cover of the book it says, "Trust No One" and in Benson's case it is good advice.

To read the rest of my review of VARIANT, please go to my blog at:
http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-of-variant-by-robison-wells.html