Variant by Robison Wells: Review

Variant
By: Robison Wells
Review by: Kylie Comfoltey


For 17-year-old foster child Benson Fisher, Maxfield Academy is a dream opportunity. It's his chance to escape the system and his dead-end life; to get away from constantly changing foster families, new schools and overwhelming loneliness. He's been accepted on scholarship to an incredible private school. But what he finds when he gets there is more of a mysterious prison than any kind of educational institution. Along with towering brick walls and razor-wire fencing, the school has a twisted secret that may make escape impossible.

It's one of those trust-no-one, trust-nothing worlds. You know. Like The Truman Show, but with a heaping side of impending death.

Variant is a page-turner. It has short chapters that end on mini cliffhangers, which make you want to read just one more chapter. That combo makes for a fast read and I zipped right through it.

Wells creates a dystopia sweetly tucked inside a remote corner of today's world, namely, New Mexico. I'll admit I've never been to New Mexico, but I'm pretty sure it's not such a bad place. Maxfield Academy, however, is a secret prison, snatching up foster children looking for a better shot at life. The Ice Man is pitting student against student, gangs are barely holding off an all-out war and there are plenty of rules to live by. Punishments range from going without a meal to being sent to "detention," aka: death.

Then again, I'd love to visit Maxfield Academy--so long as I'm assured a way back out and a detention-free hall pass. Hogwarts seems to have planted a seed in the hearts of Americans, hasn't it? A romantic idea of what boarding schools ought to be: gorgeous architecture, perfectly manicured grounds, a top-notch education and great food? I'm in.

Character development was a little weak for my taste. Benson, the main protagonist, had a fairly strong character though I'd hoped to get to know him a little better with the story being first person. I loved Jane and Mason, and I loved hating Isaiah. Becky had me guessing the whole way through.

What? You love cliffhangers? Then Variant is the book for you! The cliffhanger at the end of this story won't have you wanting to chuck your book across the room, but it will leave you waiting for the next installment. There are a couple of big twists that throw off all the figuring-out you thought you'd done through the book, but the twist at the end left me thinking, "What the?"

I'd recommend this book to budding thriller/action lovers and paintball enthusiasts of 14+.

    

Sexuality: Very mild. A touch of romance.
Drugs/Alcohol: None. That would be against the rules, after all...
Profanity: Mild
Violence: Moderate.  Punching, beating, killing; not as violent as The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner, but the violent parts of the book are descriptive.

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