Variant by Robison Wells

Variant by Robison Wells

For those fans of Divergent by Veronica Roth, Across the Universe by Beth Revis or any other dystopia based young adult books here is another one you will love and be counting down the days for the next installment to arrive.  I finished this novel quite quickly and though this may be due to the power outage in my home, anytime I find myself talking about a book well after, it is usually a good sign hat this book is fabulous and lingers with you well after the last page.

The story takes place through the eyes of Benson Fisher.  An orphaned kid who has moved from foster home to foster home, finds himself on scholarship to Maxfield Academy.  On his arrival, he immediately realizes this is not a normal boarding school.  The teens are trapped in a school with no way out and you must follow the 4 rules.  Most important: do not attempt to escape.  If you do, it means certain death.

In each chapter you learn more and more about this school and how it is run.  You begin to learn more about the friendships that Benson starts to make and begin to think, what really is so bad about this school and it seems that the main character has far more emotional investment at Maxfield Academy than at any of the other foster homes he has been.  Does he really want to leave? 

What I would have loved to read more of is the relationship development between Benson and Jane.  His feelings towards her are slightly vague and it’s hard to feel the attachment that Benson feels towards Jane through the authors words.  I believe that some sort of connection between them both could have written about a bit more.  I did however, like to relationship that Benson creates with Becky.  You see great glimpses of it throughout the book and I loved the flow at it at the end. 

Towards the end the book takes on an unexpected twist and then does it again on the very last page.  For those who are looking for a heart stopping romance won’t find it in this first book but the ending sets the stage for a possible love triangle for the future books.  Fingers crossed.  Throughout the book, it has the reader constantly questioning, who can Benson trust? Why are there teens trapped in this school?  Is it a social experiment or is it training them for something?  What happened to the earlier kids who died?  And what really happens during detention?

This book is definitely on my recommendation list.  Here’s hoping that the next installment will come out soon!!

Ratings (Out of 5 Stars)

Palm Tingling Romance:  **

Can’t Put Book Down, Must Find Out What Happens Next:  ****

Release Date:  October 2011