Review: Variant by Robison Wells

*Contains spoilers

Book: Variant by Robison Wells

Pages: 376

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Source: Library

Short Synopsis: Benson Fisher, a foster kid applied to a boarding school named Maxfield Academy to get out of his horrible situation. But little does Benson know, that Maxfield Academy was more than he bargained for.

My Thoughts: I loved reading this novel. A really interesting read, but I wasn't too fond of the different direction it turned towards.

Benson Fisher has been a foster kid since the age of five. He's switched to so may different foster homes and schools, that he's lost count. But at the age of seventeen, he decides to apply for a scholarship at a boarding school called Maxfield Academy to get out of his situation. Benson is ecstatic once he is accepted to the school. But not all is as it seems.

In this school, there are no adults. No teachers, and only students. These students run the school, teach the classes and look out for their own. But they are also split up in groups, otherwise known as gangs. There are three different type of gangs: Society, whose in control of security, and teaching jobs, Havoc, whose in control of cooking, but is also one of the ruthless gangs of the bunch, and Variant, who don't want to belong to either Havoc or Society, and is in control of maintenance. The school is monitored by cameras and by the group Society who enforce punishments. And if students don't obey the rules, they get detention, where the students never come back. And if you try to escape, the students mysteriously end up dead.

But as Benson starts getting used to the school's system, he figures out that not everyone is who they say they are, and Benson can trust no one. Can Benson survive this strange school and find a way to escape?

This novel reminded me of a modern day Lord Of The Flies meets Divergent. I was hooked on this novel from page one, and couldn't get enough. It was interesting to read how everyone was separated into different groups, and how they maintained the school without any adult supervision except for cameras placed that are through out the school.

I was a little disappointed that this novel took a turn in the robot direction, which I'm usually not a fan of, but it still kept me entertained, and kept me guessing which students were real and which were robots. I was pretty shocked that two of the characters turned out to be a robot, when I wasn't expecting them to be. I won't say who, for those who have this book in their TBR pile, but it's two characters that you least expect.

I was a little confused on how Benson and Becky were able to escape the school, and how Becky got hurt. But all in all, a pretty entertaining read, and I can't wait for the next one in the series.

Would I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: I give this book a 4/5.