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Variant
Variant by Robison Wells
by Robison Wells
   

       
Benson Fisher is tired of the foster care system and ready for a new start. He thought the boarding school, Maxfield Academy, would be just the answer. Unfortunately, something is seriously awry at Maxfield Academy. Why are the adults? Who is the Iceman, who gives the daily rundown of any of the mysterious “detentions” or rules’ violations? And why are there cameras watching every move the students make?
 
The world building of VARIANT is phenomenal, as Robison Wells paints a startling picture of a world without adults… and yet there is the feeling of an overriding presence of someone behind the scenes, manipulating it all. The various hints we see of the outside presence heighten the tension, even as Benson’s paranoia increases.
Benson is immediately skeptical of everything and everyone. Why are the other students so accepting of it all? No one else seems to truly question where the adults are- a fact that leaves Benson almost as baffled as the reader. And yet the premise works, as the reader is drawn into the mystery behind Maxfield Academy.
 
VARIANT is a different kind of dystopian tale. While it reminds me a bit of THE LORD OF THE FLIES and, oddly enough, THE GROUNDING OF GROUP 6, VARIANT puts an entirely new spin on things. Quite frankly, I just couldn’t put VARIANT down! Benson’s voice shines through clearly from the very first page and compels the reader to keep reading, even as the situation at Maxfield Academy gets stranger and stranger. I worried that the conclusion would spoil the story but Robison Wells handles it well. The answers only deepen the mystery and leave the reader anxiously waiting on the next book..
 
Publisher: HarperTeen (October 2011)


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