Variant

Variant

By Robison Wells

7 ratings 6 reviews 10 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 9 - 12Grades 2 - 5n/a4.579922

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. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN-13: 9780062026095
ISBN-10: 0062026097
Published on 8/28/2012
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 400

Book Reviews (7)

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Variant was an okay read. It was mostly about a boy named Benson Fischer who got stuck inside a school. The school was full of kids. Kids did the security, cleaning, cooking, teaching...there was no adults. Some kids have been stuck there for six years! Benson is determined to get out, but I don't think the plot really escalated. *spoiler* mostly he just figured out someone was a robot, but it was kind of weird because she turned out to be a real person in the end. It was an okay book because it was really exciting in the beginning, but then the plot went flat.

Benson Fisher gets a scholarship to Maxfield Academy which he thinks is going to be a great opportunity but it isn't. Maxfield academy is dangerous- even... Deadly- if the students break the 4 big rules they get sent sent to detention- nobody EVER comes back from detention. Everyone says there's no way to it but Benson doesn't believe them he is determined to get it out. This is a very great book 5/5 stars it has a little of everything - sci-fi, fantasy, romance, action, and adventure. So yeah very good hope you read it! ❤- ajg15

Jimmy Hashbrown Jimmy Hashbrown

Variant is the best book that I have willingly read. I wish that they could make a movie about it, and for the second book. The one thing that I love about this book is the ending. When Benson finds Jane, the book end!!!

Really cool book. Although it did have more that one similarity with the Maze Runner. First off, the main character, Benson, is trapped with no known way out. Second, anyone who tries to escape either winds up dead or just disappears. Third, there is an elevator type thing that gives them supplies. Fourth, they are there for a test (I never said who was being tested though). Fifth, the main character falls in love with a girl who, later on, he can't trust. And fifth, there is a graveyard with dead kids in it. All in all though, it was a really good book. Four stars I give to this book.

This book is one of my favorite ones that I've read this year because I feel like I'm in the story when I read it. I thought that it was fun guessing who were robots in the end, but I also like the ideas of activities that the author came up with that seemed different than what I thought a school with students trapped inside would be like. The characters in the story influenced my emotions because I always wondered why not a lot of people were trying to escape. When I finished reading the book, there was a cliffhanger, so I wanted to read the next book because it left me still interested.

This book is about a group of people trying to escape a school that was created by artificial intelligent robots. The main character in this book is Benson Fisher. He doesn’t like violence, but in important times when the robots attack students in attempt to use their flesh as their own, he can fight really well. The most fierce part of this book is when the students are escaping the school, and the robots are killing and chasing after them. In my opinion, I related the story of the rise of robots to the possibility of human using robots to take place of human workers in the future. The book inspired me not to rely on robots a lot because they might take over with their increasing emotions and intelligence. I will recommend this book to my friend because the entire book is very intense and interesting. You will worry about the main character because when he is in danger, you will feel like you are in danger, too.

Great book! The author says it was meant to be a paranoia novel, but it has romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and every thing else. Benson gets a scholarship to Maxfield Academy, a prestigious boarding school, a one way ticket away from this week's foster family. When he gets there everything is not quite as it seems. First of all you can NEVER leave, unless you get sent to detention (which no one EVER comes back from). Yet, Benson is sure there's a way out. He just has to find it... This is also one of the LYRC book candidates for 2014.