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Variant
Variant
Variant
Audiobook8 hours

Variant

Written by Robison Wells

Narrated by Michael Goldstrom

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

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.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperTeen
Release dateOct 4, 2011
ISBN9780062111449
Author

Robison Wells

Robison Wells is also the author of Blackout, Variant, and Feedback. Variant was a Publishers Weekly Best Book and a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Robison lives in the Rocky Mountains in a house not too far from elk pastures. His wife, Erin, is a better person than he will ever be, and their three kids cause mischief and/or joy.

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Reviews for Variant

Rating: 3.8492906780141842 out of 5 stars
4/5

282 ratings54 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I must've found this on a list of "if you liked Divergent and the Hunger Games, you might like this" books, as it's definitely in the same genre, although it's by no means the same story. Upon reflection I find the story a bit unsatisfying, given that the categories of kids in the school didn't necessarily reflect their true personalities, as in Divergent. But I was so gripped by the story as I read it that I finished it in one day, so it certainly has that going for it! I'm curious enough to want to read the next in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Variant by Robison Wells is a YA thriller from HarperTeen and a quick read. Benson Fisher has been hopping from foster home to foster home, so is very excited to receive a scholarship to Maxfield Academy.As soon as he arrives at the campus though, Benson notices that something isn't quite 'right.' He soon learns there are no teachers or adults at the Academy, and the students belong to gangs that are each in charge of various contracts at the school.The grounds are surrounded by a large wall patrolled by students on quad bikes and the curriculum is strange and irregular.I was shocked to learn of the secret at the heart of the school and definitely didn't see it coming. Benson is keen to escape although serious breaches of the rules result in detention, and students never return from detention.Variant is a fabulous mystery for young readers and adults alike and I've already recommended it to other readers. Those who liked the movie Toy Soldiers (featuring Sean Astin) will love Variant.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked it a lot. Reminds of Lord of Flies!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book reminded me a bit of The Maze, but it was better executed. I can't wait to read book two.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    awesome
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    great
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Variant is the first of a two-book series about an orphan named Benson Fisher who applied to the private boarding school, Maxwell Academy, in order to escape the foster system where he had lived in 33 foster homes since he was five years old. Soon after entering school, however, Benson finds that Maxwell Academy is more like a prison. In most cases, students would love a boarding school where there are no teachers or adults. Instead, the students have formed gangs or "societies." that hold the contracts for all of the jobs that needed to be done to keep the school functioning. Students who earn detention never come back to school and other punishments include food being withheld and beatings by one of the gangs. Benson decides he will escape, but finds it more difficult than he expects. The students don't know who to trust which makes Benson's attempts at escape that much more difficult. This is a very interesting story with lots of twists and turns. I can't wait to read the second book Feedback.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    teen fiction. Took a while to get going, but was sufficiently exciting as soon as the paintball started.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed this book; it kept me listening and wondering what was going to happen, so I've given it three stars (liked it) and I could probably be persuaded to make that 3.5. It does require a bit of heavy lifting to suspend one's disbelief at the beginning, and the end is abrupt--really abrupt. I mention this so future readers will be prepared. All that said, it's well-paced and interesting, and I do wonder what the explanation for everything will turn out to be (I hope there's a good one!). I liked the main character. So I'm likely to read the next book when I have a chance.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Hard to judge whether this book is good or bad, due to the lack of any real ending. I'll decide after I read the sequel(s). And I guess it's successful enough, given that I want to read the sequel . . .
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I enjoyed this audiobook a lot. I liked Benson and loved some of the supporting characters such as Becky and Jane. It's a very action packed story with lots of cool twists. Although, I do have to admit that at times it felt a lot like The Maze Runner. And there's the obvious comparisons to Lord of the Flies. Wells does a good job of telling a story and what was with that ending! This is the first time I remember coming across this narrator and I really liked him. Overall, it wasn't a fantastic, wonderful and amazing book but it is well worth the read. I will definitely be reading the second book in the series.

    On a side note, I listen to the author and his brother, Dan Wells' podcast, Do I Dare to Eat a Peach? It's a great podcast and so much fun. I love listening to the make their lists and talk. It's one of my favorite podcasts. I highly recommend it. You can find it on iTunes.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book is probably intended for the middle school aged reader--maybe for a high school age reader but I read somewhere that kids normally like to read about characters a little older than they are. Since this book has high schoolers as its main characters, I'm not sure what a high schooler would think about it.The ending is unsatisfying. There are too many unanswered questions for my taste. Is the school making robots/androids to look like real people, hoping to replace the real people without others noticing? What is the purpose of making them and testing them? What I liked: the Variant or "V" group does seem to care about one another; Benson does think for himself rather than just go with the easiest route or the majorityWhat I didn't like: no one but Benson seems to question why they can't leave (are they just beaten down by the fate of others who tried? Are they scared by the stories? Are they easily led by the robots/androids who are probably programmed to talk others out of trying to escape?); the Society and Havoc groups seem to be less caring about others; Benson does seem to be a bit self-absorbed (he wants to escape, and I can't blame him, but sometimes he doesn't consider what consequences his actions will have on others;
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Once upon a time years and years ago, my brother came up to me excitedly to share a book recommendation. He knew I was trying to increase my bookishness a notch or two and was only trying to be helpful. But because I was an idiot and didn't take him seriously at the time I kept putting off reading the darned book which leads me to a conversation we had a few weeks ago.I recently started re-watching a show I loved as a kid which led to us talking about shows we used to love on CartoonNetwork before it was shortened to the CN or whatever. Among them was a show called Tower Prep and then he asked "hey did you ever get around to reading that one book I told you about?" *cue me cutting the phone call short because I totally lied about having read it*Moral of the story: your siblings probably know you better than you think and know based on one preference that you'll enjoy the story of a book that turns out to be very similar but too much that it make you want to tear your hair out.Benson arrives in a car to a boarding school that has offered him a full ride scholarship. Being shuffled around in foster care for years is not a life he would like to continue so this place was his quick way out of the system. But he was only led into another system where other teenagers his age bossed him and his peers around. As soon as he steps into this strange prison-like school he greeted warmly by Becky, a too perky pretty blonde that urges him to try to fit in. Then he is forced by gang-like leaders Isaiah and Oklahoma to choose what group he wants to belong to leading him straight into the non-conformists of the school: the Variants. Benson is never truly comfortable with the situation going down at the school which is why he tries to escape any chance he can get. I was very entertained by this book. I don't know why but sometimes when a main character has had a rough life, some authors get carried away with the "woe is me" act trying to force you to pity them but it wasn't the case here. Sure Benson brought up his struggles from time to time but it only made him that much more determined to find a way out of the dark situation. Finding an MC that doesn't make me want to roll my eyes every 5 minutes is a huge thing for me. There was a nice flow of exposition, not too much info dumping in my opinion. The premise definitely reminded me a lot of that one show Tower Prep but with a lot less head-scratching and annoying withholding information that didn't need to be withheld. The story had me quite entertained at a steady pace up until the plot twist but only because it felt like a jarring slasher flick moment that I wasn't expecting. It would be fine but it's just me nitpicking because I got confused for a good five seconds as to what was happening. One minute Benson and his fellow variant Jane(whom he'd been flirting with for a good chunk of time) were finally kissing then Society kids Laura and Dylan were crazy murderers on a bend to send them to detention or kill them off tryingI still liked it....even that cliffhanger ending.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This will be a quickie. When I first started listening, I was thoroughly confused. I didn't know what was going on. It kind of reminded me of that movie with Val Kilmer and they were in a building and it was all one big experiment. I don't remember the name of it, just that Val Kilmer and possibly LL Cool J were in it.

    Anyways, as the book progressed I started getting super paranoid for Benson. Everyone in this place is nuts. There was a decent amount of action, and so many mind games I kept coming back for more. A few events completely took me by surprise. The biggest one being the ending. Holy wow! Cliffhanger galore! I need to pick up the sequel and see what happens next.

    Definitely for those looking for something different, and a thriller.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This isn't one of those scare-you-straight schools, is it? -Benson Fisher
    At almost 18-years old, Benson Fisher just wanted a place he could belong and feel safe. After moving from foster family to foster family (33 since he entered the system at age 5), he really just wanted to stay in one place. So, when the opportunity came to apply for a scholarship at Maxfield Academy, Benson figured what did he have to lose. And when he was accepted, well, he was more than ready for a new start.

    But, Maxfield Academy isn't exactly what it seems. The school is surrounded by a chain link fence and inside that a massive brick wall.There are no adults; the students run the day to day operations. Each new student joins a "gang". There are three: the Society (they handle security and administration & medical), Havoc (they handle food and groundskeeping) and the Variants (the V's) (they handle janitorial & maintenance). And there are four big rules: no sex, no refusing punishments, no violent fights & no trying to escape. The worst punishment is detention, but no one wants to talk about that.

    LOVED this book. I can't recommended it enough. I love any dystopian fiction pretty much, so I guess I am sort of biased. But this book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I never wanted to put it down. I was reading with my 11-year old son, so I didn't have much of a choice or I probably would have finished in a couple of days. He loved it too (he is in 6th grade).

    Twice this book had me saying WHAT???? I turned the pages back and reread to make sure I didn't miss something. Honestly, two big twists that I didn't even see coming. My only problem now is I'm dying to read the sequel but my son wants to read the next Janitors book first. So.... I will have to wait. But not for long.

    Recommended to
    Anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction. Or novels with unexpected twists. This one is on Florida's Sunshine State Young Readers Award nominee list for 6-8th graders. But trust me, adults will enjoy it too! Several 5th graders at my school are currently reading it and loving it too!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Interesting premise that seems dystopian, suspense, but has some nice elements of sci-fi as well.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Full review coming soon!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It really was similar to Maze Runner. For the first half of the book, I thought it was too similar. But then it got interesting. And the ending? Let's just say I want the next book NOW!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Mayfield 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, where video cameras monitor his every move - and where breaking the rules equals death. All Benson wants is to find a way out. But when he stumbles upon the real secret the school has been hiding, he realizes that escape may be impossible.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    For me, from the start, this book was interesting. The story is of a boy who gets an opportunity to change his life in what he believes will be for the better, but he soon realizes that that is not true. He can't find many people he trusts, and when he discovers a secret that nobody else has found out, it only seems harder to trust anyone. The book ends shockingly, and now I cannot wait to start the next book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Kept me turning pages, nearly finished it in a day. The ending definitely left me confused.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a quick read. It did end with some unanswered questions, prompting me to want to read the next book.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This is an easy read. Writing and style are too young even for a YA book. Huge cliffhanger at the end.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
     In a world that is inundated with YA novels that just keep sounding the same, Variant is a breath of fresh air. Thinking outside the box Wells develops a story that leaves teens and adults alike wanting to know how it's going to end!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was definitely interesting, though I felt that the ending was a cheap cliffhanger. I don't actually like books like that - I prefer ones that semi-wrap things up but still leave you wondering/wanting more. Not with so many things left unanswered that the author's practically guaranteed a read just because you dislike unanswered questions.

    The action in this felt heavily paced towards the second half of the book, but that's like a lot of action/horror movies. The concept is interesting - one I haven't seen in any of the modern books, so that was nice. I don't feel as invested in Benson as I should, though, and I felt some of the relationships were sacrificed in favour of action and fighting.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing - and weird - If you have a kindle its only a couple of bucks. Buy it!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Variant while not as well written as some of the dystopian novels I've read, such as The Hunger Games and Delirium, had an interesting concept and a good pace. Benson Fisher the protaganist of the story is a kid from Pittsburgh who has lived a hard scrabble life. In and out of foster homes and bullied by kids at school he applies to the Mayfield Academy to escape his bleak situation. He is accepted to the school which is located out west and leaves Pittsburgh in hopes of a new future. Unfortunately, his dreams are short lived once he arrives at the academy. The school is run entirely by the students and once you arrive your chances of leaving are slim to none. This is the first book in a new series after the cliffhanger ending which I didn't see coming at all I'm anxious for the release of the next book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Variant is like a cross between Lord of the Flies and Winter's End, a less well-known dystopia by a French author that has a school setting like this. Having finished it, I'm not entirely certain how I feel about it. The story definitely left me with more questions than answers (typical) and somewhat frustrated. However, the whole thing was completely engaging and thrilling. Wells definitely had me flipping pages, reading as fast as I could to figure out what the heck was going on this frackin' creepy school.

    There is something about schools that makes them perfect settings for dystopias, maybe the fact that, with boarding schools, you have very few rights. Or, maybe it's the fact that there are so many children; nothing is more terrifying than a creepy child. You expect adults to be jerks, but you hate to such betrayal and evil from younger individuals, perhaps because it hints at the evil in human nature.

    Benson, despite his stupid name and the fact that he is a bit of a jerk, is a good main character. He thinks about himself first, something the others constantly rag on him for, but, really, who wouldn't be focusing on getting themselves out of such a weird place? My one criticism for him is that he does some stupid things in trying to escape, but, hey, I knew from the beginning that he was smart, but not insanely so.

    Variant definitely is not the most pertinent dystopia for our lives, but it is a thrill ride from the first chapter. If you like action, mystery and twists, you will not want to miss this. I know I won't miss book two!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While this is certainly going in a dystopian direction, and it's kiiiiiinda there, it's not really enough yet. It leaves off in such a way as to make sure the reader comes back for Book 2--no real explanation of what's going on, and with more questions created than answers.

    Well-written and well-paced, but seems to want to be The Maze Runner without actually being that. I'll probably pick up the next one, and I'll almost definitely get this one for my library collection, if just to hand to the Maze Runner fans.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fast paced with the kind of ending that makes me glad the sequel is right around the corner, VARIANT is a great great read. Benson, the hero, has the right combination of brains and charm to carry the storyline through its twists and turns. Wells does a great job balancing the temptations of the Academy lifestyle being offered with Benson's skepticism and almost too selfish desire for escape. The moral repercussions of this book will certainly carry over and complicated Benson Fishers's journey.