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Variant by Robison Wells
Dec. 31st, 2011 01:00 amThe Blurb On The Back:
Trust no one.
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, 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 realises that escape may be impossible.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Robison Wells’s debut YA novel is a science fiction/thriller hybrid set in modern times. I am interested in the central concept and in seeing where Wells takes it but for me, he took too long in establishing the idea of it being impossible to escape from the school, with the result that the story was slow to build up and then felt rushed in the final quarter. I’m also not a fan of cliff hanger endings and this book ends on a biggie. I’ll probably check out the next book in the hope that some of the main questions start getting answered.
VARIANT was released in the UK on 20th November 2011. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
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, 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 realises that escape may be impossible.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Robison Wells’s debut YA novel is a science fiction/thriller hybrid set in modern times. I am interested in the central concept and in seeing where Wells takes it but for me, he took too long in establishing the idea of it being impossible to escape from the school, with the result that the story was slow to build up and then felt rushed in the final quarter. I’m also not a fan of cliff hanger endings and this book ends on a biggie. I’ll probably check out the next book in the hope that some of the main questions start getting answered.
VARIANT was released in the UK on 20th November 2011. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
