Audiobook Review: Variant by Robison Wells
PJV Quickie: Sticky on the believability factor but high on the entertainment scale, VARIANT by Robison Wells had me engrossed from the beginning. But, I’ll admit I was cross comparing it to a few other Young Adult Dystopian novels as I read.
Author: Robinson Wells
Series: Variant #1
Narration: Michael Goldstrom
Type: Young Adult Dystopian
Published: October 4, 2011 Audible.com
Source: Audible
Goodreads Purchase Author
Review:
Benson Fisher, the main character of Variant is your typical lost boy. He is a product of foster care, doesn’t fit in at any school he goes to and is resigned to the fact that his life is messed up before it has even begun. Until he gets a scholarship to Maxfield Academy. Which, is surprising since his grades aren’t that good and he lied on the application. But, who cares about that. He’s about to go to a great school.
He is all excited, until he is dropped off at the front gates and his ride high-tails it out of there without a backwards glance. Maxfield Academy isn’t a school, it is a prison, with no guards but the children within the walls. There is no way out and the people within can’t be trusted. There are rules on top of rules to be followed and if you break those rules…you are never seen again.
Sounds exciting right? It is. The book keeps going and going, it sucks you in from the beginning and has excellent pacing in the beginning. I enjoyed Benson and the way Robison Wells developed his character, in the beginning. He was likable, even in a very tumultuous plot. The story was filled with suspense and hidden compartments which kept the book interesting. But, what I keep mentioning is…in the beginning. Then it gets to a point where Benson just turns into a very dumb character, his actions are dumb, selfish and illogical. Because of his actions the plot progresses, but it is obvious that his actions were written to carry the plot instead of a logical character reaction.
Then you are hit with the big surprise of the plot, which I won’t reveal because of spoilers, but with the reveal, the main character again reacts differently then I would have expected. Everything does seem to converge in the end — but then that is it, the end. Most of the plot is still unresolved with the ending of this book, so while exciting, it left me with a feeling that I put a book down in the middle and then lost the book…or forgot about it. Which isn’t that favorable a feeling for me.
Recommendations:
I would recommend this more for younger boys, instead of the usual Young Adult fans. In fact I would probably put this in categories of Middle Grade instead of YA, just because of the similarities in crafting. The male lead and the sketchy plot will probably leave the usual young adult dystopian fans lacking. They might also find the strong resemblance to THE MAZE RUNNER also a bit on the distasteful side. Fans of Middle Grade, male leads, ages 11 – 15 should enjoy.
The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner
Rating: 
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Awesome review. I’ve debated this one.
Thanks Juju – it’s somewhere in the middle. I don’t know if you’ll like it.
I’ve been debating this one…sounds like it might be a bit too young for my tatse! Thanks for the review!
I’ve had this book on my Kindle forever. I really want to read it because the description sounds so awesome. I think the sequel is out… and I own it too. But I haven’t read either.
And after your review I’m not entirely sure it’s going to be as epic as I’d hoped it would be. I do have a sort of benchmark series for these types of books and that’s Alexander Gordon Smith’s Escape from Furnace. Which I suppose is also aimed more at a male audience. But it’s epic.
Are you planning on reading/listening to the sequel? Because I’d love to hear your thoughts on that before I pick up this series, which I planned on reading strictly for pleasure. But aside from Lisa McMann’s UNWANTEDS, I’m not much for middle grade reads.
Thanks so much for the very insightful review!
Variant sounds a bit meh to me. It was nice to read your review, Rachel. I feel that my decision not to grab a copy of Variant is the right one. I love a good dystopian but this doesn’t sound like the kind I would enjoy. Thank you for your honesty, Rachel