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daphx00's review against another edition
4.0
Final rating: 4.5/5
I had been ogling this book for a pretty long time before I decided to buy it. Then it was just gathering dust on my shelves for months. Until someone picked it as my next read when I finished my previous book. And oh-em-gee was I *glad* to have this book picked! The story is fantastic, with twists and turns everywhere you go, which made it impossible for me to guess where the story was going. It was brilliant.
While I originally thought this was a dystopian novel, I soon realised it’s not – not in the typical sense of a society built after a war/apocalypse at least – but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. The main character, Benson, is a loner, a guy without friends and no real family. He applied for a scholarship at a fancy boarding school, not realising that when he gets there, there’s no getting out. It might sound corny to set the story on a boarding school, but believe me, it’s not. It’s absolutely brilliant. I loved the fact that there were gangs, the plots they schemed and the way everything was organised. And don’t even get me started on the twists Wells throws in there! There was no way I could have seen the ending coming, and boy, did it make me want more.
Benson is a pretty stubborn character, but he’s also rebellious, smart, frustrated and most of all determined to get out of the place. He feels misunderstood, because everyone seems to be okay with being at Maxfield Academy. I loved the fact that he was such a fighter, even though everything worked against him, including the students.
While I was reading Variant, I couldn’t help comparing it to The Maze Runner. It’s like TMR, only in a school. It has a similar vibe, but with more twists and not as predictable – at least, not to me. I pretty much loved everything about it, except I kept wanting more. More twists, more rebellion, more paintball, more pages to the book. It’s very addictive while reading it and honestly, I couldn’t believe it was finished when it was. That ending! Argh.
The sequel will be coming out later this year, and I’ve pre-ordered my copy when I finished Variant. Wells has created a captivating world which will suck you in and have you guessing where you’re going the entire time. And I want more.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.
I had been ogling this book for a pretty long time before I decided to buy it. Then it was just gathering dust on my shelves for months. Until someone picked it as my next read when I finished my previous book. And oh-em-gee was I *glad* to have this book picked! The story is fantastic, with twists and turns everywhere you go, which made it impossible for me to guess where the story was going. It was brilliant.
While I originally thought this was a dystopian novel, I soon realised it’s not – not in the typical sense of a society built after a war/apocalypse at least – but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. The main character, Benson, is a loner, a guy without friends and no real family. He applied for a scholarship at a fancy boarding school, not realising that when he gets there, there’s no getting out. It might sound corny to set the story on a boarding school, but believe me, it’s not. It’s absolutely brilliant. I loved the fact that there were gangs, the plots they schemed and the way everything was organised. And don’t even get me started on the twists Wells throws in there! There was no way I could have seen the ending coming, and boy, did it make me want more.
Benson is a pretty stubborn character, but he’s also rebellious, smart, frustrated and most of all determined to get out of the place. He feels misunderstood, because everyone seems to be okay with being at Maxfield Academy. I loved the fact that he was such a fighter, even though everything worked against him, including the students.
While I was reading Variant, I couldn’t help comparing it to The Maze Runner. It’s like TMR, only in a school. It has a similar vibe, but with more twists and not as predictable – at least, not to me. I pretty much loved everything about it, except I kept wanting more. More twists, more rebellion, more paintball, more pages to the book. It’s very addictive while reading it and honestly, I couldn’t believe it was finished when it was. That ending! Argh.
The sequel will be coming out later this year, and I’ve pre-ordered my copy when I finished Variant. Wells has created a captivating world which will suck you in and have you guessing where you’re going the entire time. And I want more.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.
jenmangler's review against another edition
2.0
The big reveal just made me mad. Really? The idea of this book was intriguing, but it didn't pull it off as well as it should have.
jsc55's review against another edition
4.0
I would give most of this book 3 stars... But the ending bumped it up for me to 4.
reader4evr's review against another edition
4.0
This was the perfect book for book club and I can't wait to discuss this later today!
The whole premiss of the book was intriguing (I actually watched some of the book trailers on YouTube which were kind of creepy).
I have to say I was totally excited that I found a book with a truthful and real boy main character. Sometimes in YA literature, they are jerks and not very nice but Benson was so determined and spoke his mind which was refreshing. I felt bad for his situation in the book but he definately didn't make people feel bad about it when he was meeting the people in the academy.
Speaking of the school, I have to say I would have ran the other way if I found out what was going on when Becky was going on. The whole not having teachers, classes were taught by kids, having random paintball games was so peculiar and had me guessing who was behind everything!
When I got to the climax of the story
At the end of the story there was a HUGE twist which totally made me feel like that guy in those Sprint commericals where he mocks that his brain is exploding!!!
I am interested to see how the next book in the series plays out.
The whole premiss of the book was intriguing (I actually watched some of the book trailers on YouTube which were kind of creepy).
I have to say I was totally excited that I found a book with a truthful and real boy main character. Sometimes in YA literature, they are jerks and not very nice but Benson was so determined and spoke his mind which was refreshing. I felt bad for his situation in the book but he definately didn't make people feel bad about it when he was meeting the people in the academy.
Speaking of the school, I have to say I would have ran the other way if I found out what was going on when Becky was going on. The whole not having teachers, classes were taught by kids, having random paintball games was so peculiar and had me guessing who was behind everything!
When I got to the climax of the story
Spoiler
when Benson found out that Jane was an android I was shocked!! I thought Becky was with the initial conversation that Benson had with her in the beginning but you end up finding out that she really isn't one at the end!!!.At the end of the story there was a HUGE twist which totally made me feel like that guy in those Sprint commericals where he mocks that his brain is exploding!!!
I am interested to see how the next book in the series plays out.
ec_newman's review against another edition
3.0
Read this as a manuscript for a lit scout. 3.5 stars really. When I read it, I wasn't sure if it was a series or standalone because I did not get the ending. Reread it a couple of times. I look forward to continuing the series.
tashaseegmiller's review against another edition
5.0
So I kind of thought I knew what to expect from this book, but I was wrong and I'm so glad. I was sucked in, cared for the characters, was intrigued by the plot and the twists! Some weren't quite as dramatic but the ones that were REALLY were. Delightful read, looking forward to the next.
labrynthofsuns's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
akookieforyou's review against another edition
4.0
If you like the anime/video game Danganronpa, then you might enjoy this book as they have a somewhat similar premise. I thought this novel had some good suspenseful moments, and I was on the edge of my seat through most of it. There's some pretty good plot twists that I didn't see coming. The characters aren't the greatest, but that didn't really bother me. Overall a pretty good story.
magikspells's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a solid ok for me. I didn't hate it but I also didn't really love it. It was interesting and approached some good questions about what we consider human. I just felt like a lot of the characters were forces and unlikeable. And the story was a little flat sometimes. But all in all, a good single day read.