Variant

Starred review from August 22, 2011
In a chilling, masterful debut, Wells gives the classic YA boarding school setting a Maze Runner twist, creating an academy of imprisoned teenagers who must fight to survive when the rules change daily, and the punishment for breaking those rules is death. Seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher, tired of foster homes, applies for a scholarship to Maxfield Academy in New Mexico, hoping for a fresh start. Instead, he is trapped with roughly 70 other teens divided into three factions, with no teachers, no real classes, and no chance of escape at a school overseen by the mysterious and sinister "Iceman," who doles out punishments and awards points. Though Wells doesn't provide much detail about Benson's past, his honesty and determination to escape make him a compelling protagonist, and it's easy to get drawn into his fellow students' plights as well. There are plenty of "didn't see that coming" moments and no shortage of action or violence. With its clever premise, quick pace, and easy-to-champion characters, Wells's story is a fast, gripping read with a cliffhanger that will leave readers wanting more. Ages 13âup.

January 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-Desperately seeking to escape from an abominable living situation, foster-kid Benson Fisher applies and is accepted to the elite Maxfield Academy, a boarding school in the remote wilderness of New Mexico. However, before he even sets foot on campus, he senses that something is awry. The school is surrounded by a massive brick wall and razor-wire fence and there are no teachers; video cameras monitor the students' every move; and serious infractions (attempting to escape, having sex, and violent fighting) are punishable by death. To avoid devolving into anarchy, students are divided into three gangs, and peace hangs by a tenuous thread. Unwilling to bend to the draconian will of his captors, Benson intently devises ways to escape. Adding a touch of lightness is the tender romance that he develops with a fellow student, Jane. When he stumbles upon an unimaginable secret about her that hints at the academy's true intentions, Benson knows that he must find a way out quickly, or die trying. The boy's desire to be a normal teenager, as well as his tenacious fight for survival, will resonate with readers. Variant ends with a nail-biting cliff-hanger that will have them clamoring for the next installment. In addition to being filled with heart-racing action and suspense, the novel raises thought-provoking questions about morality and social order. This is an impressive debut with wide appeal, especially for fans of Alexander Gordon Smith's Lockdown (Farrar, 2009) and James Dashner's Maze Runner (Delacorte, 2009)-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011

Wells introduces Benson Fisher, a teen in search of a "real" life instead of a long series of unwanted foster homes--but instead of the utopia he's searching for, he finds the direct opposite.

Benson thinks he's found the perfect school in Maxfield Academy, a private school in the wilds of New Mexico. Winning a scholarship with unexpected ease, he looks forward to establishing real friendships and getting a good education at last. What he finds, however, is far from normal. Within minutes of the front doors closing--and locking--behind him, he finds himself in a fight for his life. He joins a gang, the Variants, just to survive. With no adults on campus, classes are taught by fellow students, punishments are passed on by computer and nothing seems to follow a logical path. Benson decides it's time to make a run for it, until he finds out that no one makes it out of Maxfield...not alive, at any rate. Benson's account unfolds in a speedy, unadorned first person, doling information out to readers as he learns it himself.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 15, 2011

Wells introduces Benson Fisher, a teen in search of a "real" life instead of a long series of unwanted foster homes--but instead of the utopia he's searching for, he finds the direct opposite.

Benson thinks he's found the perfect school in Maxfield Academy, a private school in the wilds of New Mexico. Winning a scholarship with unexpected ease, he looks forward to establishing real friendships and getting a good education at last. What he finds, however, is far from normal. Within minutes of the front doors closing--and locking--behind him, he finds himself in a fight for his life. He joins a gang, the Variants, just to survive. With no adults on campus, classes are taught by fellow students, punishments are passed on by computer and nothing seems to follow a logical path. Benson decides it's time to make a run for it, until he finds out that no one makes it out of Maxfield...not alive, at any rate. Benson's account unfolds in a speedy, unadorned first person, doling information out to readers as he learns it himself.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2011
Grades 8-11 Lots of YA novels begin with a character arriving at a new boarding school, but it is safe to say there has never been a boarding school like this. Perennial foster kid Benson arrives at Maxfield Academy armed with an unexpected scholarship and some cautious optimism, but within minutes of arriving he realizes something is terribly wrong. There are no adults. There are towering walls topped with barbed wire. Messages are sent by computer to instruct the teens in both academic pursuits and paintball war games. Most immediately worrisome is that the student body has split itself into three warring factions: the Society (tasked with keeping order), Havoc (food preparation as well as serious attitude), and the V's (whose chief shared trait is a desire to escape). This is good old-fashioned paranoia taken to giddy extremes, especially when a totally implausiblebut nonetheless enjoyably insanetwist upends the plot in the final act. Take Veronica Roth's Divergent (2011), strip out the angst, add a Michael Grantlevel storytelling pace, and you have this very satisfying series starter.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
Benson's new boarding school is...unusual. There are no adults; student gangs teach, cook, clean, etc., under the gaze of security cameras. And students can't leave, unless they're given "detention" (i.e., killed). When Benson discovers another of the school's menacing secrets, he knows he must escape. Readers won't be able to break away from this tense (and exceedingly violent) sci-fi thriller.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)