Variant

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.

Ok, so partly I read this because the main character's name is Benson and my son is named Benson and that fact just made me happy because it's not that common of a name. :D

Anyway, I really wish that I had read this book before The Maze Runner. They are so similar that this book feels after-the-fact, even though I think that I liked this book better than The Maze Runner. The Maze Runner has all that weird made-up swearing and I never loved the character development. Yeah, plus I hated the sequels. Ok. My hate is mostly for the third book. Both of these series are, I still think, perfect for middle school, high school-age reluctant boy readers. They are gripping.

Anyway, Variant is very well-written and I thought the plot was nicely paced. I liked seeing how things unfolded. It's very tense and suspenseful, and WOW. Let me say that again. WOW. Was there ever a big surprise in there. Such a big twist that I so was not expecting. I think Robinson Wells has a fabulously creative brain and I'll be looking forward to reading the sequel.