Variant (ARC)

Here I am with another ARC review from Around the World ARC tours (link at the end of the post). This time it's Variant by Robinson Wells. 
Summary: Benson Fisher thought 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.

This book looked a lot like Dark Eden (read my review) with a few plot twists. I enjoyed Dark Eden but found it not very memorable and definitely nothing special. But this book's summary has everything I love -- kids killing kids like in The Hunger Games (yes, I am gruesome, thanks for noticing) and people being kidnapped. For me that equals plot gold.

The book starts with our hero, Benson, very hopeful about Maxfield Academy, but after ten minutes there, he can't wait to escape! Everyone but his "gang", The V's (Variants) are either complete losers who deserve their fate at the school or a group of students who've been corrupted by the school and almost want to stay at Maxfield.  I was a little disappointed by that setup, the V's can still be the best group but all the other groups don't have to be complete losers. 

I really liked the character of Benson and all the V's. Benson was one of the few who knew what had to happen. He was a natural leader, and I enjoyed reading about him a lot. He makes the book worth reading. 

The writing style was really fast-paced and exciting. This book never has a dull moment! He knows just the right moment to let us find out a secret and just the right moment to leave us with a cliffhanger, pure brilliance!

This book will scare you. This book will sometimes make you laugh. This book will never bore you. This book will make you want more!
5/5
Cover Comments: I like the mix of blue and black and how they're just one light spot on the whole thing (light spot being the red on the girl's sweater) but I think it would be cool if the "TRUST NO ONE" was underneath the title instead.



This book is out October 4th, preorder it on Amazon.

Teaser Tuesday 9/5

Teaser Tuesday is weekly meme hosted by Mizb at Should be Reading

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” lines from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away, you don't want to spoil the book for others! 

And this week's Teaser is from:

Variant (ARCS) by Robinson Wells

And the teasers are:

1. "Yeah," I said, returning the handshake, even though it felt awkward. Teenagers aren't supposed to shake hands. Maybe that was a private school thing, too. Her dad was probably some rich businessman. 

2. It looked like the schools I'd seen on TV, where rich kids go and they all have thier own BMWs and Mercedes. All this place was missing was the ivy on the stone walls, but that was probably hard to grow in a desert.