Extras by Scott Westerfeld

I had read the original trilogy to this series, this book, just like its title is an extra. And while it incorporates the world and some of the characters from the originals it is also vastly different from them as well. I won't go as far to say that its as good as the others, but it still isn't bad.

Aya is virtually a nobody. Its been three years since Tally Youngblood set the world free of its mind constraints and since then, everything has boomed; population, popularity, body modifications, anything. In Aya's city especially people are now ranked by their popularity, and the more popular you are, the better benefits you have. And there are many ways of becoming popular. You can be beautiful, be especially good with tech gadgets, or uncover interesting stories. Aya is the last sort, she's stumbled on to a very big secret. But as a result she may now be in danger, and only one person may be able to help her. But Tally hasn't been seen in quite a long time.

Aya is kind of annoying. I tried to like her, I really did. But it was just so hard to. I think it was mostly because she didn't really value herself without other people valuing her. Fame was everything, and while characters can grow, I just don't feel that she really did. Even her brother was more enjoyable to read about than her. I also found her love interest kind of boring despite his weird modifications. Tally, as always was interesting, but she seemed to veer a bit from her personality in the other books.

I didn't find this one as compelling as the original series. While it was nice to see what happened to Tally's world, the plot flew by so fast and the second half didn't flow as well. Things just kept changing without really making too much sense. I did like the innovations with the network and popularity standings though. Its like social media on speed and I can definitely see something like that happening in the future. To an extent it already does a little bit. Westerfeld also uses some unique language in this book. He's developed his own sort of slang for this world and it really works and is believable linguistically.

Not as good as the others but still a worthy read. I kind of hope he comes out with another one.

Extras
Copyright 2007
417 pages

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Specials is the third (but not final) book of the Uglies Trilogy. If you haven't read the first two books, I'd steer clear of this review (could contain spoilers) and start off with the first book, Uglies. For the series to make sense, they have to be read in order.

Tally has been quite a few things in her life already; ugly, rebel, pretty, and now she's become a special. An elite group, Tally is even better than that, she's a special special. She and a few others are a team that can practically do anything all in the name of maintaining order. With New Smoke growing larger every day and causing trouble, maintaining order isn't as easy as it used to be though. They've developed a cure for the brainlessness that affects all the pretties and as its dispersed, more control is being lost in the city. Tally, with her icy emotions running through her veins is beginning to be affected by some of these rebels though, and she doesn't know what side is the right one to be on.

Tally is a bit wearisome in this book. It seems like things are always happening that are her fault, but she can never control and the theme is growing old. Just once I would have liked to see something go her way without it being chance. For being a hero, she rarely actually makes an impact intentionally. All the other characters are somewhat shadows of themselves as well. Poor Shay, as said in other reviews, I can't help but feel sorry for her character, she never seems to win at life. The rest of the characters were somewhat minor and not described as much as they are in previous books.

This book saw the themes a little more mature than the previous two. Self mutilation in the form of cutting is mentioned several times and I can see some people having trouble reading those parts. Otherwise, this is still a book for young adults and there isn't strong language. But there is a lot of anger. The best thing about Westerfeld's writing is that linguistically, he is very creative. He makes a different speech for all these types of people and I find it fascinating. While this book wasn't as good as the first one, it still was a pretty good ending to the series.

I enjoyed the series and may have to check out the spinoff Extras. Seems like if it keeps the pace of these books it should be pretty good.

Specials
Copyright 2006
372 pages

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties is the 2nd book in Westerfeld's dystopian trilogy. I highly recommend reading the first book before this one, or even reading this review. Plotlines could be revealed.

Tally has been changed into a Prettie after going back to civilization in the guise of wanting to turn herself in. She and her friend Shay are just like any other pretties now; they love to party and think of the next things to do for fun. But something never settles quite right for Tally. She feels like there's something she's missing. When a New Smoke representative manages to talk to her it makes those questions even larger. She finds a secret and things start changing at a rapid rate, and she starts remembering and thinking again.

Westerfeld creates some great characters. They are very engaging and realistic. Even Tally, though she has her flaws, just seems to be a real person, albeit in a future very different than any you can imagine. I liked the addition of Zane too. I thought he was interesting and made a good partner for Tally. Shay on the other hand I wasn't sure what to think about in this book. I still feel very sorry for her as she seems to get the short end of the stick every time. I was disappointed to see that the characters of Smoke barely got to make any appearances in this book. Most of the time everyone was in New Pretty town so there wasn't a chance for them to have a lot of book time.

This book wasn't as well done as the first. The pacing wasn't as good and was slower moving. The amount of time spent on the parties was just excruciating at times. I understand it was to show the culture, but it was still a little much for those of us readers who aren't "pretties". This is a young adult book and as such lacks strong language or themes, although sex is mentioned, just not described. Probably the most interesting part of the writing is the lexicon that was developed for pretty speak. It cutesified everything and was very inventive.

I did like the book, I just didn't think it was as good as the first. I am looking forward to the next one though and can't wait to read it.

Pretties
Copyright 2005
370 pages

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

I'd been eagerly waiting to read this book and when I finally found a copy, I couldn't wait to get into it. I love dystopian novels and this one fit the bill perfectly. It had all the great components; characters, premise, plotline. Definitely a good book to read.

Tally is an Ugly eagerly looking forward to her 16th birthday when she will be able to have the surgery that makes her a pretty. You see, new pretties get to have all the fun, and well, they aren't ugly. There's no reason to not look forward to that time. At least for most people. Tally's friend Shay has decided instead to run off to a secret place where no one has the surgery. Tally doesn't understand why Shay would want to do something like that, but when the government forces Tally to go look for her friend or not receive her surgery, she is taken to a world where things are not always what they seem. Tally isn't sure whether spying is the right thing to do at all.

Tally isn't wishy washy like some characters can be. Sure she changes her opinion a bit but its done in a very believable way. She has a lot of growth in the novel and while she has superficial tendencies, she's a good person. Shay on the other hand I think gets all the bad luck. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her throughout the whole novel. It was interesting to see the comparison between the "uglies" and the "pretties." Something very different is there and its fascinating to read about.

For a plot I think this one had a really good premise. The book starts out a bit slow in the beginning but you're quickly enveloped in the storyline, and if you're like me, can't set the book down. Westerfeld has also done a great job of incorporating new language and slang for the time his book is held in. The little nuances make everything believable and he treats the new technology like something that's been around forever; which in the character's eyes, it has. Since this book was written for young adults, there isn't strong language or heavy adult themes, but it is still not a book I picture a younger child being able to read just because the writing is more sophisticated.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series. An extra trip to the bookstore is in store for me I believe.

Uglies
Copyright 2005
425 pages