Helpful Score: 6
The best out of the series yet! This story is about Aya, an Extra who has a very famous brother. The city this time is set in Japan. Aya finds what she thinks is a plan to destroy the world, and records everything that she finds, which makes her famous. But in the process, she also draws the attention of Tally, who comes back in this book.
This is the fourth book in the series, and you will need to read the other three in order to understand what is going on. This is another wild ride just like the other books Scott writes. Don't miss out!
This is the fourth book in the series, and you will need to read the other three in order to understand what is going on. This is another wild ride just like the other books Scott writes. Don't miss out!
Helpful Score: 6
This book is very confusing at first because you are like, "Where's Tally." But before you read this book here is some helpful information. Kickers are people who make vidoes on their feeds. Like a newscaster, only they can kick a story about whatever they want. Feeds are like a blog that everyone has. YOu have a face-rank which tells you how popular you are. Extras is a great book and it ties all the odds and ends. I was confused about feeds, and kickers so I thought you might want to know that before you read this book. : )
Helpful Score: 4
First of all, I must confess how much I love this series overall. I find the series to be fast paced, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Tally's story in the first 3 installments really captured my imagination. However, I was just a little disappointed with this installment. My disappointment is really very minor. I think I had expectations about the book that worked against me. I expected that the main character would be from the same part of the world as Tally. I expected that Tally would play a vital role or none at all. Of course, some of my expectations were exceeded. For example, I would expect a futuristic Japan to be extremely technologically advanced and the author had some interesting ideas on that. I really enjoyed that exploration. At the end of the day, here's what I think happened. The "trilogy" was extremely popular and people wanted more. So, the author finally gave in to pressure and expanded the series. He was smart and chose a new character's story to tell and found a way to keep established ideas and people in it as well. Brilliant, really. But, I wanted something either entirely different or very similar to the previous stories. I did not really want a mix of the two, which is what happened. I imagine 99% of the fan base will love that approach, but I was mildly disappointed with it. Oh well. I still liked the book a lot and I love the series enough to recommend it to young adults and not so young adults, as well. I am curious to see how others react to the book and what the author will do next.
Helpful Score: 3
The world is now post Tally and everyone now is expressing their individuality, however one thing remains important to most in Aya's town their rank determined by popularity. Aya is determined to boost her's through her story kicking (equivilant to blogging) to get the way to the top. Through her adventures she discovers a clique that doesn't want to be popular and some weird group who might be aliens who aren't up to any good. Will Aya's desire to become popular destroy new found friendships, and what is up with the weird alien-like forms? Well written. Aya's character is new and refreshing and fits well with the Uglies trilogy.
Helpful Score: 1
The idea for this story had a lot of potential. I must admit I was disappointed when I learned it was 3 years after the Specials book and the characters were all new. Even so, I found myself wound into the story because I liked the world Scott created. The thing with this book was I felt it was summarized instead of indulged in. There was a lot more I hoped would happen. Instead, because so much was crammed into one book, I felt a lot of the characters were cut short. The book was very good, but needed to be spread out and elaborated on for me to really enjoy it. Still worth reading, but the depth doesn't match its predecessors. In the end the book felt like an extended version of its Cliff Notes. The writing was, however, spectacular. I will continue to read his work.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was good, but I did not like it as well as the first three. This one takes place 3 years after the trilogy ending. There is a whole new cast of characters in a new city with different rules of government and society. Tally and company do come into the story about halfway through the book. It is a good read, but not as well done as the trilogy.
I was not as into this book as I was with the other three prior to it. It is interesting as always from a technologic/futuristic/humanistic perspecitive. However, I didn't feel as drawn into it as I was with Tally and the previous three books. If you have liked the previous three, I would read it, but it is not the best in the series.
First Line: "Moggle," Aya whispered. "You awake?"
It is now several years after the massive shift of Specials, the third in Westerfeld's Uglies series. 15-year-old Aya Fuse will do anything to boost her public name recognition, which is essential in the current "recognition economy". Yes...a celebrity-based system has now replaced the boring, brainless cult of Pretties. You have to have a high name rank in order to get any real perks in life. What Asa doesn't know is that the story that she follows is a dangerous one that will have many repercussions.
I have really enjoyed this series. Westerfeld is extremely talented in mining rich themes from today's culture and spinning them into engrossing stories. That said, I think this book is the weakest in the series. There are too many secondary characters, and some of the action is a bit difficult to follow. I do love how Westerfeld's mind works though. Tally Youngblood risked life and limb to change the world, only to have the world shift to this "recognition economy" which is just as shallow as the Pretties cult was. The world Westerfeld envisions is all too close to the world we have today, and that gives me plenty to ponder.
As a reader, I was reading Young Adult books well before the age of twelve, and I jumped straight into adult fiction. One of the things that book blogging has done for me is to make me aware of how much excellent writing is being done in the Young Adult category, and I'm enjoying the time I spend reading it. Westerfeld is now one of my favorite authors, and I'll keep a look-out for any of his future books.
It is now several years after the massive shift of Specials, the third in Westerfeld's Uglies series. 15-year-old Aya Fuse will do anything to boost her public name recognition, which is essential in the current "recognition economy". Yes...a celebrity-based system has now replaced the boring, brainless cult of Pretties. You have to have a high name rank in order to get any real perks in life. What Asa doesn't know is that the story that she follows is a dangerous one that will have many repercussions.
I have really enjoyed this series. Westerfeld is extremely talented in mining rich themes from today's culture and spinning them into engrossing stories. That said, I think this book is the weakest in the series. There are too many secondary characters, and some of the action is a bit difficult to follow. I do love how Westerfeld's mind works though. Tally Youngblood risked life and limb to change the world, only to have the world shift to this "recognition economy" which is just as shallow as the Pretties cult was. The world Westerfeld envisions is all too close to the world we have today, and that gives me plenty to ponder.
As a reader, I was reading Young Adult books well before the age of twelve, and I jumped straight into adult fiction. One of the things that book blogging has done for me is to make me aware of how much excellent writing is being done in the Young Adult category, and I'm enjoying the time I spend reading it. Westerfeld is now one of my favorite authors, and I'll keep a look-out for any of his future books.
Loves this entire series!
After reading Specials (bk 3) I did not have high hopes for this book. However, it was actually a great read and a great ending to the Ulgies series.
I have to say this was my favorite book in the Uglies series. I loved how Scott Westerfield started out with a completely different character and then she met up with Tally! I really loved Frizz's radical honesty and thought that it was a great concept. Overall totally worth reading the entire series.
This book is a great continuation of the Pretties series. I personally like every book in the series and now my daughter is reading them all too! She too is loving them!!! I like the sci-fi aspect, the psychology of the premise of the book and all of the action!
Great book for teens through adult!
Great book for teens through adult!
I was having a hard time understanding why this book was written because of the last book being so terrible an ending as it did.
In this book we are introduced to a new character who is an ugly named Aya. She lives in a Japanese community that is all about face ranks and being famous. She wants to be in the top 1000 faces like her brother. She goes out to record stories and "kicks" them in hopes her rank goes up.
Then she meets a group of girls who hate fame. They want to stay in the background. She also meets a famous guy who seems to like her ugly face. While seeking to kick a new story, she is in for a grand adventure she did not expect.
The story did get interesting and did end the series quite well. My initial confusion faded away but I do have questions about a few things that don't add up well.
In this book we are introduced to a new character who is an ugly named Aya. She lives in a Japanese community that is all about face ranks and being famous. She wants to be in the top 1000 faces like her brother. She goes out to record stories and "kicks" them in hopes her rank goes up.
Then she meets a group of girls who hate fame. They want to stay in the background. She also meets a famous guy who seems to like her ugly face. While seeking to kick a new story, she is in for a grand adventure she did not expect.
The story did get interesting and did end the series quite well. My initial confusion faded away but I do have questions about a few things that don't add up well.
Extras takes place a few years after Specials in Japan, so it takes awhile to get the connection to the rest of the series. In this world people are valued based on the number of people who follow stories they "kick" and the number of people following them. I thought it was relevant to current events and the number of people who post outrageous things online for attention. From the beginning, my issue with this series has been that the characters are not likable. Aya is so focused on popularity that she has no concern over lying to and betraying friends. I understand she's a product of her dystopian society, but it's difficult for the reader to feel sympathetic.
A very popular series with the middle school girls!
