Category: Science Fiction
Extras by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
A few years after rebel Tally Youngblood takes down the Specials regime, a cultural renaissance sweeps the world. “Tech-heads” flaunt their latest gadgets, “kickers” spread gossip and trends, and “surge monkeys” are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. Popularity rules, and everyone craves fame.
Fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse is no exception. But Aya’s face rank is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance at stardom is to kick a wild and unexpected story.
Then she stumbles upon a big secret. Aya knows she is on the cusp of celebrity. But the information she is about to disclose will change both her fate…and that of a brave new world.
If you’ve read the first three books in the Uglies trilogy (which was turned into a series with the release of this book), you will get so much more enjoyment out of Extras. You’ll be able to see just how different Tally’s world has become and yet how much it is like our own world. In Aya’s world, popularity rules. The more popular you are, the more credits you get and the better your life is. But anyone who is not popular—which is most of the population—is an extra, a nobody. Does this remind anyone of high school?
What really stands out in Extras (for me at least) is the explosion of new technologies since Specials. Since practically no one over 16 is a bubblehead anymore, intelligence has been allowed to flourish and Scott Westerfeld describes the new advances in spectacular detail. With all of that new technology and freedom, “surges”—or surgeries—have also become popular, especially the extreme kind. It is a credit to Scott Westerfeld’s world-building abilities that he includes all kinds of people who change their bodies to create their idea of ‘true beauty.’ I find it fascinating what people choose to look like in Aya’s world since they are allowed to change themselves into whoever they want.
As usual, Scott Westerfled’s characterization is spot-on. Many readers will sympathize with Aya because she is the voice of teenage insecurity. Surrounded by beautiful people and being nothing more than an unimportant, faceless extra has really taken its toll on her. As a result, many teenagers will sympathize with her insecurities and will cheer her on as the plot speeds along.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Crashed by Robin Wasserman
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Before the accident, Lia Kahn was a lot of things: happy, loved…human. Alive. Now, six months after the crash that killed her, six months after being reborn, Lia has finally accepted her new reality. She is a machine, a mech, and she belongs with her own kind. It’s a wild, carefree life, without rules and without fear. Because there’s nothing to fear when you have nothing left to lose.
But when a voice from her past cries out for revenge, everything changes. Lia is forced to choose between her old life and her new one. Between humans and mechs. Between sacrificing the girl she used to be and saving the boy she used to love.
Even if it means he’ll hate her forever.
Robin Wasserman is an amazing writer, yet I did not like Crashed as much as I liked Skinned. I’m not entirely sure why, though. The characters develop more, the plot is a bit more interesting and we learn a lot more about Lia’s world. Yet it somehow fell flat for me, which is probably my own fault for having unrealistic expectations after reading Skinned.
Lia has changed a lot since the first book, no doubt about that. She and the other mechs live on the fringes of society, far away from the privileged life she once took for granted. Lia is still selfish, but readers will empathize with her throughout the novel because her selfishness is tempered by an acceptance of what she has become. Yes, she finally realizes she is not and never will be human again and Robin Wasserman does an excellent job of bringing us close to an inhuman character.
What I like about Crashed is that we learn a lot more about characters’ lives before they were mechs as well as how mechs were invented. Jude has a very interesting backstory, which is why I’m glad we see more of him in this book. As for Auden, let’s say that he takes a very interesting turn that was not entirely unexpected.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of Regular Rumination.)
Tally thought they were a rumor, but now she’s one of them. A Special. A super-amped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.
But maybe being perfectly programmed with strength and focus isn’t better than anything she’s ever known. Tally still has memories of something else.
But it’s easy for her to tune them out—until she’s offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heart-beat, or carry out the mission she’s programmed to complete. Either way, Tally’s world will never be the same.
For all of Scott Westerfeld’s amazing writing talent, I did not enjoy Specials nearly as much as I enjoyed Uglies or Pretties. It was not because it lacked plot—it actually had an excellent plot—but I found that I really could not relate to Tally anymore. I related to her as an unsure ugly and an airheaded pretty, but I could not relate to her as a cruel special. True, her mind has been altered along with her body to become more predatory, but practically nothing of the old Tally remains. Despite all of her faults, I understood and empathized with the old Tally.
Aside from Tally’s completely 180, Specials is not a bad book. The plot zips right along at a consistently quick rate and the stakes are higher than ever before. Tally has to make incredibly difficult, life-changing decisions as she tries to fight the new lesions that control her mind. Friends turn into enemies and the walls of deceit that were built up through the centuries begin to crumble in the last book in the Uglies trilogy.
If you have read the other two books, then you will likely enjoy Specials. It’s exciting and Tally does great things, but there is also a lot of tragedy, especially near the end. I actually liked the ending and it leaves a lot of room for readers’ imaginations to take flight without completely leaving them hanging.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
(Cover picture courtesy of That’s 2 For The Books.)
On 12 October 1979 the most remarkable book ever to come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor (and Earth) was made available to humanity – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
It’s an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards, to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. And his best friend just announced that he’s an alien. At this moment, they’re hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed with the big, friendly words: DON’T PANIC.
The weekend has only just begun…
At first, I hated this book. But then about halfway through, I finally caught on to Douglas Adams’ fantastic sense of humour. Yes, I’m ashamed it took me that long to catch on, but now I can honestly say The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is unlike any other book I have read before. It’s ironic, witty and it subtly pokes fun at a lot of science fiction clichés.
Aside from being laugh-out-loud funny in spots, the plot moves along quite nicely. The book is only a little over 100 pages, yet more happens in those 100 pages than in the over 700 pages of Brisingr. Douglas Adams’ easy to read, pared down style is a truly refreshing break from the exhausting descriptions of most sci-fi/fantasy novels. His dialogue is also what sets him apart; I read it aloud and it actually sounded how real people speak.
Of course my favourite part of the novel was the unforgettable characters. Ford Perfect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Slartibartifast and many others are very memorable and will never truly leave you. They’re quirky, unique and, at times, utterly hilarious, which is what makes them stand out so much. The characters are just one of the many reasons to read this great novel.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot and she’s completely popular. It’s everything she’s ever wanted.
But beneath all the fun—the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom—is a nagging sense that something’s wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally’s ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what’s wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.
Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life—because the au authorities don’t intend to let anyone with this information survive.
When I first read Pretties, I was infuriated by all the slang the pretties used. But on a second read through, I realized that it demonstrates Tally’s drastic transformation from who she was in Uglies. The slang also shows how vapid pretties are and how much the surgery really affects their minds, instead of only their bodies.
Pretties follows Tally and her new boyfriend Zane as they try to defeat the brain lesions that impair their judgment, coordination and memory. They try all manner of things to stay ‘bubbly’ and it seems like the two pills from Tally’s fugitive friends in the New Smoke are working. But tensions rise as Tally pushes away her old friend Shay and the authorities start to catch on to what Zane and Tally are up to. Tally makes some hard decisions and old friends turn into enemies in the second book of the Uglies trilogy.
I read this book when I was twelve and it really struck a chord with me. Everyone at school was telling me I was ugly (either directly or indirectly) and Pretties gave me a bit more confidence in myself, if only for a short while. It taught me that being pretty isn’t everything and that the pursuit of perfection often leads to ruin. That’s why I recommend this book for tweens and younger teens, especially those with self-esteem problems. Scott Westerfeld deserves to be among the YA greats and the unflinching way he confronts self-esteem issues is inspiring.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.