Extras (Uglies) | Scott Westerfeld

Extras (Uglies) | Scott Westerfeld | Love it1

books:

Extras (Uglies)

	Extras (Uglies) Scott Westerfeld Simon Pulse, 2007 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 53 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Fame does matter

Extras is the fourth book in Scott Westerfeld's critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series (originally it was a trilogy). The first three books Uglies, Pretties, and Specials follow Tally Youngblood, a fifteen-year-old girl living in a futuristic world so dominated by plastic surgery that anyone who looks normal is ugly. Extras is set three years after the events of the trilogy unfold, in a different city, with different main characters. The trilogy, however, sets the framework for everything that happens in Extras so while the book is great on its own it definitely assumes you know the story of the trilogy.

In this new world, where everything is changing, being pretty isn't enough to get by. Now it's fame that matters. The more famous you are, the higher your face rank is. A higher rank means more currency in a world where celebrity is everything.

Everyone is trying to get more attention somehow: "tech-heads" are obsessed with gadgets, "surge monkeys" are hooked on the newest trends in plastic surgery, and "kickers" use feeds (think blogs but techier and cooler because it's a Westerfeld idea) to spread the word on all the gossip and trends worth mentioning. But staying famous is a lot easier than getting famous. Just ask Aya Fuse. Fifteen-year-old Aya has had her own feed for a year, but her rank is still 451,369--so low that she's a definite nobody, someone her city calls an extra.

Aya has a plan to up her rank though. All she needs is a really big story to kick. Aya finds the perfect story when she meets the Sly Girls, a clique pulling crazy tricks in utter obscurity. As Aya follows her story she realizes it's much bigger than one clique: maybe the biggest story since Tally Youngblood changed everything.

Some sequels that bring in all new characters are annoying. Not this one. All of the "new" characters are original and, equally important, likable. The story is also utterly original covering very different territory than the rest of the series. It doesn't pick up right where the trilogy left off, but a lot of questions are answered by the end of this book.

Like the other books in the series, this one moves fast. The story has a lot of action and several twists and surprises (some old characters even turn up). The plot is never overly-confusing though. Westerfeld does a great job of creating (and explaining) the futuristic world he has created in these pages so that it truly comes to life on the page.

At the same time, Extras is a very timely book. In a world where everyone seems to have some kind of website and is trying to be more popular or more famous, it's fascinating to read about a city where everything literally depends on your reputation. Westerfeld raises a lot of interesting questions as Aya deals with the ethics of kicking her new story and tries to decide if honesty really is more important than fame.

for more information click here

Love it1

I loved Extras! It kept me guessing throughout the entire book, and it was always very exciting. If you loved the Uglies trilogy, I reccommend reading Extras. It was alos interesting to see Tally portrayed from somenoe else's view, unlike in the Uglies trilogy.

Trilogy has a whole new meaning

Extras is the FOURTH book in the Uglies trilogy, or rather series. The story takes place in Japan a few years after the Diego War (Specials). The world has surfaced from Prettytime and has adopted the fame system. The more you are known, the better you live. Citizens do anything to get noticed. Aya Fuse is a total nobody, her face rank is just emabarrising (totally unkicking) until she finds a story that could change everything. If she could kick the story, she'd go from nobody to 'the somebody' and all would be well, right? Of course not, Aya discovers there is a little more to this story than first met the eye. Forget fame, the world could be in danger...
Extras is the next mind-blowing installment by Scott Westerfeld filled with all the lingo and humor all Uglies readers have grown to love.

for more information click here

A not-needed followup to Specials

Extras is a book true to its title. I am disappointed to admit that the book was really NOT needed. The Ugly/Pretty/Specials trilogy would have been much better off without the book Extras.

What I loved about Specials was how it left me thinking about what could happen next to Tally. It left some room for fun imagination. Instead Scott Westerfeld had to write another book that took all the fun out of guessing! The main character in this plot was also too much like the ugly Tally - always ready to betray her friends to get herself what she wanted. In Aya Fuse's case, it's fame. And the whole theme of fame and popularity is too cliche! If you're going to write a fourth book, why not make it original?

The only reason this book got at least a three star from me is how interesting it was to see Tally from another person's POV. All in all, the characters were too predictable and plain and the story just too long. I had barely enough motivation to get through to the end. A bad NOT NEEDED fourth book to what was before a brilliant trilogy...

for more information click here