Review of: Specials

Author: Scott Westerfeld
ISBN: 9780689865404
Pages: 384
Published by: Simon Pulse (April, 2006)
Genre(s): Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Grade: B
Challenge(s): 100+ Reading Challenge - Read 'n Review '09 - Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge - 2009 Young Adult Book Challenge


Specials is book #3 in a 4 book series (#1 Uglies, #2 Pretties & #4 Extras). In Specials Tally, Shay, Fausto and others from the Crims clique have been made into Specials. But not just any Special, this group is called Cutters. All Specials have what is described as 'cruel beauty'. Tally is described this way in the first chapter "...all those operations had filled her with icy new muscles and reflexes tweaked to snakelike speed." Some of the things those operations gave to Tally, Shay and the other Cutters: bones made of aircraft ceramics and muscles sheathed with self-repairing monofiliments, flash tattoos and razor-sharp teeth and finger nails. They particular group are called Cutters because they do just that. In order to feel anything, they cut themselves.

Tally (especially) seems to only feel comfortable 'in her own skin' when she is a position to feel superior to someone or a group of people. Anyone who is Ugly or just not Special seems to make her almost physically sick, especially her sometime boyfriend Zane whose brain was damaged due to taking meds he wasn't supposed to take.

Well, I don't want to give away the whole book! I worried about issue of cutting in the book, but the way that Tally relates to cutting changes throughout the book and I like that. I hope the young people that read this realize that cutting is a wrong and dangerous way to deal with their feelings. Tally has a lot to deal with in Specials. A lot goes right and very wrong for her. She has to learn to deal with it all in the right ways; she accomplishes this in my opinion.

I've become a little ambivalent to the characters in this series. I think I will read Extras at some point; just not anytime soon.

Special Circumstances

The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary.

And now she's been turned into one of them: a super-amped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.

The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more.

Still, it's easy to tune that out -- until Tally'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 heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.

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Review of: Pretties

Author: Scott Westerfeld
ISBN: 9780689865398
Pages: 384
Published by: Simon Pulse (November, 2005)
Genre(s): Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Grade: B
Challenge(s): 100+ Reading Challenge - Read 'n Review '09 - Scott Westerfeld Mini-Challenge - 2009 Young Adult Book Challenge


Pretties is the second in a four books series (#1 Uglies, #3 Specials, #4 Extras) by author Scott Westerfeld. As I stated in my review of Uglies, I became aware of this series through my oldest daughter. Pretties picks up a few months after Uglies ends. Tally is now pretty and living/partying in New Pretty Town. Other than that it almost felt like I was reading Uglies again. However, I found myself zipping right through this one (and the next) in just a few days. Again, I had to know what happened to Tally, Shay and the rest. Not sure what that says about me...

My review of Specials will be more in-depth. Quite frankly, I am writing this about 3 months after I read Pretties. I'm going to skip through Specials and re-read some of the chapters to refresh my memory.

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 authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.

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Review of: A Wrinkle in Time (sort of)

Author: Madeleine L'Engle
ISBN: 9780440498056
Pages: 256
Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy Fiction
Grade: A
Start date: 11-20-08
End date: 11-24-08
Challenge(s): (Genre Challenge) Fantasy



I don't feel like I need to review A Wrinkle in Time. So many have already read it, so many will read (and reread) it. I will say that I enjoyed it more now than when I was 9 or 10 when I first read it. I have the next 3 in the series and will read them at some point. =) I will also continue to look for An Acceptable Time, which is the 5th book.

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Review of: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfeld
ISBN: 9780689865381
Pages: 425
Genre(s): fantasy, sci-fi, YA
Grade: B+
Start date: 11-7-08
End date: 11-10-08
Challenge(s): (1) genre - sci-fi



I originally became aware of this series (Uglies, Pretties, Specials & Extras) because of my daughter. She was 12 at the time and a little young for the books, I thought. Now that I have finally read the start of the series, I think that belief was unfounded. When I hear that a book is categorized as Young Adult I automatically think 14+.

SV, my 14 (almost 15) year old read the first three in the series this past summer. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Tally, Shay David, Croy and all the rest. Their world is our world... 300 or so years later. The "ruins" are our cities - crumbled, burned, destroyed. There is a definite message to us, now, in Uglies. We need to stop living like "What I do doesn't matter to anyone but me".

As far as the "operation" that everyone has when they turn 16 (everyone except those that have conviction enough to runaway) that scares me. There is already a belief in this country that it's okay to give your children plastic surgery for a high school graduation gift or even a 16th birthday present. I won't go on about how wrong I think this is.

There is a total cliffhanger ending to Uglies. I am finding it hard to NOT pick up Pretties which is now sitting in my bookcase since I thieved it from my 14 year old daughter's bookcase. =)

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