It's a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is in a complete cultural renaissance. "Tech-heads" flaunt their latest gadgets, "kickers" spread gossip and trends, and "surge monkeys" are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it's all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of American Idol. Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.As if being fifteen doesn't suck enough, Aya Fuse's rank of 451,369 is so low, she's a total nobody. An extra. But Aya doesn't care; she just wants to lie low with her drone, Moggle. And maybe kick a good story for herself. Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secretive of it. Aya wants desperately to kick their story, to show everyone how intensely cool the Sly Girls are. But doing so would propel her out of extra-land and into the world of fame, celebrity...and extreme danger. A world she's not prepared for.
Extras is the fourth book in the Uglies Trilogy (yes, that's right, the 4th book in the trilogy).
It's been a while since I read the first three Uglies books (which I thought were fantastic) and in this case I think that that's a good thing. Because Tally wasn't so fresh in my mind it was easier to cope with the fact that she's not the protagonist of this installment (that and having been given a heads-up before I started the book).
It seems like Westerfeld was planning to end with book three, but was pressured to continue the series because of its success. Extras is much different than the first three. It does continue in the same vein and Tally and the cutters do figure into the story, but it is set on a different continent, years later. Extras also brings the storyline to a satisfactory conclusion so it'll be interesting to see whether he comes out with another book.
Anyway, I did like Aya - at times she was a bit too insistent on the importance of her "kicking", but I'm sure that's because she's a product of her city. I also really liked the character of Frizz. So I guess what I'm saying is that I would not be adverse to another book that continues their story.
I was a bit disappointed by Extras, especially because Tally wasn't really there, I got used to her. But I liked Extras, not just as much as the three first, and indeed if it were to be a fifth book,I'd read it too;o)But maybe it would be too much, as we say, good things always have an end, and sometimes the sooner the better...
ReplyDeleteI really want to get Extras, I liked the first three very much! Much more than I expected to even.
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