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Extras The Uglies Scott Westerfeld Rodrigo Corral 9781416951179 Books

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Extras The Uglies Scott Westerfeld Rodrigo Corral 9781416951179 Books

I love reading Young Adult Fiction and after seeing this book as a recommendation from other books I've enjoyed, I jumped right in. The plot and characters seemed intriguing, but the book started off very slow. I thought it would pick up but it never did. I just couldn't finish it, I felt like this was too Young adult for me. I couldn't get past the easy read, words like "Uglies,Pretties & Littlies" and I felt no no real suspense or development. Overall I think I just felt too old to read it or enjoy it. This is a very young read.


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Extras The Uglies Scott Westerfeld Rodrigo Corral 9781416951179 Books Reviews

My favorite thing about dystopian fiction is their ability to give me a different perspective on our world, culture, and society. Dystopian novels push me to really consider the world that we live in and see a little bit of our reality in the dystopian world, to see the potential for what our world could become. Uglies is one of those novels... one that made me really think about some fundamental issues that are present in our own culture.

Every dystopian world is a the result of a utopian effort to eliminate those things considered to be detrimental to society. For the world of Uglies, that is nonconformity and extremes. Set about three hundered years in the future, the world is otherworldly high-tech and the government provides everything to its people, even the extreme cosmetic surgery that is a major part of it's culture. At 16, each person receives cosmetic surgery that transforms them from an "ugly" to a "pretty." Prior to surgery, each person can choose what their future self will look like within the governmentally mandated standards of beauty. The lines between ugly and pretty are not just visual, but physical as well. Once transformed, new pretties cross the river to live in beautiful condominiums where, for the time being, their only job is to be beautiful and to have fun. Later, they will have other operations in conjunctiuon with the passage of time. Eventually they will have surgery to turn them into "Middle Pretties," those who are adults with jobs. And later they move on to become "Crumblies," our senior citizens.

Tally Youngblood is the protagonist, about to turn 16 and looking forward toi her operation. Her best friend Peris has already had his operation and she is feeling the strain that comes between Pretties and Uglies. Shortly before she has her operation, she meets Shay, another Ugly. They become fast friends, hoverboarding and pulling the pranks that are a part of Ugly tradition. Shay is different from anyone she has ever known, balking against the surgery. Tally ignores that, but is forced to deal with it when Shay runs away just before their shared birthday. When she goes, she leaves Tally a note with cryptic directions that she doesn't initially understand. On the morning of her surgery, Tally is taken instead to Special Circumstances... a paramilitary division of the government that enforces the rules. There she is given an ulitmatum to give up Shay or never get her surgery to become a Pretty. This is the motivation behind the plot of the novel as Tally discovers things about herself, about her friends, about the world, and about her own feelings.

This is a character-driven novel with important themes to consider. The concept of identity is a big part of the storyline. The government has created and mandated these surgeries in order to create conformity. Extreme individuality is considered to be a disruptive aspect of past societies, creating a standard of appearance that even removes racial markers. Beauty is dictated by those standards, a nod to the image-obsessed society that we now live in. But beauty almost loses its meaning among the Pretties, when everyone is beautiful. Uglies think of themselves as almost temporary, fUlawed. After all, they will be "fixed" when they turn 16. Even the personalities and personal dynamics change when they move from Ugly to Pretty, underlying the idea that we are defined by our appearance.

The characters are well-developed and easily relatable in different ways. Because of the wide range of characters along the Ugly-Pretty spectrum, there were lots of perspectives and thoughts about the world. Some of the characters made you really think about the choices you might make for yiourself if in their position. There are undoubtedly things that are tempting about the Pretty part of society, but at the same time, the implications are frightening. And there are just as many things that are tempting about remaining Ugly (our own reality), as well as the sacrifices

My Recommendation This is a fantastic example of dystopian literature, a world with both utopian and dystopian elements. The implications of a world like the one in this book are a little scary, particularly when compared to the world and culture we live in today. Fantastic read that will make you think!
Extras is the unexpected final book in the Uglies series, following what was originally touted as a trilogy. The series is set in a dystopian future in which the ideas of beauty and conformity are the central ideals of the society. This book takes place a few years after Tally's story ended and centers on Aya Fuse. While conformity is less of a "thing" than it once was, beauty still remains as a measure of worth. But is apparently no longer enough to be beautiful OR to be unique. In Aya's city, being famous was the primary goal. The more famous you are, the higher your "face rank" is and that rank is the currency upon which her society is based.

There are pretty specific cliques within her fame-obsessed world. There are the tech heads, those that are obsessed with the newest technology. There are also the surge monkeys, those who are obsessed with the newest and weirdest plastic surgery trends in their quest for physical attractiveness. And then there are the kickers, those obsessed with tracking down the latest story, the latest gossip, the latest bit of news. These are posted on feeds, techy versions of our blogs. Those whose face ranks are at the low end are the extras, the climbers who are obsessed with raising their ranks. Aya is an extra with a face rank so low that no one knows who she is. And she is obsessed with changing that. When she stumbles upon a mysterious group of girls, it changes everything for her. Most of the book focuses on Aya and her friends and they are all important to the story. But we also see Tally and her crew again, brought into the story at important moments. There are a ton of twists and turns in the plot, and quite a few surprises.

In many ways, this is a timely book for this day and age. It confronts the ideas of beauty and fame both, and turns it on edge in an extreme way that makes you think. There are also themes of ethics and morality that present themselves in interesting, even if subtle, ways.

There is no question that I loved this series and the thoughts it provoked. But I can't help but wish that perhaps it took all of these themes just a bit further. Like any good dystopian story, the author criticizes current society and focuses on aspects of it that are disturbing in their potential for disaster. He took those things to extreme levels and based the world of his books on those aspects. Beauty, conformity, fame... all of these things have the potential for disaster. And all of these things are questioned. But in the end, Tally still becomes Pretty and Aya still becomes famous. True, as characters they have questioned those things and they are aware of the darker side, but they still became the very things that are at the center of controversy. While both of these girls rebelled against the system, they both benefitted from it and I am not sure that was the intended message. Of course, I do tend to over think things!

My Recommendation This is an well-written series with some important issues as the focus. It is engaging and thought-provoking and a fantastic reading experience.
I love reading Young Adult Fiction and after seeing this book as a recommendation from other books I've enjoyed, I jumped right in. The plot and characters seemed intriguing, but the book started off very slow. I thought it would pick up but it never did. I just couldn't finish it, I felt like this was too Young adult for me. I couldn't get past the easy read, words like "Uglies,Pretties & Littlies" and I felt no no real suspense or development. Overall I think I just felt too old to read it or enjoy it. This is a very young read.