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calistacyq's review against another edition
4.0
With an interesting and entertaining plot, Extras by Scott Westerfeld is about a girl who lives in a society that has a reputation economy after the dissolution of the uglies and pretties system.
Summary: Three years after Tally Youngblood took down the system, the world has rapidly changed. 15-year-old Aya Fuse now lives in a society where popularity rules. She is an extra, a nobody, and she wants to kick a huge story to increase her face rank. Then, she chances upon something that can potentially destroy the world.
Tropes/Genres:
• dystopian
• science fiction
• young adult
• post-apocalyptic
Review: This book was quite entertaining. The setting of this book is different from the trilogy. For starters, it's set in Japan, as depicted by their family names and titles such as -chan and -sensei. Those who aren't that familiar with Japanese culture might find it weird, though, or others may think that it's some weeb revival across Tally's city. Either way, this is not Tally's city.
Aya Fuse is quite an interesting character who's clearly shaped by the way her city works. She wants to be popular and rise through the face ranks. Like many kickers, She's willing to do anything to kick a story that will make her more popular. She has a hovercam mod called Moggle, which is very cute. It feels so human-like even though it's a flying robot with a camera. Anyway, Aya can be annoying because of her obsession with using Moggle to film everything, but I also understand why she prioritises this so much. It's just how her city works!
Admittedly, this book didn't need to exist. It didn't really add any value to the main trilogy. Regardless, it's nice to indirectly see what Tally has been doing in the years following the end of the trilogy, showing readers what exactly she meant by the new Special Circumstances that protected the world from humanity's tendency of destruction.
Tally appears once again in this book, along with Shay, Fausto and David. She's still as Special as ever, given that she didn't rewire her brain back to normal, which Shay and Fausto did. She's here because this is a special circumstance, but I can't help but find it a little random even though it feels very cool. After all, this is what Tally has dedicated her life to after taking down the system and running off to live in the wild. It just begs the question of how necessary it is for this book to exist. Anyway, I still enjoyed this book; I just can't take the plot twist that seriously.
If you know, you know.
Overall, I recommend this book to fans of the Uglies series who want to see what this fictional world is like after Tally took down the system in her city at the end of Book 3. It's very interesting and entertaining.
Summary: Three years after Tally Youngblood took down the system, the world has rapidly changed. 15-year-old Aya Fuse now lives in a society where popularity rules. She is an extra, a nobody, and she wants to kick a huge story to increase her face rank. Then, she chances upon something that can potentially destroy the world.
Tropes/Genres:
• dystopian
• science fiction
• young adult
• post-apocalyptic
Review: This book was quite entertaining. The setting of this book is different from the trilogy. For starters, it's set in Japan, as depicted by their family names and titles such as -chan and -sensei. Those who aren't that familiar with Japanese culture might find it weird, though, or others may think that it's some weeb revival across Tally's city. Either way, this is not Tally's city.
Aya Fuse is quite an interesting character who's clearly shaped by the way her city works. She wants to be popular and rise through the face ranks. Like many kickers, She's willing to do anything to kick a story that will make her more popular. She has a hovercam mod called Moggle, which is very cute. It feels so human-like even though it's a flying robot with a camera. Anyway, Aya can be annoying because of her obsession with using Moggle to film everything, but I also understand why she prioritises this so much. It's just how her city works!
Admittedly, this book didn't need to exist. It didn't really add any value to the main trilogy. Regardless, it's nice to indirectly see what Tally has been doing in the years following the end of the trilogy, showing readers what exactly she meant by the new Special Circumstances that protected the world from humanity's tendency of destruction.
Tally appears once again in this book, along with Shay, Fausto and David. She's still as Special as ever, given that she didn't rewire her brain back to normal, which Shay and Fausto did. She's here because this is a special circumstance, but I can't help but find it a little random even though it feels very cool. After all, this is what Tally has dedicated her life to after taking down the system and running off to live in the wild. It just begs the question of how necessary it is for this book to exist. Anyway, I still enjoyed this book; I just can't take the plot twist that seriously.
If you know, you know.
Overall, I recommend this book to fans of the Uglies series who want to see what this fictional world is like after Tally took down the system in her city at the end of Book 3. It's very interesting and entertaining.
trin's review against another edition
3.0
The fourth, surprise volume in the [b: Uglies|24770|Uglies (Uglies, #1)|Scott Westerfeld|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1654202671l/24770._SX50_.jpg|2895388] no-longer-a-trilogy. I liked this way more than [b: Specials|24765|Specials (Uglies, #3)|Scott Westerfeld|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390340887l/24765._SX50_.jpg|3278286], the last book in the series (which I actually kind of hated). This novel doesn't center around Tally, the protagonist of the previous three books, but around a new character, Aya Fuse, who's growing up in a post-Pretties world. The Important Teen Topic Westerfeld is tackling this time is fame, not beauty, as following Tally's act of liberation, the world has evolved into one where wealth and social merit are derived purely from notoriety. In other words, Paris Hilton would still be in our faces all the time, dammit.
Like a lot of Westerfeld's work, this book is the most enjoyable if you don't think about it too much. There's a fun, exciting action plot to be had here, but the whole world kind of falls apart if you ponder it for more than five seconds. How is it that Aya's city—which is clearly not the same one as Tally's, as much is made of the language barrier later—was set up in exactly the same way as Tally's? Especially when Uglies made each community seem so wonderfully isolated? And I really don't see the logic of the post-Pretty world, as it's left at the end of Specials, evolving so soon into the world Aya introduces us to. And—but no. Let's go back to nothing thinking about this too hard, okay?
Well, first: I also have to say that I find the idea of all these teenage characters—Aya is fifteen—doing and accomplishing all of this stuff on their own vaguely ridiculous, which officially makes me too old for these books. (Part of my brain can't stop thinking, Where are their PARENTS?) But, uh. If you set all that aside, this really is a fun book! Really! And it provides a slightly more upbeat ending for Tally and David, which I really appreciate. So if you like the other books in this series—or even just the first one—this is a worthy addition. I'm much, much happier having this, instead of Specials, as my final impression of the Uglies world and these characters, and that's worth a lot, I think.
Like a lot of Westerfeld's work, this book is the most enjoyable if you don't think about it too much. There's a fun, exciting action plot to be had here, but the whole world kind of falls apart if you ponder it for more than five seconds. How is it that Aya's city—which is clearly not the same one as Tally's, as much is made of the language barrier later—was set up in exactly the same way as Tally's? Especially when Uglies made each community seem so wonderfully isolated? And I really don't see the logic of the post-Pretty world, as it's left at the end of Specials, evolving so soon into the world Aya introduces us to. And—but no. Let's go back to nothing thinking about this too hard, okay?
Well, first: I also have to say that I find the idea of all these teenage characters—Aya is fifteen—doing and accomplishing all of this stuff on their own vaguely ridiculous, which officially makes me too old for these books. (Part of my brain can't stop thinking, Where are their PARENTS?) But, uh. If you set all that aside, this really is a fun book! Really! And it provides a slightly more upbeat ending for Tally and David, which I really appreciate. So if you like the other books in this series—or even just the first one—this is a worthy addition. I'm much, much happier having this, instead of Specials, as my final impression of the Uglies world and these characters, and that's worth a lot, I think.
noabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
thatbookishwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
4.0
I think this is a really good follow up to the Uglies series. I enjoyed discovering what happened after Tally and her friends changed everything, although I do think it is a bit far-fetched in that the world changes SO much, in terms of values and priorities, in just a few short years. Still, I just went with it and enjoyed the story. Aya is kind of annoying at first and she doesn't grow as a characters as much as I'd like, but I really liked a lot of the other characters, particularly Aya's brother. There are some really good twists in the plot and I liked how it all ended.
yousrabushehri's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
karrama's review against another edition
4.0
I really got into this book. It's about three years after the Uglies trilogy and a new world order is chaotic. In Japan, though, something like social media has taken over the way that people interact and earn their livings. Our protagonist is a girl trying to fit in when her world is nuts. If fitting in doesn't work, well, break the story. The end was so disappointing. It was like Scott Westerfeld decided to stop writing when he needed to work on another project and then came back and made a very anticlimactic ending because it was better than redoing the world again.
phoenix2's review against another edition
3.0
Extras is not a Tally Youngblood story, but she appears in it. It takes place in Japan, where the economy is based on popularity. Aya Fuse wants to become famous by "kicking" a story that will attract everyone's attention, just like her brother, Hiro. So she goes undercover, and she stumbles on a very "kickable" story that will make her famous but also set her in danger.
To be honest, I liked Aya better than Tally. Tally was a great heroine and one of my favs in Uglies, but in Extras she is hardly relatable. She is, in fact, kind of unlikable. Aya is sweet and I think and many people can relate with her, as she wants to be famous and be noticed for once. In a society that your status is uploaded on social media, Aya is closer to us than Tally; the first is a teen who struggles to find her own identity through others, the second an older teenager who had her momentum and now is saving the world. The story itself is okay, though the meanings that it gets through, like celebrity status and growing up are better than the actual story. The action isn't that great, and, to be honest, I've got a little bored by it towards the end. Speaking of which, the ending wasn't that good either, though Aya did develop as a character. Lastly the romance. Okay, I have to admit that, although I love Westerfeld's writing and consider him a great author, he just can't write romance. It always feels awkward in the end. I think the best he did was with Tally and Zayn, but Tally and David and Aya and Frizz seemed to luck chemistry, and the romance was underdeveloped.
Other than those two facts, that cost the book two stars, Extras was a great book. I like that the author gives us food for thought through his teen adventure stories and characters that one can easily fall in love with and relate to. So, three out of five
To be honest, I liked Aya better than Tally. Tally was a great heroine and one of my favs in Uglies, but in Extras she is hardly relatable. She is, in fact, kind of unlikable. Aya is sweet and I think and many people can relate with her, as she wants to be famous and be noticed for once. In a society that your status is uploaded on social media, Aya is closer to us than Tally; the first is a teen who struggles to find her own identity through others, the second an older teenager who had her momentum and now is saving the world. The story itself is okay, though the meanings that it gets through, like celebrity status and growing up are better than the actual story. The action isn't that great, and, to be honest, I've got a little bored by it towards the end. Speaking of which, the ending wasn't that good either, though Aya did develop as a character. Lastly the romance. Okay, I have to admit that, although I love Westerfeld's writing and consider him a great author, he just can't write romance. It always feels awkward in the end. I think the best he did was with Tally and Zayn, but Tally and David and Aya and Frizz seemed to luck chemistry, and the romance was underdeveloped.
Other than those two facts, that cost the book two stars, Extras was a great book. I like that the author gives us food for thought through his teen adventure stories and characters that one can easily fall in love with and relate to. So, three out of five
schofield24's review against another edition
3.0
It has been awhile since I read the first three books in the series, and perhaps that's why I didn't get into this one as quickly. It was still a fun read and is an imaginative look at how twisted some of our society's obsessions can get.