Sunday 8 March 2015

REVIEW 'Extras' by Scott Westerfeld

'Extras' by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies Quartet #4)

Goodreads Synopsis:

"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."


THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST THREE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES; 'UGLIES', 'PRETTIES' AND 'SPECIALS'

You can find my reviews for 'Uglies' HERE, 'Pretties' HERE and 'Specials' HERE

Hey there Elementareaders!

'Extras' is the fourth and final book in the Uglies Quartet by Scott Westerfeld. This book is set three years after the end of the previous one and is told from the point of view of a new character in a new city.

Aya Fuse is a fifteen year old ugly living in a city in Japan. It has been three years since the mind-rain cured all the bubbleheads and everyone is thinking clearly and rebuilding their cities. Aya's city has a system called 'face rank' which determines how famous the one million residents are. The more people talk about you, the higher your rank. People with the highest face ranks have the biggest houses and can get basically anything they want. This city also uses a system called 'merits' which are like a currency that you can earn and use to buy things as the hole-in-the-wall doesn't just make anything for anyone any more.

Aya is what is known as a Kicker.  Kickers look for the biggest stories in the cities and write reports to put on their feeds. This biggest Kickers can become as famous as the stars themselves and Aya is desperate to kick a big story and boost her current face rank of 451, 396. Aya thinks she's hit the jackpot when she comes across a clique known as the Sly Girls, who many believe to be nothing more than a myth. She follows the girls with her hovercam Moggle, and is offered a chance to join them if she gets rid of the cam and quits being a kicker. Aya agrees but films the girls in secret anyway. But whilst riding a mag-lev train, the girls uncover a secret that could potentially wipe out the city if kept to themselves. Will Aya betray the girls and kick her story?

But this story is much bigger than just one city and could affect the whole world. That's when Tally Youngblood turns up and Aya is swept up into the biggest adventure of her life!

I was quite glad when I saw that this book was set in a new location with a new character. I thought the Tally storyline had kind of run its course (there's only so many times you can have your brain messed with right?). Aya is a breath of fresh air, and her, her friend Frizz, her brother Hiro, his friend Ren and hovercam Moggle are great new characters. It was great to see a different city, and how this city handled rebuilding itself after the mind-rain.

I think this was possibly my favourite book of the whole series. The storyline was fast-paced, the characters were believable and once I started reading I couldn't stop. And obviously it was great to have Tally, Shay, Fausto and David back for the end third of the book. I thought the ending felt a little rushed though and maybe would have liked the conclusion to have been drawn out a little longer.

Overall though, a really great end to a wonderful series, and I'll definitely be reading more of Scott's books in the future!

I would give this book 4.5 stars :)


Let me know what you thought of this series in the comments!


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