Reviews

Bringing the Uglies trilogy to a close, Specials by Scott Westerfeld follows Tally Youngblood, first met in Uglies (which PW said "introduces thought-provoking issues"), as she is turned into a Special, a high-octane fighting machine, programmed to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid. Can she listen to the small voice in her head or will she destroy New Smoke's residents? Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Gr 8 Up-This final installment in the series is a warning of the dangers of overconsumption and conformity. Set some time in the future, after a human-made bacteria destroyed the modern world, the trilogy tells of new cities established and tightly controlled through brainwashing and a series of operations leading to a compliant society. Tally Youngblood, the 16-year-old protagonist, learns in the first two books that free will and truth are more important than a false sense of security. In Specials, she has become an elite fighting machine, fully enhanced with nanotechnology and super-fast reflexes, and made to work as a Special Circumstances agent for the nameless city that she fled. As in the first two books, much of the story takes place with characters whizzing through the air on hoverboards, but Tally and her friends are in for some harsh realities here. Readers who enjoyed Uglies and Pretties (both S & S, 2005) will not want to miss Specials, but those who have not read those books will not understand much of what is happening. Westerfeld's themes include vanity, environmental conservation, Utopian idealism, fascism, violence, and love. In this trilogy, the author calls for a revolution in our hearts and minds-think The Matrix.-Corinda J. Humphrey, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.