Westerfeld, Scott - Specials
Yay library holds! I managed to get this yesterday, so, haha! I can finally wait for it to come out in paper so that it'll match the format of Uglies and Pretties.
Anyhow, this is the third book of the Uglies trilogy, set in a world in which people get cosmetic surgery to become Pretties at sixteen. I really like how Westerfeld has been going deeper and deeper in the world as the books progress. It's also very interesting because the narrative structure of all three books are very similar, but because there's always new things to discover about the world and because Westerfeld always builds on information that we know, it doesn't feel that repetitive.
Granted, I was a bit hesitant when it looked like the narrative structure of Specials was going to follow that of the first two (Tally has certain beliefs about her world and herself, all of which are gradually eroded as elements from the previous books enter her life again), but thankfully, it's not boring.
Minor spoilers for the previous two books
Getting a look at Tally-the-Special is fascinating, particularly after the Specials have been the villains of the previous two books. It's also interesting how Westerfeld keeps doing the brain reset on Tally to give the readers an inside view of what it's like to be an Ugly, a Pretty and a Special, even though on a narrative level, it's rather frustrating.
On the other hand, this was alleviated by the fact that the brain resets and the brain meddling becomes an issue in the book. I'm glad it does, because the whole fiddling around with people's brains theme always upsets me, and I dislike how a lot of fantasy doesn't problematize memory wipes and etc. Also, as I was rolling my eyes and expecting the same conflict from Pretties, I'm really glad that the Tally-Shay rivalry doesn't necessarily continue.
I get sick of books consistently having female best friends become deadly rivals, usually over the affections of a boy.
That said, I do like how Westerfeld resolves the romantic triangle from the previous books and how resolves Tally's relationship with Shay.
All in all, a very satisfying end to the trilogy, and one that makes the world increasingly complicated.
Anyhow, this is the third book of the Uglies trilogy, set in a world in which people get cosmetic surgery to become Pretties at sixteen. I really like how Westerfeld has been going deeper and deeper in the world as the books progress. It's also very interesting because the narrative structure of all three books are very similar, but because there's always new things to discover about the world and because Westerfeld always builds on information that we know, it doesn't feel that repetitive.
Granted, I was a bit hesitant when it looked like the narrative structure of Specials was going to follow that of the first two (Tally has certain beliefs about her world and herself, all of which are gradually eroded as elements from the previous books enter her life again), but thankfully, it's not boring.
Minor spoilers for the previous two books
Getting a look at Tally-the-Special is fascinating, particularly after the Specials have been the villains of the previous two books. It's also interesting how Westerfeld keeps doing the brain reset on Tally to give the readers an inside view of what it's like to be an Ugly, a Pretty and a Special, even though on a narrative level, it's rather frustrating.
On the other hand, this was alleviated by the fact that the brain resets and the brain meddling becomes an issue in the book. I'm glad it does, because the whole fiddling around with people's brains theme always upsets me, and I dislike how a lot of fantasy doesn't problematize memory wipes and etc. Also, as I was rolling my eyes and expecting the same conflict from Pretties, I'm really glad that the Tally-Shay rivalry doesn't necessarily continue.
I get sick of books consistently having female best friends become deadly rivals, usually over the affections of a boy.
That said, I do like how Westerfeld resolves the romantic triangle from the previous books and how resolves Tally's relationship with Shay.
All in all, a very satisfying end to the trilogy, and one that makes the world increasingly complicated.