Fame
It's a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world... read full description
reviews
Jan 01, 2008
Abby
rated it: 
Like the other books in the Uglies trilogy, Extras is fun and a very fast read. I read this book in about 2 and 1/2 hours, pretty much non-stop.
However, Extras raised the same prickly issues for me that the other books in the series did. My years as a student steeped in cultural studies and gender theory make it pretty much impossible for me to read works of popular fiction without subjecting them to critical analysis, and Westerfeld's books certainly lend themselves to this sort of More...
However, Extras raised the same prickly issues for me that the other books in the series did. My years as a student steeped in cultural studies and gender theory make it pretty much impossible for me to read works of popular fiction without subjecting them to critical analysis, and Westerfeld's books certainly lend themselves to this sort of More...
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Feb 23, 2011
Emma
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Extras is the fourth book in Scott Westerfeld's critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series (originally it was a trilogy). The first three books Uglies, Pretties, and Specials follow Tally Youngblood, a fifteen-year-old girl living in a futuristic world so dominated by plastic surgery that anyone who looks normal is ugly. Extras is set three years after the events of the trilogy unfold, in a different city, with different main characters. The trilogy, however, sets the framework for
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7 comments
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(18 people liked it)
Feb 07, 2009
Paige [eastIndies.]
rated it: 
Honestly, this book was kind of a disappointment. I liked how it was all accumulated around the Japanese society, but other than that, I was expecting much more of this book. In my opinion, Aya is a very whiny, self-absorbed suck up. I don't like the way Scott Westerfeld portrays Tally in this either because he renders her as a know-it-all b word, to say the least. Which, I don't think Tally has ever been. Her character is not put to justice in this book.
5 comments
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Mar 02, 2009
Christina
rated it:
I really struggled to finish this book, and I thought it was significantly worse than the others in the series. A lot of the dialogue was agonizingly stilted. The characters actually said things like "Not good!" and "uh, oh!" to react to approaching falling objects and other imminent bumps-on-the-head. AAAAAARGH. Those lines drive me crazy enough in movies. I was horrified to find them in a book.
At one point, characters from two different countries meet and have More...
At one point, characters from two different countries meet and have More...
5 comments
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(21 people liked it)
May 02, 2008
Izlinda
rated it:
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Dec 11, 2011
★ Jess
rated it:
I would give this 2.5
It was no where near as good as Uglies-though it was just as enjoyable as 'Specials'.
If you're a fan of the original three books, I strongly recommend reading this one as well!
If you thought the first three were just so-so, then give this one a miss.
It was no where near as good as Uglies-though it was just as enjoyable as 'Specials'.
If you're a fan of the original three books, I strongly recommend reading this one as well!
If you thought the first three were just so-so, then give this one a miss.
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Jan 30, 2009
Kelly
rated it: 
You know this book started out okay but it quickly went down hill. I was actually annoyed to see Tally in this one and her attitude. I mean this book was not about her so I don't understand why she HAD to be in it. I didn't like how she was portrayed at all. I also quickly got annoyed at Aya.
The Uglies series was my first exposure to Westerfeld and though I really liked Uglies and liked Pretties and pretty much liked Specials I gotta say i'm noticing a pattern with his characte More...
The Uglies series was my first exposure to Westerfeld and though I really liked Uglies and liked Pretties and pretty much liked Specials I gotta say i'm noticing a pattern with his characte More...
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Jan 05, 2010
Violet
rated it: 
COUNT AS TWO BOOKS!The one reason Aya Fuse lives is for the hope of becoming famous.So does every other person in Japan's future.People do anything they can to have a story of there's recognized.Aya follows a group of teens to make a video that will give her the glitz and glamour of the celebrity life, who are unlike the majority of the population in several ways.During this time she discovers something more important than her story.
At the beginning of this story, the very little actions More...
At the beginning of this story, the very little actions More...
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Sep 26, 2008
Christina
rated it:
Finishing a series always makes me feel like I'm losing a friend. I've spent a good week or so reading these four books, absorbed in the pages and the characters and their lives, and now I just feel lonely.
Extras is set a few years after the huge finale of Specials, or the "mind-rain" as they now call it. It's also a bunch of new characters (although Tally, Shay, David and Fausto make a reappearance which I'm extremely happy about!), a new city, and a spanking new economy More...
Extras is set a few years after the huge finale of Specials, or the "mind-rain" as they now call it. It's also a bunch of new characters (although Tally, Shay, David and Fausto make a reappearance which I'm extremely happy about!), a new city, and a spanking new economy More...
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Dec 13, 2007
Caryn
rated it:
There is an interesting arc to my appreciation of Extras.
I wasn't so sure at first. The girl on the front is obviously not Tally Youngblood, and so I was rather nervous about starting a Westerfeld book that wasn't about Tally Youngblood. But start it I did, and for the first half or so I was in young adult fiction bliss.
Extras does it all right when it comes to futuristic fiction with a bit of a social commentary. Insert Aya Fuse, a fifteen-year-old in post-mind-rain (see More...
I wasn't so sure at first. The girl on the front is obviously not Tally Youngblood, and so I was rather nervous about starting a Westerfeld book that wasn't about Tally Youngblood. But start it I did, and for the first half or so I was in young adult fiction bliss.
Extras does it all right when it comes to futuristic fiction with a bit of a social commentary. Insert Aya Fuse, a fifteen-year-old in post-mind-rain (see More...
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(3 people liked it)
Oct 09, 2007
Joe
rated it:
This is a bit of a return to form for Westerfield, as compared to the last book in the series. Not that I think any of them is bad, but I liked Pretties a little less than Uglies, and Specials a little less than Pretties. I'm happy to say that Extras is the best book in the series since Uglies.
It definitely helps that Tally is not the main character here, and that the setting has moved from California to Japan. The protagonist is a 15 year old Japanese girl named Aya, living in an un More...
It definitely helps that Tally is not the main character here, and that the setting has moved from California to Japan. The protagonist is a 15 year old Japanese girl named Aya, living in an un More...
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(2 people liked it)
May 28, 2008
Trin
rated it:
The fourth, surprise volume in the Uglies no-longer-a-trilogy. I liked this way more than Specials, 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 soc
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(9 people liked it)
Nov 14, 2007
I just finished this and while I didn't like it as much as Uglies (the best in the series) it was better than Specials. I think one of the things I liked the most about it was that it was set in Japan and the characters didn't speak English and they talked about the differences between the cities. It's been awhile since I've read the others but I kinda got the impression from those that the whole world was the same. I liked that there were still some of the Rusty countries. Speaking of that,
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Nov 17, 2008
Bridget
rated it:
I can't believe that I am finished with this series. (What to start on next, hmmm.)
This was my least favorite of the series. I really liked it for the first half. I liked Aya Fuse (cool name) and her brother, Hiro, and his friend, Ren. I liked the whole premise of popularity and fame being a commodity for living.
I can't believe that I am saying this, but I didn't really like Tally in this book! Once, she came on the scene, I thought the writing became very sloppy. T More...
This was my least favorite of the series. I really liked it for the first half. I liked Aya Fuse (cool name) and her brother, Hiro, and his friend, Ren. I liked the whole premise of popularity and fame being a commodity for living.
I can't believe that I am saying this, but I didn't really like Tally in this book! Once, she came on the scene, I thought the writing became very sloppy. T More...
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(4 people liked it)
Dec 29, 2008
Darbus
rated it:
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Jun 10, 2008
Hope
rated it:
An entertaining afterthought to the Uglies trilogy, full of Westerfeld's trademark mid-air action sequences, with no small amount of social commentary layered into it. However, it's currently my least favorite of the series. I wonder if it is because Tally Youngblood is a more likeable protaganist than Aya Fuse, or maybe just because of the three book structure of the initial trilogy leaves more room for suspense-building (wider story arc?). Either way, a fun return to this totally bubbly world.
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(2 people liked it)
Mar 03, 2009
Tammy
rated it:
I originally gave this book a five-star-rating because it's part of the Uglies series which I think is amazing. However, comparing it to other books I've rated that high, I decided to bump it to a four, which is more accurate to my initial response.
Why do I like it so much? Well, it's a well-written story, of course, but I really appreciate the way Westerfeld takes an excess or obsession of our society and exaggerates it. In this case he plays with the desire for fame and popularity. More...
Why do I like it so much? Well, it's a well-written story, of course, but I really appreciate the way Westerfeld takes an excess or obsession of our society and exaggerates it. In this case he plays with the desire for fame and popularity. More...
Feb 27, 2009
Debbie
rated it:
First off this isn’t really a 4th book in the Uglies trilogy although Tally and a couple other Cutters do make an appearance. Aya is the main character and the story focuses on her ambition to kick a story that will make her famous and boost her rank. It’s actually kind of sad that once the bubblehead surgery was stopped how some humans reverted back to allocating resources based on how famous a person is. Aya is especially feeling the pressure once her older brother, Hiro, becomes one of the
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Feb 20, 2009
Sam
rated it:
It has been three years since Tally Youngblood brought about the mind rain and ended the practice of surgery that turned humans into mindless "bubbleheads" incapable of fighting or really thinking for themselves. Aya Fuse is a 15 year old ugly living in a city whose inhabitants will do anything to raise their "face rank", a listing that shows who is the most popular in the city and confers upon them special benefits befitting the famous. In an effort to get out of the ranks o
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 12, 2009
Jenni
rated it:
Enjoyed this, as I have the other books in the series. It's one of those trilogies-turned-longer things, but not badly self-indulgent with it; the choice of a different narrator and a new set of challenges helps. It zips along really well, and has some real depth to it too; the earlier books brought in questions of free will and self-determination, and this one tackles the Facebook-type culture of vapid self-promotion squarely.
Mind you, the thing I was particularly interested in was More...
Mind you, the thing I was particularly interested in was More...
Nov 29, 2008
Elizabeth
rated it:
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 More...
"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 More...
Jan 29, 2012
V.E.
rated it:
Okay, so it seems like this author gets a premise and just decides to go with it, not really bothering to do much development. A little more world-building is done here, but not that much.
And the relationships are not developed at all. How can Aya and Frizz possibly be in love with each other when they never really have a conversation apart from one fight?
Why should Aya be loyal to the Sly Girls (Sly Girls? Really?) when they're not really her friend, and the whole relationship is More...
And the relationships are not developed at all. How can Aya and Frizz possibly be in love with each other when they never really have a conversation apart from one fight?
Why should Aya be loyal to the Sly Girls (Sly Girls? Really?) when they're not really her friend, and the whole relationship is More...
Jan 26, 2012
Once Upon
rated it:
This story was a continuation of the Uglies series, but focused on a new set of characters. I listened to the audiobook in my car on my commute to/from work. It felt like it was taking forever to get through the story, so I ended up skipping a few of the CDs because I wanted to see how it ended. Aya Fuse wanted to become famous, sort of like how Tally Youngblood wanted to become a Pretty in the first part of the series. Aya and her brother Hiro and friend Ren are called "kickers" and t
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Jan 13, 2012
Ellie
rated it:
Ratio of high points to low points = 1:3
*High points = omg I'm hooked!! I can't put down this book even to pee!!!!
*Low points = why. is. it. dragging.
Yeah, I know, how immature of me to put it that way but it's not like I'm a walking dictionary or something. Anyway, this book has a pretty weak plot compared to the first three books of the series. I thought Aya was pretty shallow.. She would do anything for fame. It disgusted me, the way she thought. She reminded me of these g More...
*High points = omg I'm hooked!! I can't put down this book even to pee!!!!
*Low points = why. is. it. dragging.
Yeah, I know, how immature of me to put it that way but it's not like I'm a walking dictionary or something. Anyway, this book has a pretty weak plot compared to the first three books of the series. I thought Aya was pretty shallow.. She would do anything for fame. It disgusted me, the way she thought. She reminded me of these g More...
Jan 04, 2012
Kristine
rated it:
In Extras we find out what happened to the world of the pretties after the "mind rain" cures everyone's bubbliness. The story is told from the perspective of Aya, a 15-year-old who wants nothing more than to be famous like her older brother, Hiro. Her chance at fame comes when she discovers a secret clique--the Sly Girls--are surfing on the backs of mag-lev trains. Determined to out these girls who are so dedicated to obscurity they'll even change names if the one they're using gets to
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Dec 31, 2011
Katiekat
rated it:
I hate Aya. I relly truly freaking hate her. She's so obssessed with those thrice-damned cameras and getting famous that she's willing to betray people, expose their plans and secrets, and otherwise make herself out to be a life-wrecking bitch (which she is).
And no, I really don't care if all of that was to show how fame can turn people into monsters, because that's not the way it came across. I interpreted Aya's sickening thoughts/actions to be those of a greedy, selfish, arrogant bra More...
And no, I really don't care if all of that was to show how fame can turn people into monsters, because that's not the way it came across. I interpreted Aya's sickening thoughts/actions to be those of a greedy, selfish, arrogant bra More...
Dec 11, 2011
Jackson
rated it:
"Extras" is the fourth and final installment of the "Uglies" series. The story takes place somewhere in Japan a few years after the main character from the first three books freed everyone in whats called "The Mindrain" from the rule of the government in which everyone at sixteen had an operation making them pretty and stupid. Now everyone tries to get famous by raising their face rank since the more famous get better things. It follows a fifteen year old girl
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Dec 10, 2011
Christie
rated it:
In summary, a disappointment.
My first issue: Aya. From page one, I couldn't stand her. The only thing that kept me reading for about 3/4ths of the book was the vain hope her enormous head would cause her to fall on her face. Unfortunately, it became clear that that wasn't going to happen. I read a little past 3/4ths of the book, then skipped ahead in frusteration and skimmed to see if Aya's personality would somehow become more bearable... Ummm... NOPE.
Second issue: Fri More...
My first issue: Aya. From page one, I couldn't stand her. The only thing that kept me reading for about 3/4ths of the book was the vain hope her enormous head would cause her to fall on her face. Unfortunately, it became clear that that wasn't going to happen. I read a little past 3/4ths of the book, then skipped ahead in frusteration and skimmed to see if Aya's personality would somehow become more bearable... Ummm... NOPE.
Second issue: Fri More...
Dec 09, 2011
Brittanymurray
rated it:
In Scott Westerfeld's 4th Uglies book in his YA series its a few years after Tally Youngblood took down the Uglies, Pretties, Specials conspiracy. The main character of this book is Aya who lives somewhere in Asia. "Kickers" spread gossip and trends; "Tech Heads" flaunt their latests gadgets; and "Surge Monkeys" are people hooked on extreme plastic surgery. Everyone has blogs and are wanting the most hits to be the most popular. Aya is fifteen and is a total nobody;
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Dec 04, 2011
Laura
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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