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Feb 01, 2009

Erin rated it:

Bogus to Bubbly takes fans of Westerfeld's Uglies series behind the scenes. For anyone who hasn't read any of the Uglies books - Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras - the series is a futuristic look at what could happen down the road, told first from the perspective of sixteen-year-old Tally. In the future, children are considered Uglies as soon as they turn twelve, until they reach the age of sixteen and can have the surgery that turns them into a Pretty. The Uglies series is one of my fa More...

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Jan 28, 2009

Lacey rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Dec 18, 2011

Laura rated it:

In January I'll be leading a book club so I've already read the four-book trilogy and Mind-Rain: Your Favorite Authors on Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series to prepare.

Mind-Rain: Your Favorite Authors on Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series is a series of essays about Tally's universe with occasional notes by the author, Scott Westerfeld. Bogus to Bubbly is written by Scott Westerfeld and explains his inspirations and interpretations of his own work.

It reads like a narrative with More...

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Jul 15, 2010

Amelia rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 30, 2009

Victoria rated it:

A fun and interesting companion to the Uglies series that any fan probably wants to read. It's not the kind of thing you'd want to waste money on unless you're hard-core, but pick it up from a library, or just read it right in the bookstore. It's short enough.

In these pages, Scott Westerfeld authors his own insider's guide to the world he created, which is great for a lot of reasons. One, it doesn't get any better than when the author tells you about his own thought processes, ide More...

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Jan 10, 2009

Angela rated it:

This companion book to UGLIES series by Scott Westerfeld is full of all sorts of great information about the books and the world Westerfeld created. You get info that was IN the books and well as more detail that was NOT in the books. There is a history of Tally's world (detailing how the Rusties crashed and the hundreds of years that followed up until we meet Tally in UGLIES) and more detail about life in Tally's world (being Pretty, Gadgets, Cliques, Names, Slang, Science, etc). You also ge More...

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Dec 11, 2008

Emma rated it:

Sometimes, when a book series gets really popular, writers will try to cash in by writing unauthorized guides to the story or books about the "science" behind popular fantasy titles. Then, rarely, you get a book like Bogus to Bubbly: An Insider's Guide to the World of Uglies (2008) that was actually written by the ultimate insider: Scott Westerfeld.

Uglies is a series of books (one trilogy and a companion book) about a world in the future where in order to prevent war and st More...

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May 14, 2011

Rachel rated it:

Westerfeld seems so pleased about being a geek that he forgets that it's important to get science right.

1) "The word 'nano' means 'a billionth'" - no, the word "nano" in today's culture probably means someone's iPod; the PREFIX 'nano' totally means a billionth, and yes, this is nitpicking, but it is actually really crucial to get it correct
2) "Current superconducting materials have to be kept, like, a hundred degrees below zero" - this sentence is sci More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 09, 2011

Airiz rated it:

Fans of Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series will definitely give this fun and helpful companion book a thumb up. It's like a reel of bloopers and behind the scenes for a well-loved movie, and what's better is that it is written by Scott Westerfeld himself. It is chock-full of the fictional history of Tally Youngblood's world, from the days of the Rusties, the Diego War, and upto the age of Mind-Rain and face ranks; the technology present in the post-scarcity dystopian society, including More...

13 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 30, 2011

Chrystal rated it:

I appreciated reading about the background for the ideas, gadgets, history, etc. in the 'Uglies' series. I think it shows how much thought he put into the world of Uglies. I think he should have put the part about 'cutting' in the back of 'Specials,' so people could know his intentions while reading about Tally in case they never pick this book up.

He wrote that he was thinking about the cutting that some teenagers do as well as plastic surgery. He said, "Surgery also involves s More...

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Jun 25, 2010

Lady rated it:

I bought this from a Scholastic Book Fair and was really impressed with it. Usually I dislike companion-style books as they are nothing but the author tooting their own horn. This one was differnent.
It's filled with maps of Tally's word (and Aya's), diagrams of hoverboards, crash bracelets and the like. As well it explains things any true fan would want to know, like how Scott Westerfeld came up with Tally's name, and most of the other characters as well (did you know that Peris was origin More...

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Sep 27, 2008

Seth rated it:

I just finished this book and I got it like yesterday or something. It was really good and I learned a lot about the series.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 30, 2010

Sandra rated it:

One of my all time favorite series is Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies". I was so thrilled that I bought a set for our morning school book club. I am now down to four books because students have loved them so much they have kept them. In Bogus to Bubbly, Westerfeld answers all of those questions we had as we read the series. How did he come up with the names and the slang words he used in his books? How did he create the science based items in his book and what are the chances that we More...

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Jan 20, 2009

Sylvia rated it:

Pernah baca Uglies trilogy? Ini insider's guidenya yang ngebahas tentang trilogy tersebut. Mulai dari ide pertama si penulis dapat untuk membuat trilogy yang terdiri dari empat novel ini, trus gimana dia bisa dapet nama-nama untuk karakter di novelnya, juga gadget yang digunakan di dalam trilogy ini.

Kenapa gw sebut gadget? Karena Uglies trilogy ini genre nya science fiction, jadi teknologi yang mereka gunakan tuh agak futuristik gitu deh. Ide bagaimana si penulis bisa meng-create gad More...

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Apr 27, 2009

Ningerbil rated it:

Fans of the "Uglies" books will probably like this guide to that universe, particularly fanfic writers and trivia buffs. I thought it was pretty good -- I liked the illustrations for some of the inventions. Still, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted more. For example, we get the hint that Dr. Cable was a bit of a rabble-rouser in her youth. I would have loved to have seen her entry expand on that. Same with Az and Maddy. And how did Peris and Tally become friends? This wasn't a bad read More...

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Nov 23, 2010

Dannielle rated it:

I was really hoping this book would give more insight to the unanswered questions in my mind about the world of Tally and her friends but unfortunately, it was mostly just reiteration of what we already knew compiled altogether in one book. For example, I wanted to know how the explosions happened but Westerfeld writes, "No one knows for sure exactly what happened, perhaps it was..." and then goes on to repeat the possibilities that he already suggested in the books. I was hoping he wo More...

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Apr 29, 2011

Jacki rated it:

I think this puts me in a brand new level of nerdiness, but I really enjoyed the insights from the author. He's got a very genuine and comedic voice in his writing (I laughed at every one of his jokes) and it was interesting to see how much effort he put in to research and story details. It made me respect him even more as a writer. I especially liked to see him explain his cultural takes and experiences.

As someone interested in writing, I found it useful. As a reader, I found it a li More...

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Feb 14, 2011

Cassy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jan 22, 2010

Julie rated it:

So far, I've enjoyed hearing the real-life story that inspired Westerfeld's idea for the novel, but I could have, had I searched it out, found that on the internet. I've never read an "insider's guide" to a book or book series before and had always wondered what the heck they are. So I'm trying it out. I wonder if I'd have liked this more as a teen. I guess I'm supposed to pretend that I AM a character in Westerfield's utopia, and if I were, here is the handbook for operating the h More...

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Jul 22, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Subtitled: An Insider’s Guide to the World of Uglies.

Originally, I didn’t plan to review this book. I mean, it’s a guide book to a fictional series – not really all that interesting to those who haven’t read the series, and there isn’t exactly a plot/characters/depth/themes/etc. However, after the first part of the book, which mostly just recapped things I knew from reading the books, this became interesting enough for its own post. I’m sure this will only be interesting to Westerfeld More...

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Sep 01, 2011

Ridge rated it:

Being obsessed as I am to the Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, I just had to pick a copy of this book to get a better understand of this incredible world Westerfeld had created. While it does have a pretty substantial amount of information about the Uglies series world, I still had some questions unanswered, and I was sort of hoping for a more in-depth look into Tally and Aya's world. But regardless, I still think its a must-have for anyone who loves the series just as much as I do.

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Jan 07, 2010

Ashley rated it:

I really loved reading this book. I finished it in just a couple of hours and I enjoyed every second of reading it. This series was such a fun one for me. I love that Scott Westerfeld puts so much thought into his books and the plot in his books and the characters in his books. I love the themes that are in place in his books and along with all the insider facts that I learned from reading this book it made the Ugly series even more enjoyable for me. At the end of this book there is also a coupl More...

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Dec 03, 2011

Anna rated it:

I am someone who, when I'm into something, wants to know everything there is to know about it. Trivia, behind-the-scenes information, commentaries, illustrated guides, etc. - I eat it all up. So I jumped at the chance to read this book...and I wasn't really all that impressed. Yes, Scott Westerfeld created a novel world with the Uglies series, but I get the feeling that he's a little overly pleased with himself and trying to toot his own horn with this book. Rather than objectively presentin More...

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Mar 23, 2009

the golden witch. rated it:

This was much-needed, and I'm so glad it came out. I want more books in the 'Pretties' universe, a prequel, another sequel, anything! I loved the science bits, too. It was all correct when facts were mentioned (especially the bits about Japanese ones), and so well-researched I thought I'd explode from happy.

If you're a fan of the 'Pretties' universe, this is a must have.

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Dec 04, 2008

Grace added it

Excellent distopian story of a society where everyone gets plastic surgery at age 16 to become pretty. Prior to the surgery, teens age 12-15 live in Uglyville in dormatories. Tally meets Shay a few months before her operation and Shay tells her that some people don t have the operation. Very interesting book, first in a trilogy.

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Oct 09, 2011

Mevurah rated it:

Not a bad insider's guide, except for the repetition of a few things that we already know (if you've read the series and you definitely should before reading this!). I was also hoping for lot's of illustrations/diagrams/drawings on the countless gadgets and devices that we've encountered in the books but there was only a few of them.

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Jan 08, 2012

Lady rated it:

Um guia para o mundo da Tetralogia Uglies.

Está escrito para jovens e crianças, mas mostra uma pesquisa espetacular, e ensinou-me um monte de coisas que não sabia. Sempre tive um fraquinho por estes livros sobre os "mundos" dos livros, que muitas vezes acho mais interessantes que as histórias dos livros em si.

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Dec 09, 2008

♥ Rachel♥ rated it:

eh, this is ok. i mean, it's good 4 this kind of book. but idk, the guides 2 books rn't the best books 2 read, u no? i mean, there's no plot or anything, it just talks about some of the stuff that doesn't exist in our world. kinda boring, in my opinion. like reading a textbook. but watevs....

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Jan 19, 2010

Wendy rated it:

This was a very quick read with a lot of tidbits on the creating of the Ugly series. Scott Westerfeld includes a glossary of the most common words used in the books and some interesting fictional "books". There is a section on hoverboards and a history book. Nothing major here as far as new but a nice little read that ties it all together.

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Sep 25, 2009

Carol rated it:

This behind-the-scenes book is a good way to introduce some readers to the series, but it also discusses the process of writing. Included in the book is a glossary. Many discussions can occur because the book deals with the importance of looks in our culture, gadgets and inventions, and science.

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