Specials - Scott Westerfeld

Specials - Scott Westerfeld

Pages: 372
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: 6th November 2006

Other Titles in the Series: Uglies, Pretties, Extras

"Special circumstances"

...the words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious Ugly. Back then, the Specials were a sinister rumour - frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast.

And now Tally's become one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the Uglies down and the Pretties stupid. The strength, the speed and the clarity of her new powers feel amazing...most of the time. One tiny corner of Tally's heart still remembers something different.

When she is offered the chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke, she is forced to make one last choice: carry out the mission she's been programmed to complete, or listen to that faint yet persistent heartbeat telling her that something's wrong...

I can't rave about this series enough to illustrate how much I enjoyed them. Scott Westerfeld's writing takes you away completely and there is no part that you don't believe in the world he has created.

However, I did have a couple of problems with this one. The idea of the Cutters put me on edge when I was reading about them even though I understood why they were doing what they were doing. The other thing was Shay. In the previous two novels my dislike for her had grown but it kind of spilled over in this one. To me she wasn't a real friend and got on my nerves because of how she made Tally feel and Tally kept going back for her which was really annoying.

But other than that, I've loved this series and after I've finished Extras I'm going to hunt out the rest of his books. I'm thinking Parasite Positive for my next Westerfeld novel. Any other suggestions?

Sophie