Extras

by Scott Westerfeld

After completing the Uglies trilogy, it appears that Scott Westerfeld still had a story or two left in him. Extras is now the "thrilling fourth book in the Uglies series." And yes, I think there's a book or two more coming in this series.

Fortunately, Tally Youngblood is not the star of this novel. Instead, we meet Aya Fuse, who is still an Ugly. She is also an Extra. She lives in a Japan-based city, though we don't know her exact location. The society in which she lives is popularity or reputation based. The more people talk about you, the higher your rating is. And the higher your rating is, the wealthier you become.

Since popularity relies upon recognition, there are citizens of the city known as "kickers," which are the equivalent of bloggers. Aya is a kicker, and when she finds herself in an amazing and very kick-able story, the trouble begins. . .

The pace of this novel is remarkably fast, until Tally Youngblood shows up. Then it kind of slows and gets a little tangled in the characters' confusion and the author's ridiculous storyline.

All in all, I enjoyed Extras, though I'm quite done with this series, no matter what.

1/30/08