Saturday, February 25, 2012

Not Special, but Merely Medicore

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Summary: "Special Circumstances":
The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary.
And now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.
The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more.
Still, it's easy to tune that out -- until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.
Review: Why, oh why, do I keep reading Westerfeld's books?
Seriously, I am not really sure why I keep doing it. Perhaps I hope they will be good books (though I did enjoy Midnighters) and that I will enjoy them. Also, I am not sure why I bothered to read the second book in this series and the third. Perhaps it's because they are usually quick reads and I like to finish series eventually even if I didn't like them too much. Regardless, I read Specials, which says it's the last in the trilogy, but there is Extras, which I'll probably read eventually too. 
It's been a while since I have read the first two so I don't remember too much. This book was full of drama and not much else (melodrama is a better term). The slang is irksome. The term icy kept making me think of snowmen and Ice Bat. I still find the world hard to swallow. Tally's adventures were somewhat entertaining and I liked  learning more about the world, especially new cities. Tally herself was annoying and downright stupid at times. I didn't like how quickly change came to the world. The book seemed pointless.
Rating:





Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those who have read and enjoyed the rest of this series. I would recommend the series to those that enjoy young adult dystopian fiction with an unusual world. 

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