Specials

Reader reviewed by cosmicdustbella

Special Circumstances. The words have sent chills down Tall's spine since her days as a repellent,, rebellious ugly. Back then the Specials were a sinister rumor, frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breath-takingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally has never been ordinary.

And now she has 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 is easy to tune that out-until Tally is 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 that she is programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.

In this exciting conclusion to Scott Westerfeld's trilogy, Tally must face one of the biggest desicions of her life. In this well-written, thought rovoking, and engrossing futuristic trilogy, he has built a masterfully complex and vivid civilizatilon.

Reader reviewed by KitKat

The entire trilogy is brilliant. Specials, the final book, is the best of all.

Tally is superstrong, superfast, supersmart, superbeautiful, superpriveledged... and yet something's missing. Why is her mind not icy-clear like the other Specials'? Why is it that when she's ordered to hunt down David like an animal, destroy her once-home the Smoke, and abandon Zane, she's conflicted?

While Uglies was great, Pretties interesting but somewhat superficial, Specials is absorbing, deep, and absolutely brilliant. It has the top spot on my bookshelf and I recommend it to everyone!

Reader reviewed by Sam

Liek the title said, i loved the book, better then the first 2, but sad to say the ending i didn't like.

I didn't liek taht Zane got worse, that he was crippled, that he ending up dying. That was wrong, and the author messed up big time with that.

If one of Tally's ex boyfriends had to die, why coudln't david? He was a useless Ugly. But that is my opinion.

The thing i loved the most, was the journey to the new smoke, i was surprised it was an actually village. Great twists, and really developed charactors.

Reader reviewed by risunoko

Specials by Scott Westerfeld is a great book. I would recommend it to anybody that has read the first two books in the series, Uglies, and Pretties. If you have not read the first two books, Specials will most likely be pretty confusing! When I first started reading it I wasn't to sure about it, it seemed like I had already read it, I was ready for something new and exciting. After the first few chapters it got a lot better!


Tally Younglood is now one of the rumored Specials (if you didn't figure it out from the book title). Tally has two choices, to carry out the mission she was given and destroy the Smokies, or to listen to a little voice inside her that is telling her to do good. Which will she choose? You'll have to read it to find out, and I suggest that you do! Scott Westerfeld really pulls you into the story and keeps you guessing until the very end. Once you have read Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, do not miss the last book in the series, Extras. These books are definitely worth buying and adding to your library.

Reader reviewed by Kayla (Midnight Twilight)

Tally thought they were just a myth, but now she's one of them. A special, a cutter. She is programed to keep the uglies in check and the pretties stupid.

But something stirs at the back of her mind and she questions whether being special is the best thing int the world, or if there's something better.

Tally is then given a chance to complete her mission: to wipe out the New Smoke forever. But there is still the little nagging doubt in the back of her mind. Which way will her loyalty fall; read the Uglies Series to find out.


The Uglies Trilogy was supposed to be a "Trilogy" (as in three books), but Scott Westerfeld decided to write a fourth book in the series (and i'm not complaining, these books are amazing). But this book was meant to be the end and was written that way, so that's how i'll talk about it. This is the resolution for Tally, Shay, David, Zane, and the rest of the group. It's amazing to see how all these people changed over a one year time line. In Specials i find Tally a bit scary, i know she's the same person she always was, but the way she acts is a bit unnerving. In the end i truly believe this series is a must read for anyone who has a pulse.

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

Tally has undergone yet another operation, and now she is a superhuman fighting machine, a Special. With her best friend Shay, she is a Cutter, and everything needs to icy sharp, because its better that way.

She and the Cutters are up against a new enemy: the Smokies. They are the teens who live out in the wild and smuggle nanos into to Uglies about to undergo the operation. This is dangerous because nanos can completely destroy the brain. But just because they are Specials doesnt mean they are foolproof; the Smokies manage to trick them, capturing Shay and another Cutter. Things are heating up. Tally is slightly repulsed by Zane, whos been permanently damaged by nanos, and meets David again.

I thought that Specials was an amazing ending to an amazing series. I could feel myself slip into Tallys character a lot, and the ending was surprising, but still incredible. I highly recommend this series to everyone, because I loved it so much.

Reader reviewed by Bettina

Tally Youngblood, originally a bored "ugly," then a bubbleheaded "pretty" and now, a cruel "Special." And that's not all she's a special "special," a Cutter. Yeah, it's a little lame, but the story isn't that bad. It's a conclusion to the Tally part of the series. It's all about saving Tally's world that's made up of mad scientists and obediant pretties. Tally's world is shaken when old friends come back and her "special" mind's ideas are revised.

This is an ok book. Uglies is still the best book. The different technologies and different surgaries are cool, but this book gets a little complicated.

Reader reviewed by abscae

While Pretties left me slightly unnerved (yet it was really good), this book just stunned me away. Westerfeld's writing has always stunned me because not only does he present thoughtful concepts and ideas to society, he shows it in such a way that leaves people aware. I think that the Uglies trilogy is a phenomenal embankment of what society has slowly started turning to: perfect bodies.

In Specials, Westerfeld once again stuns his readers by creating the last part of Tally's exciting tale. Full of excitement and emotions, I would definitely recommend this book. Not only does it present very thoughtful ideas, it brings to light some of teenagers very feels and emotions.

Reader reviewed by Wendy

this was a very interesting ending to the uglies trilogy. in this hit, tally is turned into a Cutter, a group of Special Circumstance Agent. She is still in love with Zane and will not lwt go till he too becomes a cutter. She and Shay come up with this brilliant plan to free Zane and send him into the wild to find and betral the new smoke. Little do the know, the New SMoke is a whole lot more bigger than what they think. Tally is still unsure of who she is and who she wants to be.

this was a really amazing book that i would recomend to any sci-fi genre lovers and anyone who is looking for something new and different to read or has already read the first two books n the trilogy.

i was a little disappointed in the way Scott Westerfield ened the seies because it keeps the reader guessing and wanting more, and unsatisfied ending but a good one as well.

Reader reviewed by Springhair

This is the third and final book in the Uglies series. Tally Youngblood has now become Special, and works with her friend Shay for special circumstances. When one of her other friends is stolen by the new smoke, Tally seeks out her old boyfriend, who has had parts of his brain eaten away but is a bit better now. Shay and Tally break into the Armory, the place where weapons are stored in case of another war, to help the crims escape. Shay wants to follow a tracker they found to the new smoke, but Tally wants to stay with the crims. When Tally gets to the city, she is scheduled for despecialization, but she escapes with the help of Shay. Shay and Tally then fight off an attack form their own city and Tally realizes she has to go the city to make everything right again. As I mentioned above, this is the last book in the series, and it really made me absolutely want another book. While I thought things were tied up pretty good, I still like the series enough to want another. If this was the first one you picked up, definitely pick up the rest of the series because it was really good. I recommend this to everyone.