Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 546

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's Books

Released: 24th of September 2015

Ethan aka Scam has a voice inside him that'll say whatever people want to hear, whether it's true or not. Which is handy, except when it isn't - like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren't exactly best friends these days.

Enter Nate, aka Bellwether, the group's 'glorious leader.' After Scam's SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the rescue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals. At the heart of the chaos they find Kelsie, who can take a crowd in the palm of her hand and tame it or let it loose as she pleases.

What I Have to Say 

Who can resist a superhero book by Scott Westerfeld? I don't know much about the other authors, but their writing blends seamlessly, creating a wonderfully told story from six different perspectives. 

I loved each of the characters in different ways. They all had a distinct and interesting personality to bring to the mix. I think my favourites were Flicker and Anonymous. Flicker because she was so sweet and because of the way her superpower helped a little to compensate for her blindness when other people are around. Anonymous's powers are so sad. His backstory is really tragic. Although the best scenes are where he pops into a scene from nowhere at just the right moment, 

The story worked best because all the characters; their stories and powers all fitted together so well. Mob was separate for a while, but even then she was there. She passed by Scam and was involved so deeply in the story. It shows how well thought out the character were so that they could work so well as a team. 

I can't wait to see how this series develops. 

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 664

Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Children's Books

Released: 24th of September 2014

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings…

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack.

But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most.

What I Have To Say

I wasn't sure how this book would really work. I honestly thought that Darcy's book would be the only interesting parts. But it was by Scott Westerfeld, who's one of my favourite authors so I thought I'd give it a shot. 

It actually really surprised me. At times I was more into Lizzie's story and was reading quickly through the Darcy parts to get back to it. But at other times it was the other way around. And then there were times when I got so into each part that I forgot that something dramatic was happening in the other part.

On the whole, I think I liked Darcy's story the best as it showed a lot of Darcy's worries about being in the adult world. I was especially interested in the fact that it showed someone who chooses a path other than university, as this isn't something that's seen often. 

The way this was written just made it so much more interesting. It wasn't a contempory romance about a young debut author, it wasn't a paranormal thriller about hot hindu death gods. It was two books in one. And it did it brilliantly. 

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

Pages: 448
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 1st of October 2009

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

What I Have to Say

It took me a while to get into this one. I found it a bit overly detailed, especially towards the start, but once I got the fact that it was a parallel of World War One, I managed to get into it. The fact is though, I get put off by too much political stuff in books. I appreciate that for some books it's needed, but if I have to process too much information in order to understand the book, then it just puts me off. 


I really do recommend this book though. Politics aside, the world he's created is just as creative and interesting as the Uglies universe. 


I especially like the Darwinists. It was a really interesting take on steampunk, to have the traditional steam powered walkers and then to have a different branch of technology running alongside it where they have used animals and evolution to create their tech. I haven't read much steampunk, but I have never heard of this idea before. Westerfeld is a genius. 


In all, I would recommend this book to steampunk fans especially. Also, people who are interested in History, especially the First World War. But anyone who likes sci fi can find a lot of enjoyment from this book really.

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

Pages: 417
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Realised on: 2nd of October 2007
Other Books in this Series:
     Uglies
     Pretties
     Specials

It's a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is in a complete cultural renaissance. "Tech-heads" flaunt their latest gadgets, "kickers" spread gossip and trends, and "surge monkeys" are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it's all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of "American Idol." Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.

As if being fifteen doesn't suck enough, Aya Fuse's rank of 451,369 is so low, she's a total nobody. An extra. But Aya doesn't care; she just wants to lie low with her drone, Moggle. And maybe kick a good story for herself.

Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secretive of it. Aya wants desperately to kick their story, to show everyone how intensely cool the Sly Girls are. But doing so would propel her out of extra-land and into the world of fame, celebrity...and extreme danger. A world she's not prepared for.

What I Have to Say

 

Extras was amazing! I loved it so much! Probably in part because it's set in Japan, but it was also really cleverly written. The change in culture was really smoothly done. I think it was partly because Westerfeld only changed it slightly. 

It's not too inaccurate, because especially in the future, the cultures will be very similar, because they're growing more and more similar as time goes on.  But at the same time, he's made it so obviously Japan. As well as also fitting in the fact that the society has developed quiet a bit since we last saw it with Tally. I envy Westerfeld's way of creating such unique and intricate worlds. 


I think it was also really clever to separate this book from the previous three. It was nice to have a few of the loose ends left from Specials tied up, and also from a different view point that Tally. It was great to see where the society went after the mind-rain. 


In my opinion though, this is the best book of the series, though that might just be because it's Japan ^^

This is the last book in the series, so I won't have a chance to say this again, if you haven't read this series then you are seriously missing out! 

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

 Do not read this review unless you have already read both Uglies and Pretties or don't mind being spoiled. My review for Uglies is located here and my review for Pretties is here.

Synopsis (from the Waterstones Website)

Pages: 400
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: 4th of March 2010


"Special Circumstances" - These words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a rebellious Ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumour - frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary...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: carry out the mission she's programmed to complete, or listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat telling her that something's wrong...Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.

What I Have to Say

 With every book I read of this series, I wait for the idea to become stretched and unbelievable, but Westerfeld keeps making it work.

I love  the way he's combined Tally the Special, Tally the Pretty and Tally the Ugly. In both of these later books he's managed to put the 'bubblehead' or predatory-cruel-pretty persona onto her without losing the voice of Tally that we grew to love in the first book. It's easy to believe that no matter how much they muck around in her head, she'll always be the same Tally underneath. It works so well because the different versions are so different but still leave room for the character underneath to peek through.

I really love this series and don't want it to end. It's just such a great dystopian world that he's created.

If you've not already taken my advice and read Uglies, please get hold of a copy and read. I hope that you'll fall in love with this world as much as I have. :) I'll probably reiterate this in my review of Extras later on ;)
 

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

 Do not read this review unless you have already read Uglies or don't mind being spoiled. My review for Uglies is located here!

 Synopsis (From the Waterstones Website)

Tally has finally become 'pretty'. Her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are cool, her boyfriend is totally gorgeous, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted. But beneath all the fun - the non-stop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom - is a nagging feeling that something is very wrong. Something important. And sure enough, when a message from Tally's 'ugly' past arrives, the fun stops cold. Now Tally has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life...

What I Have to Say

I think that Pretties really lived up to the standard set by the first book. For one thing Westerfeld managed to smoothly do the recapping the story thing, that authors seem to think they have to do.  Because Tally's pretty-brain is affecting her memory she is slowly getting her memories back. It means that the reader gets reminded what's previously happened without it being intrusive or info dumpy. It's just smoothly worked into the story.

I thought that the book was really well written and it was just as good as the last one, so if you enjoyed Uglies you're likely to enjoy Pretties! :)

My comments still stand about the world and characters, I still love the world Scott Westerfeld described with it's dark secrets, but what struck me most was the slang that was used throughout the book.

Slang can be done badly in books, but it's really fun to read when it's done well. And I think that part of the reasons is how integral the slang was to the plot. Tally and Zane seemed to find it much easier to hide what they were saying and indeed the fact that they were bubbly because slang is very prominent in the Pretty personality. 

It also made it very easy to adapt what they where saying. Slang is often very easy to understand what they were saying. Slang is often very easy to adapt into code and the fact that the crims could convey that they where feeling less pretty-brained by being bubbly. It really works well to convey how much they're having to hide their conversations and how clever they're being. It's just very well constructed, with so much detail. It really feels that Westerfeld has thought about everything.

If every book had this much detail without becoming too infodumpy, then books would be so much better than they are now.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Synopsis (From The Waterstone's Website)

Tally lives in a world where your sixteenth birthday brings aesthetic perfection: an operation which erases all your flaws, transforming you from an 'Ugly' into a 'Pretty'. She is on the eve of this important event, and cannot wait for her life to change. As well as guaranteeing supermodel looks, life as a Pretty seems to revolve around having a good time.
But then she meets Shay, who is also fifteen - but with a very different outlook on life. Shay isn't sure she wants to be Pretty and plans to escape to a community in the forest - the Rusty Ruins - where Uglies go to escape ' turning'. Tally won't be persuaded to join her, as this would involve sacrificing everything she's ever wanted for a lot of uncertainty. When she is taken in for questioning on her birthday, however, Tally gets sent to the Ruins anyway - against her will.The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she could ever imagine: find her friend Shay and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. What she discovers in the Ruins reveals that there is nothing 'pretty' about the transformations...And the choice Tally makes will change her world forever.

What I Have to Say
  
I've fallen completely in love with this series. It just feels so real. All of the new ideas that Westerfeld has come  up with have a basis in today's society. The whole "Size Zero" thing that we have today seems like it could really grow into the "Pretty" society that Westerfeld describes.

But I think the scariest thing about it is that the logic behind it is understandable. I'm not saying that it would be good, just that you can see where they're coming from. Mostly, it's the making people Pretty so that everyone looks the same thing. It's true that a lot of conflict comes from differences in appearance and one way to stop those arguments would be to somehow make everyone the same.

I think that's the way to make a good realistic "Utopian" society. Start with one thing that could make the world a better place and then find all the problems with it.

Secrets also tend to be good, 'cause they give a mystery into the plot. It's especially so because when you see a Utopia you instantly start looking for underlying problems.

Anyway, I think this is a really, really interesting story world and I'm looking forward to reading more of it.

In a few weeks they'll be another review for the next book in the series. In the mean time, I really think that you all should get Uglies, because it's just an amazing book.