Reviews
Secrets : Le guide de l'univers d'Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Guillaume Fournier, Craig Phillips
melissabejot's review against another edition
4.0
I'd recommend this book to any fan of the Uglies series who wants more information about the Ugiles world and Scott Westerfeld's writing. Only read this guide, though, if you have read all four books because it contains major spoilers.
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I bought this book. Support your authors!
Book Series: Uglies Series Book
Rating: 5/5
Publication Date: October 21, 2008
Genre: YA Dystopian
Recommended Age: 14+ (violence, some gore, fighting the government, romance, dictionary terms)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 196
Amazon Link
Synopsis: THE WORLD OF UGLIES, SET IN OUR NOT-SO-DISTANT FUTURE,is a complex place filled with bubbly technology and lingo, yet bogus rules about status and appearance. That's why a guide to the world of uglies has been requisitioned from the hole in the wall. Inside you'll find:
A rundown on all the cliques, from Crims and Cutters to tech-heads and surge-monkeys
The complete history, starting with the destruction of the oil bug to the launch of Extras in space
How all those awesome gadgets came to be: hoverboards, eyescreens, skintennas, sneak suits...
PLUS an exclusive look at Scott Westerfeld's first draft of Extras -- starring Hiro, not Aya.
And so much more, it's mind-wrecking.
Review: Oh. My. God. I loved this dictionary-like book! I loved seeing all the detail that went into this series and it just made my uglies loving heart soar! The details are fantastic and everything is so well explained.
However, I feel like there could be more and I’m a bit sad that some of the later cultures aren’t included in this book.
Verdict: I still love this series.
Book Series: Uglies Series Book
Rating: 5/5
Publication Date: October 21, 2008
Genre: YA Dystopian
Recommended Age: 14+ (violence, some gore, fighting the government, romance, dictionary terms)
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 196
Amazon Link
Synopsis: THE WORLD OF UGLIES, SET IN OUR NOT-SO-DISTANT FUTURE,is a complex place filled with bubbly technology and lingo, yet bogus rules about status and appearance. That's why a guide to the world of uglies has been requisitioned from the hole in the wall. Inside you'll find:
A rundown on all the cliques, from Crims and Cutters to tech-heads and surge-monkeys
The complete history, starting with the destruction of the oil bug to the launch of Extras in space
How all those awesome gadgets came to be: hoverboards, eyescreens, skintennas, sneak suits...
PLUS an exclusive look at Scott Westerfeld's first draft of Extras -- starring Hiro, not Aya.
And so much more, it's mind-wrecking.
Review: Oh. My. God. I loved this dictionary-like book! I loved seeing all the detail that went into this series and it just made my uglies loving heart soar! The details are fantastic and everything is so well explained.
However, I feel like there could be more and I’m a bit sad that some of the later cultures aren’t included in this book.
Verdict: I still love this series.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good background info on the Uglies world. The best parts are where the author tells his inspiration for various bits. A whole lot less summarizes repeat material then say the Percy Jackson or Vampire Academy equivalents. But still not as in depth as I'd like. Most likely the book of essays will have more.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes, when a book series gets really popular, writers will try to cash in by writing unauthorized guides to the story or books about the "science" behind popular fantasy titles. Then, rarely, you get a book like Bogus to Bubbly: An Insider's Guide to the World of Uglies (2008) that was actually written by the ultimate insider: Scott Westerfeld.
Uglies is a series of books (one trilogy and a companion book) about a world in the future where in order to prevent war and strife everyone gets plastic surgery to be beautiful and live long. Everyone else, by contrast, is ugly. That is the super, super short explanation of the series which is more complex. I don't recommending reading this guide before the series because it contains spoilers and, truth be told, unless you know you like the books this guide will not be that interesting.
Westerfeld explains a lot of things in this book. He discusses where the idea for the story came from, as well as how he thought of skintennas and the Rusties. Parts of the book also explain technology, history, and culture surrounding the worlds created in the Uglies series.
What I liked about the book was that it mentioned a lot about the writing process. While Westerfeld himself notes that it's hard to trace the origin of ideas, this book does try. It's interesting to read how a dentist visit inspired several aspects of the book while, thankfully, we are not the entire inspiration behind the Rusties. Explanations of names and slanguage were also very informative and interesting.
I was less enthralled by the technology information. It was fun to hear about the science of beauty, but the information about magnetic levitation, hoverboards and inventions got a bit, well, technical. Although I fully admit that could be me since Uglies is one of the few straight sci-fi series I read (I usually go in for fantasy which, having dragons and what not, is guaranteed to be less technical). There is also a bit of repetition with the books revealing much of what Westerfeld puts together in Bogus to Bubbly but that is probably inevitable with an insider's guide like this.
Aside from content, I liked the book's organization. It's written like a real guide with cross-referencing between sections and an index. The book also includes illustrations and maps which helped a lot to visualize the city as it was meant to be seen.
While the entire book might not be read-worthy for every fan, it's very likely at least one nagging question about the series will be answered in this book. Mine, for instance, being whether belly sensors were indeed belly button rings or not. Readers will also leave the guide with a new insight into how the writing process might work. On top of that, Bogus to Bubbly also includes a preview of Westerfeld's new series Leviathan.
My only serious regret is that the Awesome Librarian Clique only warranted passing mention (though since they didn't factor in the books at all, perhaps that is to be expected).
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
Uglies is a series of books (one trilogy and a companion book) about a world in the future where in order to prevent war and strife everyone gets plastic surgery to be beautiful and live long. Everyone else, by contrast, is ugly. That is the super, super short explanation of the series which is more complex. I don't recommending reading this guide before the series because it contains spoilers and, truth be told, unless you know you like the books this guide will not be that interesting.
Westerfeld explains a lot of things in this book. He discusses where the idea for the story came from, as well as how he thought of skintennas and the Rusties. Parts of the book also explain technology, history, and culture surrounding the worlds created in the Uglies series.
What I liked about the book was that it mentioned a lot about the writing process. While Westerfeld himself notes that it's hard to trace the origin of ideas, this book does try. It's interesting to read how a dentist visit inspired several aspects of the book while, thankfully, we are not the entire inspiration behind the Rusties. Explanations of names and slanguage were also very informative and interesting.
I was less enthralled by the technology information. It was fun to hear about the science of beauty, but the information about magnetic levitation, hoverboards and inventions got a bit, well, technical. Although I fully admit that could be me since Uglies is one of the few straight sci-fi series I read (I usually go in for fantasy which, having dragons and what not, is guaranteed to be less technical). There is also a bit of repetition with the books revealing much of what Westerfeld puts together in Bogus to Bubbly but that is probably inevitable with an insider's guide like this.
Aside from content, I liked the book's organization. It's written like a real guide with cross-referencing between sections and an index. The book also includes illustrations and maps which helped a lot to visualize the city as it was meant to be seen.
While the entire book might not be read-worthy for every fan, it's very likely at least one nagging question about the series will be answered in this book. Mine, for instance, being whether belly sensors were indeed belly button rings or not. Readers will also leave the guide with a new insight into how the writing process might work. On top of that, Bogus to Bubbly also includes a preview of Westerfeld's new series Leviathan.
My only serious regret is that the Awesome Librarian Clique only warranted passing mention (though since they didn't factor in the books at all, perhaps that is to be expected).
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
seelyjo's review against another edition
4.0
This is a good companion to the Uglies series. I enjoyed reading Westerfeld's explanations on why he made some of the writing decisions that he did.
somewheregirl7's review against another edition
4.0
I have been eagerly waiting for this guide to the Uglies series for a while. It was a lot of fun to find out the background info behind the names in the series, more info about some characters and the Hoverboard manual was really cute. I liked the light science and tech stuff that is sprinkled throughout.
Westerfeld's tone is informal and friendly, as though he's just chatting with the reader. It makes me want to dive back into the books for the fiftieth time. It's safe to say I have a slight obsession with this series and the guide helped satisfy that itch for all too brief a time. I dearly hope Westerfeld someday revists Tally's world!
Westerfeld's tone is informal and friendly, as though he's just chatting with the reader. It makes me want to dive back into the books for the fiftieth time. It's safe to say I have a slight obsession with this series and the guide helped satisfy that itch for all too brief a time. I dearly hope Westerfeld someday revists Tally's world!
stiricide's review against another edition
3.0
It's a nice afterward to the Uglies series, if you were all in on that. I don't think I learned anything new, plotwise, but it was a nice little insight to where Westerfeld's mind was at while writing all of it.
apalubeskie's review against another edition
3.5
I did enjoy the history of the books. It wasn’t something I normally would read. It is a cool concept and not something usually written either.