Reviews

Extra - Wer kennt dein Gesicht by Scott Westerfeld

lanica's review against another edition

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4.0

I read the first three books in this series all at once. I thought the series was complete, so I was surprised when this book came out. I just got a copy from the library and have finished it in two days. I liked it a lot.

This book stands on its own. I enjoyed the characters, and the new tech that Westerfeld created, especially the Shuffle House, how cool is that. I enjoyed his commentary on fame and his ideas about a possible future. He points out flaws in todays society in such a way that they seem obvious, but doesn't beat the point into the ground. It's like, "We should take better care of the Earth." Then, move on to the next plot point.

There was only one point where I thought, "No Way!" and was thrown out of my suspension of disbelief. Aliens? Oh, come on! But I read on, hoping there was a good explination.

I would love to read this with a group of middle school kids to see what they thought of it. It's an ideal book for book club and discussion about a wide range of topics.

elin_97's review against another edition

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1.0

DNF

jessicatamm92's review against another edition

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5.0

I've lost count of how many times I've read this series..
Chance are now that I'm blogging/booktubing I'll be rereading this very soon so that I can have a better review up for you all!
Just know that this is my favorite dystopian series!

rockbison's review against another edition

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4.0

I really liked this book, however I did not quite enjoy the "narrator" (Aya) and all the vocabulary and bubble-headedness of this "future".
I love David and will always love him and even with Tally doing stupid things again and again you can see how much she changed since Specials (and because of everything that happened back in there).

Aya is a great character, but just like Tally, back when she was ugly, she is just another city-minded and this make everything get bored at first sight. But with the plot twists, thing get better, a lot better.
I admit that I only enjoyed the book after Tally's ping. Before I was just comparing each person from Aya's life with the others from Tally's life. Like: Tally = Aya; Hiro + Ren = Peris...

***Spoiler: I didn't liked the way Scott defined David and Tally's relationship in the end(as "it's complicated"), I would prefer a "we're together, finally!"***

So, this is me trying to say: "It's a great book, even if gets boring in the beginning, the grand finale is really overwhelming, and exciting."

P.s.: Sorry for my English.

nannasa16's review against another edition

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2.0



The only thing I liked was reading about Tally and David. And I think there were something like ten lines about them so, you know a book is bad when the only good things were ten lines.

rflavin's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

melissabejot's review against another edition

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2.0

What a disappointment! I really loved the first three books in the Uglies series ([b:The Uglies Trilogy Uglies, Pretties, Specials|493455|The Uglies Trilogy Uglies, Pretties, Specials|Scott Westerfeld|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51y1I09pU-L._SL75_.jpg|2569547]) and I was curious about how there could be a fourth book when the story really seemed to end with [b:Specials|24765|Specials (Uglies, Book 3)|Scott Westerfeld|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DGHTWT10L._SL75_.jpg|3278286].

[b:Extras|493456|Extras (Uglies, Book 4)|Scott Westerfeld|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eZ85LAZfL._SL75_.jpg|3315797] follows a completely new character, Aya, who lives in a completely different city (it's in Japan!). The story picks up three years after [b:Specials|24765|Specials (Uglies, Book 3)|Scott Westerfeld|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DGHTWT10L._SL75_.jpg|3278286] ended, and while the main characters from the original three books make an appearance in [b:Extras|493456|Extras (Uglies, Book 4)|Scott Westerfeld|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eZ85LAZfL._SL75_.jpg|3315797], they play a pretty minor role. Aya's city (having been liberated from the Prettytime) has set up their new economy as a "reputation economy" in which being famous makes you rich. Aya is obsessed with becoming famous throughout the whole book and doesn't care who she has to hurt to accomplish this, which makes her a very unlikable character. She is really attached to her hovercam (a floating camera which she uses to capture news stories that may make her famous) and treats it almost like a pet puppy, calling it "Moggle." I think Moggle was supposed to be an endearing sidekick, but he/she was just annoying. No character in the book was interesting or likable. The romance wasn't even interesting or believable.

[b:Extras|493456|Extras (Uglies, Book 4)|Scott Westerfeld|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eZ85LAZfL._SL75_.jpg|3315797] wasn't engrossing and thought-provoking like the other Uglies books, and overall it just felt pointless. I had to force myself to keep reading, believing it would get better by the end. It was like reading an 8th Harry Potter book in which Rowling decided to write about a wizard boy named Hiro who lived in Japan, and what his life was like in a post-Voldemort world. Who really cares?

This book seemed like a transparent attempt for the author to keep making money off of the popular Uglies series. The problem, though, is that this book taints the whole series. I wish I had never read it. I did want to spend more time in the Uglies world, but not like this.

greene_house_gases's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

snwsandy's review against another edition

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2.0

A fourth book in what was supposed to be a trilogy. I continued on even though I found the third book to be utterly horrible and disappointing. This one is better, but still not great. I liked that a whole new set of characters and scenery started of his book. It starts in Japan, but the author does not seem to tell you until half way through the book when the characters were referenced as talking in Japanese. You would think the author would give you a better idea at the beginning rather than in the middle. I also liked the dystopia that this society is solely driven by social media behaviors of those similar to YouTube. Once again the heroine is trying to be something in this dystopia, but finds other purpose. It would be a good story if there was better writing and less annoying characters. Also, more of the author's stupid slang that is relentlessly thrown at you to make you think is a child writing this book. Also, the heroine from the first three books shows up and she is super-annoying. Done with this series so now I can move onto others.

emilyusuallyreading's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm a huge fan of the Uglies series. Extras fell short for me. Perhaps I was simply unwilling to embrace a main character in this world that wasn't Tally, but the descriptions of gadgets and society and real life social media made me struggle to keep up.