Extras by Scott Westerfeld
Extras
Scott Westerfeld
Fic
Wes
Hi all-
Welcome to the first entry in our book blog! Hopefully there will be many more to come. I wanted to start out with what is currently our most popular title- Extrasby Scott Westerfeld. This is the fourth book in the Uglies series (Uglies, Pretties, Specials) but the first three stand alone as a trilogy, where this book takes place a few years later with different characters (although some of the old characters show up after a while).
The setting is both similar and different to the first 3 books- the action takes place on Earth after what seems like a massive nuclear war (although the details are never explained). In the first 3 books, a seemilgly “perfect” society is established, where everyone is given plastic surgery to look pretty and live a vapid life of leisure and parties, oblivious to revolutionary groups at work. Extras takes place after events of the first 3 books, in a city where all citizens are ranked by their popularity (there is a constant feed of gossip and video that everyone checks to see if they have risen or fallen).
Aya Fuse, the 15 year old main character, has a rank that is so low that she is a nobody. She is trying to make that change, however, by using her hover-cam to “kick” a great story: film some undercover story and then upload it to the feeds (think YouTube). She thinks she is on to a great story, but it sets off a chain of events that she cannot control.
Fans of the first few books will not be disappointed- the technology is similar (including Hoverboards that work magnetically off an underground grid). However, things are just different enough in this city to make it interesting. Like all good science fiction, it takes today’s technology (Internet, YouTube, Instant Messaging) and imagines what the next step will be, giving a warning about how the technology might change us in the process.
These books have been hugely popular over the last year. I like them because they appeal to a lot of readers- boys, girls, science fiction fans, adventure fans, etc. Mr. Cleney turned me on to this series. Scott Westerfeld has also written in other genres, which maybe we will blog about in a future post. If you are interested, check out his blog, which has a lot of details about the books - http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/
Please leave a comment if you have read this book or other in the series, liked them, hated them, or read something else that was similar that you also like. Our goal is to share these books with other Shen readers so pepole might read something that they otherwise would have missed.
talk to you soon-
Mr. Davidson
lavijani said,
January 5, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Hello everyone,
My son Dylan (7th grader at Koda) and I enjoy reading together. He is really into sci-fi and fantasy (not my favorite genres) and we are currently reading Scott Westerfeld’s trilogy. We have almost finished with Uglies and despite my reservations I am truly enjoying it. Dylan tends to focus on the technology, action, (escape scenes) and survival strategies of the characters. I on the other hand enjoy the development of the relationships between the characters, which touch on first loves, jealousy, loyalty, friendships, true beauty, etc.
The book definitely brings home the message that although technology can be a wonderful asset, it does ultimately shape who we are as humans, our priorities, our work ethics. The interface ring in the book immediately made me think of my husband’s pager and cell phone which like many of us he seems to be permanently attached to. Technology adds to and takes from our relationships with others, another point which is highlighted in the book. Also as a society we are on a dangerous road of preoccupation for physical perfection. The price many people are willing to pay to achieve this has already proven questionable at best. As a mother I appreciate however the underlying theme throughout the book which is that despite all of these external elements, there will always be enough of the human spirit to prevail and that hopefully we will ultimately find a balance between progress and what is best for humankind. This is the lesson I hope my technology loving son will learn and I appreciate novels that provide an opportunity to open up dialogue between us on this subject In our opinion Scott Westerfeld does an excellent job of showing where all of this may eventually lead.
Definitely a must read!
Mrs. Lavigne
Library Aide
Dylan Lavigne
Shen student
Anonymous said,
January 5, 2008 at 3:56 pm