Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Stephanie

At long last the final installment in Scott Westerfeld's immensely popular UGLIES trilogy is out. Tally Youngblood, the independent and strong-willed protagonist, has undergone more mental and physical changes than she can count. Now, for one last time, she will change again.

Tally has been a Cutter, a special division of Special Circumstances, for several months now. Cruelly beautiful with enhanced reflexes and easily triggered tempers, everyone fears the legendary Specials. Tally and her friend Shay want to subdue the New Smokies, who are spreading a cure to the bubbleheadedness. However, when one of their own is taken by the Smokies, Tally and Shay decide to go another avenue: they will help Zane, Tally's mentally damaged boyfriend, escape from New Pretty Town. Hopefully he will help the Cutters find the location of the New Smoke.

But Tally's feelings towards Zane conflict with her Special mental programming. And being in the wild is causing her overly sharp senses to calm down a little. What's more, it turns out that she and Shay have started a war between New Pretty Town and the New Smoke, a city called Diego. Tally must battle her Specials programming and learn to "think" for herself again before she can put a stop to this unnecessary war and the brain lesions.

The UGLIES trilogy will appeal to both boys and girls, and this fantastic conclusion really wraps up why Scott Westerfeld is such a brilliant writer. SPECIALS has action, emotion, love, and forgiveness, and the ending gives you hope. They are still out there.