This is the third in a series of four books that began with Uglies and continued in Pretties. For almost all of the book--until the last two pages in fact, this was a five star book, even better than the first. A terrific ride, an e-ticket, this gets to a faster, more exciting start than the first two books and never lets up for a second, and unlike the case with the second book, I had no idea of where it was headed. Westerfeld is a strong writer, not just in plot but characters like Zane, David and Tally you really care about, and an incredible imagination that makes this book and series stand out among not just Young Adult fiction but science fiction. I loved how it played with the issue of agency and identity.
Reading other reviews I note many readers hated Tally in this one and were I reading this independently I'm sure I'd feel the same. But especially having read each book in the series on consecutive days, whipping through each in a few hours, I can't hate Tally here. She's been so messed with, so manipulated and she's so young and has had no time to assimilate and reflect on the changes. So I saw her unlikable aspects as not reflecting on her, but her society. Nevertheless, a lot of Tally's judgements on people makes me feel as if the message I thought was there in Uglies about looking deeper than just appearances felt undermined.
In terms of story logic and characterization consistency I can't complain about the ending, and I'm sure many readers, including friends of mine more "eco-friendly" will cheer. So it's not so much about the quality of the book as it is me. I find all totalitarian ideologies repugnant, not just black fascism and red socialism but green environmentalism as well. So the Greenpeacy "Manifesto" ending left me wanting to hurl the book against the wall and decry the trees lost to make the pages. It seems to endorse Dr Cable's point of view that humans are a plague on the Earth. Just call me "Rusty," I guess. One other thing by the way I did find disturbing, considering this is targeted toward the teen market--is how it made cutting sound rather attractive--mood-altering and consciousness raising. So, even if a couple of friends who very much liked the first three books hadn't told me Extras just isn't anywhere near as good, I'd stop right here and won't ever be reading more of Westerfeld. Strictly going by Goodreads rating standards where one star means "did not like" I should rate this even lower--but I felt I should recognize the quality of the ride so I raised it higher than that. The book defines page turner.
