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Pretties picks up right were Uglies left off with protagonist Tally Youngblood having gone through the surgery process to become "pretty", along with the sinister side effects.

This installment of the Uglies series felt incomplete. The first book felt like a complete story. Pretties didn't seem to have the same arc and I think that's because Tally doesn't really "change" she just gains "realization." As a result, it felt like a shorter journey and I was reading just to find out what happens next rather than understand the world and characters that Westerfeld created. I guess I'm a little disappointed in this sequel and I'm not sure what that portends for the next installment.

Is it funny? Yes. Is it entirely deserving of the hype and praise? Eh...

It took me quite a long time to finish this as other books kept interrupting it. It felt like Douglas Adams without a grounding story. I enjoyed the humor, but there wasn't anything keeping me tied to the book and the final run to the climax takes WAY too long (to the point of "I've read this before... get on with it!").

Worth your read? Yeah, especially if you're fans of Pratchett and/or Gaiman. However if you didn't like Hitchhikers, this will feel even more like a slog.

Ok, so Harry Potter this series is not, but it's decently entertaining. Year two for Percy starts with a bang and the adventure continues without a hiccup, this time seeking the Golden Fleece.

The problem is there is essentially no character development. There is no suspense either because the writing style just lays out flatly (X happens, then Y, then Z... etc). Which is really a shame because there could be some interesting exploration in the world Riordan has laid out. It just doesn't feel like there is much at stake even though supposedly "the whole world is in peril."

However, the ending adds a wrinkle I wasn't expecting. I'm curious how Riordan is going to play it...

Oh am I glad I didn't give up on this series! Extras is a fantastic capstone to Westerfeld's Uglies series and in many ways makes up for what I felt was a weak third book.

Extras introduces a new city, new characters, and a new society based on a reputation economy which given what is happening with Facebook, Twitter, and the Internet today, I found it riveting social commentary. The new characters are a little simple but moving away from Youngblood has allowed Westerfeld to explore even more of the world he has created. I felt this might have been even better than the first instalment of his Uglies series, which I think says a lot.

If you were disappointed with Specials, don't pass up Extras. This is the proper ending to the series.

Fantastic conclusion to a wonderful series. Lady Knight is a satisfying conclusion to the quartet, with some exemplary writing from Pierce. I found that I enjoyed the story of Kel's life more than Alanna -- both reached the same goal, but each to dramatically different paths to get there. Kel's was harder as she didn't go through the process in secret, which opened up more avenues for Pierce to explore.

While the series started off slow, the last two books are really gems in their storytelling. I enjoy how Pierce's writing evolves as the character gets older. Yet again, if you've got this far, you won't need this review to know you will inevitably ready this book.

The barrier between the mortal and immortal realms has fallen and war has broken out. We discover more about Daine's ancestry (which explain a few things) and we get a nice resolution to the budding relationship between Daine and Numair.

The series ends well, though on the whole the series didn't live up to the Alanna series (nor the PotS follow up). I would have thought it's a well known rule that your protagonist has to have some flaws -- something to overcome -- to make it a really good sympathetic character. Daine unfortunately really fails in this respect, to the detriment of the entire series.

There is no reason that this book should be classified as Young Adult, and it seems all the good science fiction & fantasy authors are stuck in that classification. Uglies is the first I've read from Westerfeld and will definitely make my way through the rest of his works.

Uglies is the first installment of a post-apocalyptic series where plastic surgery is used once someone reaches sixteen to make everyone "pretty." Westerfled does a good job exploring the societal consequences and unraveling the ulterior motives, without delving too much into contemporary cliches.

In the back of my mind, it reminded me slightly of [a:Stephenie Meyer|941441|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1250877761p2/941441.jpg]'s [b:The Host|1656001|The Host|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1259179981s/1656001.jpg|3328799] except without the incredibly sappy writing and love triangle. Highly recommended, and hoping the rest of this series lives up to this strong opening.

Getting to the heart of main plot arc, Daine and company head to Carthak in a last attempt to make peace. My issues with this series still remain unfortunately. Daine is too powerful and things come to her too easily to make her a very sympathetic character. Unlike the Alanna and PotS series, each book in the Immortals series takes place in a few days, even though there is about a year "time span" between each book. You never get the sense of the character aging and struggling with her talent.

Again, it's a quick read, so if you've already read the first two, you should definitely continue.