What happens when pretty suddenly isn’t enough? The novel Specials, the fourth in The Uglies Series, answers this question. After evolving from ugly to pretty to now special, Tally and her cutter friends are unstoppable. With cat-like reflexes and the strength of 1,00 uglies Tally, Shay, and others in their group of cutters take on crashing a party in Uglyville for old time's sake. An unexpected series of events transpires when Tally catches a previous love interest, shared by her and Shay, responsible for the damage done to the previous love of her life, Zane, in the Pretties novel. Tally and her crew of specials set out on a mission to catch David, Tally, and Shay’s ex-boyfriend, and retrieve their kidnapped friend. However, after hours of restlessness, searching, and near-death experiences, Tally can no longer go on without Zane and her life. Desperate for help, Tally ropes Shay into her plan to get Zane back and not only restore who he used to be but make him special just like Tally. Through much trial and error, backstabbing, and secrets, Tally may be able to get what she wants. This mission Tally embarks on will change everything for her, and require her to focus and listen to her intuition more than ever before. While it may seem like a thrilling, exciting read, I could not wait to be done with this book. Initially, it started off exciting with the whimsical, girly nature of crashing the uglies’ party. From there the book just continued to slow down. It was as if the climax was reached within the first 50 pages. The novel seemed like just a wild goose chase that continued and revolved completely around Tally and Zane. Through this, I developed a dislike for the main character, because of the selfish nature Westerfeld had begun to associate her with. Tally along with the other special’s actions became very predictable and repetitive. The novel ended on a cliffhanger just like the previous two, but I had no desire to know what was going to happen next. If you have the time to analyze and read this novel carefully, it might be much easier to follow and stay invested in, however, I did not allow that kind of attentiveness to the book and just found it repetitive and dull. While I was not a fan, I think Scott Westerfeld did an excellent job incorporating the technology piece into his novel and creating a true dystopian setting.
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