I can appreciate the dedication of this book, “To everyone who wrote to me to reveal the secret definition of the word ‘trilogy.’” This is the fourth book in the Uglies trilogy. Why it works? We are introduced to a new heroine, a new country, a new culture. The residents are recovering from the great “mind-rain” a few years back that was caused by the legendary Tally Youngblood, the heroine of the original three. The book is built upon Tally’s world, but it is different.
Imagine that you had to earn your keep, goods and services through community service and… fame, more commonly known as merit and rank. Aya Fuse lives in a city with a Reputation Economy. She can earn merits by going to school and babysitting littlies. Those merits can be used to buy food and clothing. Whereas Tally used to tell a hole in the wall what she needed or wanted and it was provided, Aya must be able to pay for what she requests and merits are one form of currency.
Face rank is the other. Aya is constantly aware of her face rank which hovers around 451,000 at the beginning of the book. This means that 450,999 people in the city rank higher than Aya. Aya is considered an extra, a loser, an unknown. You gain face rank by the number of people that follow your feed, say your name, read your stories, and pay attention to you. The higher your face rank, the greater your reputation, the stronger your power and the more stuff you can acquire.
Aya has contact with fame. Her older brother, Hiro has just made it into the top one thousand. Being in the top one thousand faces is a notable accomplishment with important invitations. Hiro made it big by “kicking” a story about Crumblies seeking immortality by having organ transplants frequently. Hiro has an instinct for selling a clique, a gadget and even himself. And being his younger, ugly, extra of a sister is AWKWARD!
Aya has a plan to sell herself. She has found THE story to kick. There is a new clique called the Sly Girls and they surf the mag-lev rails through the wilderness. What’s more is that they desire anonymity, not that Aya can understand that, but most kids believe the Sly Girls to be urban legend. Aya thinks this is the story to boost her face rank right out of extra-dom. She just has to lie a bit in order to earn their trust and respect. And surf the mag-lev rails herself. And stumble upon an even bigger story in the process – a story with the headline of “City Killer”.
If you missed the fourth book in the series, if you thought the trilogy had ended, look again. I recommend you go back and check this one out. It has the familiar and the extraterrestrial. I recommend this series to Junior and Senior High Schoolers who enjoy science fiction. With strong heroines, the girls will readily pick it up. I would love to find a guy to try it out.
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