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Impostors #4
Youngbloods
IT'S TIME TO
COME OUT OF HIDING
Frey has spent her life in a family of deceivers, a stand-in for her sister, manipulated at her father's command. Free from them at last, she is finding her own voice -- and using it to question everything her family stood for.
Tally was once the most famous rebel in the world. But for over a decade, she's kept to the shadows, allowing her myth to grow even as she receded. Now she sees that the revolution she led has not created a stable world. Freedom, she observes, has a way of destroying things.
As the world is propelled further into conflict and conspiracy, Frey and Tally join forces to put a check on the people in power, while still trying to understand their own power and where it belongs.
With Youngbloods, master storyteller Scott Westerfeld decisively brings back his most iconic character and merges his Impostors and Uglies series into a breathtaking tale of rivalry, rebellion, and repercussion.
COME OUT OF HIDING
Frey has spent her life in a family of deceivers, a stand-in for her sister, manipulated at her father's command. Free from them at last, she is finding her own voice -- and using it to question everything her family stood for.
Tally was once the most famous rebel in the world. But for over a decade, she's kept to the shadows, allowing her myth to grow even as she receded. Now she sees that the revolution she led has not created a stable world. Freedom, she observes, has a way of destroying things.
As the world is propelled further into conflict and conspiracy, Frey and Tally join forces to put a check on the people in power, while still trying to understand their own power and where it belongs.
With Youngbloods, master storyteller Scott Westerfeld decisively brings back his most iconic character and merges his Impostors and Uglies series into a breathtaking tale of rivalry, rebellion, and repercussion.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2022
About the author
Scott Westerfeld
86 books20.8k followersScott Westerfeld is a New York Times bestselling author of YA. He is best known for the Uglies and Leviathan series. His current series, IMPOSTORS, returns to the world of Uglies.
The next book in that series, MIRROR'S EDGE, comes out April 6, 2021.
The next book in that series, MIRROR'S EDGE, comes out April 6, 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
March 20, 2022
this was a good ending to this series. and my 12yo self is satisfied.
April 14, 2022
I wish I had never read this series of books. Perhaps I never knew Tally Youngblood if she is/was who this final book presented her as. The Uglies series made you see Tally's flaws, but you still rooted for her, and you still understood her, and most importantly I wanted to be her friend. This book made Tally seem distant and someone that I would avoid. I have to say that Frai has never really been my favorite, and perhaps I resented her being more the hero than Tally.
***spoiler alert***
I also disliked the brush-off given to David. Tally mentions him as if he never really mattered, that she was an object she lost along the way and "c'est la vie". This contrasts with the Tally I know as well, and with the David I knew. He went against his whole crew and his mother to defend Tally and his love for her. And now you are telling me that: shrug, they aren't even friends anymore, but that is no big deal. This series, and this final book have somewhat destroyed my Uglies world, and I wish I had never read them to preserve what I knew before. I love Westerfeld, and his world and vocabulary building is pure genius, but he and I definitely had a different vision. I would also like to comment on the Audio book and they narrator Theresa Plummer. I understand the drama that courses through the story, but the narrator voice constantly had the inflection of being stressed, and I had the feeling constantly that she was about to go over a cliff of suspense. After awhile this can become exhausting to listen to.
If you loved this book i am happy for you, but Uglies fans beware to possibly have your Uglies world shaken, and you can never go back.
***spoiler alert***
I also disliked the brush-off given to David. Tally mentions him as if he never really mattered, that she was an object she lost along the way and "c'est la vie". This contrasts with the Tally I know as well, and with the David I knew. He went against his whole crew and his mother to defend Tally and his love for her. And now you are telling me that: shrug, they aren't even friends anymore, but that is no big deal. This series, and this final book have somewhat destroyed my Uglies world, and I wish I had never read them to preserve what I knew before. I love Westerfeld, and his world and vocabulary building is pure genius, but he and I definitely had a different vision. I would also like to comment on the Audio book and they narrator Theresa Plummer. I understand the drama that courses through the story, but the narrator voice constantly had the inflection of being stressed, and I had the feeling constantly that she was about to go over a cliff of suspense. After awhile this can become exhausting to listen to.
If you loved this book i am happy for you, but Uglies fans beware to possibly have your Uglies world shaken, and you can never go back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2022
3.5 if I'm being super honest, but I'm a goner for this series.
The book took a while to pick up, not because it was slow - there are literally no lulls in this book, everyone is constantly running, fighting and hoverboarding all over the place - but the motivations for the Youngbloods to join in on Frey's vengeance plan weren't really convincing me.
However, half way thtough it started getting progressively more interesting and infuriating in just the right way.
Tally felt real and like a 40yo Special Tally should, I was impressed.
All in all, satisfied with this final installment although would not hide my excitement if another spin off series were to be announced...
The book took a while to pick up, not because it was slow - there are literally no lulls in this book, everyone is constantly running, fighting and hoverboarding all over the place - but the motivations for the Youngbloods to join in on Frey's vengeance plan weren't really convincing me.
However, half way thtough it started getting progressively more interesting and infuriating in just the right way.
Tally felt real and like a 40yo Special Tally should, I was impressed.
All in all, satisfied with this final installment although would not hide my excitement if another spin off series were to be announced...
May 8, 2022
This series would have been better off stopping at book three. How many descriptions of Hoverboarding through a forest does one book need. Also, I finished the book and still can't decide if there was a central conflict or arch villain.
May 15, 2022
I really don’t have enough words for how good Youngbloods, and this whole series, was. The Uglies series was one of my favorite series in junior high and high school…I can’t even count how often I reread the original series when I was younger. And this new quartet of books definitely didn’t disappoint as a sequel series.
I loved all the callbacks to the original series in this book-obviously the presence of Tally and Shay, but also things like the roller coaster where the original Smoke camp was, mentioning the Extras space station.
I thought this series was a very good exploration of Tally’s line in the original series “freedom has a way of destroying things.” I love that this new post-mind rain world had almost as many problems as the world of Uglies. I loved the slow buildup in the first 3 books and then rapid pivot in this book of Diego becoming the villain. I loved the conflict and different perspectives coming from the Youngbloods who grew up during the Pretty regime, the rebels like Yandre and X, and Frey and their conflicting opinions of what needed to be done to save the world from the AI and Diego. And how sometimes in situations like this, there just isn’t a “good” or ideal option.
I also found it interesting how there are so many cities named in this series-Shreve, Diego, Paz, Victoria, SeaTac-and yet Shay and Tally’s home city still remains nameless.
Anyway I thought this new quartet of books was a really strong sequel series, and now I want to go reread all 4 Uglies books now.
I loved all the callbacks to the original series in this book-obviously the presence of Tally and Shay, but also things like the roller coaster where the original Smoke camp was, mentioning the Extras space station.
I thought this series was a very good exploration of Tally’s line in the original series “freedom has a way of destroying things.” I love that this new post-mind rain world had almost as many problems as the world of Uglies. I loved the slow buildup in the first 3 books and then rapid pivot in this book of Diego becoming the villain. I loved the conflict and different perspectives coming from the Youngbloods who grew up during the Pretty regime, the rebels like Yandre and X, and Frey and their conflicting opinions of what needed to be done to save the world from the AI and Diego. And how sometimes in situations like this, there just isn’t a “good” or ideal option.
I also found it interesting how there are so many cities named in this series-Shreve, Diego, Paz, Victoria, SeaTac-and yet Shay and Tally’s home city still remains nameless.
Anyway I thought this new quartet of books was a really strong sequel series, and now I want to go reread all 4 Uglies books now.
August 7, 2024
I’m not sure a series could ever top Uglies! But for a diehard fan, this was a nice finish.
April 24, 2022
Huh. I had my doubts with this one. Including whether I remembered enough of the entire series to fully appreciate it. But the author pulled it out in the end, really he always does. Truth and lies. Technology and society. This book, and really the series, has had its clunky moments. But it has always been interesting. It'll be fun to re-read all of Westerfeld some day.
March 3, 2022
Woah- what an amazing ending to such an iconic series.
The best part about these books, all of the Uglies/Imposters series, is that there are so many pieces going on and once and constantly changing the plot. So it’s almost impossible to summarize, because plot points are so contingent on previous plot points.
Things I didnt like:
-There’s no “wow” ending. The last line of the first book, Uglies, has stuck with me for a decade. Literally got it tattooed. The ending of Impostors gives a lovely closure, like packing the entire series into a box and tying a pretty bow. Compared to the wild cliffhangers of the past, it’s just ok.
-The justice system New Shreve settles on. Maybe that’s the foreshadow afterall, but it just doesn’t feel like it was the option they would have chose.
-The fact we never learn the name of Tally’s old city; and it’s literally just called that.
But picture, absolutely loved it. I cried. (But not in a heart break way; re David and Col). I got goosebumps. I loved the reference to SpagBol, something only a true Uglies fan would catch. And I feel satisfied with the closure.
The best part about these books, all of the Uglies/Imposters series, is that there are so many pieces going on and once and constantly changing the plot. So it’s almost impossible to summarize, because plot points are so contingent on previous plot points.
Things I didnt like:
-There’s no “wow” ending. The last line of the first book, Uglies, has stuck with me for a decade. Literally got it tattooed. The ending of Impostors gives a lovely closure, like packing the entire series into a box and tying a pretty bow. Compared to the wild cliffhangers of the past, it’s just ok.
-The justice system New Shreve settles on. Maybe that’s the foreshadow afterall, but it just doesn’t feel like it was the option they would have chose.
-The fact we never learn the name of Tally’s old city; and it’s literally just called that.
But picture, absolutely loved it. I cried. (But not in a heart break way; re David and Col). I got goosebumps. I loved the reference to SpagBol, something only a true Uglies fan would catch. And I feel satisfied with the closure.
January 22, 2024
I have many feelings, many of them not good. I’m mostly just relieved it’s over & disappointed the ending wasn’t better.
Whoever said "Never meet your heroes" was on to something. I'm always very hesitant to read about beloved characters X-amount of years later in companion or spinoff novels, and this last installment in the Imposters series proved me right to hesitate.
This book seemed....very messy to me. It didn't seem to concentrate on storylines from previous books, but rather appeared to introduce WAY too many new characters and plots when I'd much rather this last book focus instead on previously established points. I honestly just did not really care all that much about "the Futures" and the whole "stealing/destroying the hard drives" bit. I wish we got more about Diego because the AI had already proven suspicious in books one to three, so to keep it as the main antagonist the whole time would've been more solid for the story, in my opinion.
Then there's Tally. God, I love Tally. Even after reading this book. I read the Uglies series multiple times when I was young, and at least once so far in my adulthood. I loved the world, the characters, and the upsetting yet understandable sacrifices. I loved Tally becoming a Special and the world's secret conscience. I almost cried when I found out Tally would reappear in this book, but then towards the end I felt like crying for an entirely different reason.
Tally's life since the mind-rain didn't seem to have gone the way I imagined it. No David, she and Shay in a sort of anti-friendship, and now, in the eyes of the world, no longer a beloved idol but a wanted criminal because of her nuclear bomb scheme. I wanted more for her. I thought she deserved a happier life. Not necessarily less actionable or calmer, but at least surrounded by people who genuinely liked her and doing something she enjoyed, if not loved. But to me she just seemed so tired. And that honestly made me so sad, for younger me and for Tally herself.
I really wished Westerfeld had gone in a different direction with the Col plot. The fact that he was in fact dead really shocked me because I didn't see how Frey and Rafia could ever reconcile after that. To me, Rafia never seemed to improve herself. Throughout the entire series, she remained condescending, patronizing, belittling, and just downright bitchy to Frey. She had this attitude that to me seemed to hint that she was either so traumatized that she'd become severely emotionally immature, often talking and acting like a child, or she was extremely calculating and manipulated her image to appear like a silly party girl who was both selfish and dumb when it came to Shreve politics. Either way, I NEVER like Rafia. Mostly because of the way she treated her sister. So by the end of this book, I was severely disappointed that she remained both A) alive and in charge of Shreve, and B) in close and positive contact with her sister. Frey should've never forgiven her. That bit left me feeling icky because once again Rafia felt she was entirely in the right (and obviously remained remorseless and arrogantly sure of herself, kind of like...a sociopath, dare I say).
After everything, the best-case scenario for an ending probably would've been Frey joining X and doing exactly what Tally and Shay did - watching and protecting the world in a behind-the-scenes type of way. I was just relieved to be finished with this story since I was left with an overwhelming sense of disappointment by the end, which is just an awful way to feel after reading a beloved series. I LOVE this futuristic world, its language, customs, and how all its different elements interact, but after all the character resolutions I just want the Uglies world to be left alone.
Whoever said "Never meet your heroes" was on to something. I'm always very hesitant to read about beloved characters X-amount of years later in companion or spinoff novels, and this last installment in the Imposters series proved me right to hesitate.
This book seemed....very messy to me. It didn't seem to concentrate on storylines from previous books, but rather appeared to introduce WAY too many new characters and plots when I'd much rather this last book focus instead on previously established points. I honestly just did not really care all that much about "the Futures" and the whole "stealing/destroying the hard drives" bit. I wish we got more about Diego because the AI had already proven suspicious in books one to three, so to keep it as the main antagonist the whole time would've been more solid for the story, in my opinion.
Then there's Tally. God, I love Tally. Even after reading this book. I read the Uglies series multiple times when I was young, and at least once so far in my adulthood. I loved the world, the characters, and the upsetting yet understandable sacrifices. I loved Tally becoming a Special and the world's secret conscience. I almost cried when I found out Tally would reappear in this book, but then towards the end I felt like crying for an entirely different reason.
Tally's life since the mind-rain didn't seem to have gone the way I imagined it. No David, she and Shay in a sort of anti-friendship, and now, in the eyes of the world, no longer a beloved idol but a wanted criminal because of her nuclear bomb scheme. I wanted more for her. I thought she deserved a happier life. Not necessarily less actionable or calmer, but at least surrounded by people who genuinely liked her and doing something she enjoyed, if not loved. But to me she just seemed so tired. And that honestly made me so sad, for younger me and for Tally herself.
I really wished Westerfeld had gone in a different direction with the Col plot. The fact that he was in fact dead really shocked me because I didn't see how Frey and Rafia could ever reconcile after that. To me, Rafia never seemed to improve herself. Throughout the entire series, she remained condescending, patronizing, belittling, and just downright bitchy to Frey. She had this attitude that to me seemed to hint that she was either so traumatized that she'd become severely emotionally immature, often talking and acting like a child, or she was extremely calculating and manipulated her image to appear like a silly party girl who was both selfish and dumb when it came to Shreve politics. Either way, I NEVER like Rafia. Mostly because of the way she treated her sister. So by the end of this book, I was severely disappointed that she remained both A) alive and in charge of Shreve, and B) in close and positive contact with her sister. Frey should've never forgiven her. That bit left me feeling icky because once again Rafia felt she was entirely in the right (and obviously remained remorseless and arrogantly sure of herself, kind of like...a sociopath, dare I say).
After everything, the best-case scenario for an ending probably would've been Frey joining X and doing exactly what Tally and Shay did - watching and protecting the world in a behind-the-scenes type of way. I was just relieved to be finished with this story since I was left with an overwhelming sense of disappointment by the end, which is just an awful way to feel after reading a beloved series. I LOVE this futuristic world, its language, customs, and how all its different elements interact, but after all the character resolutions I just want the Uglies world to be left alone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2022
Not sure if I got closure or if there will be more to this series.
I’m gonna be a snob about this book because law of recency here….
As I said in my update, the use of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) in this book is incorrect. While not much is known about EMPs because there is no precedent in modern day warfare or usage, there is still a lot of literature on how EMPs would be used and employed. What the author described was a nuclear weapon. Not that it wasn’t good, because he did get all effects correct- blast, shock, thermal, etc…. The problem is that he called it an EMP. A EMP is designed to be used at a high altitude (as written by Samuel Gladstone), and yes it is theorized that it will take out communications if used this way. However, there would be no blast effects because of how high the burst is. So having an EMP-esque bomb would not produce the same effects as a nuclear bomb.
I digress.
Still a 3⭐️ read as we got more of the story and how it connects with the Pretties, Uglies, Specials series which I thought was pretty ingenious.
Again, I’m confused on if we got closure, if this was the last book, or if there is more coming bc it was not wrapped up in a finalized sort of way. I didn’t get answers to questions or maybe I did and I was just too incensed about the misuse of an EMP (but that’s my problem lol)
I still can’t get over a character death and it made me lose a lot of interest in the book.
I’m gonna be a snob about this book because law of recency here….
As I said in my update, the use of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) in this book is incorrect. While not much is known about EMPs because there is no precedent in modern day warfare or usage, there is still a lot of literature on how EMPs would be used and employed. What the author described was a nuclear weapon. Not that it wasn’t good, because he did get all effects correct- blast, shock, thermal, etc…. The problem is that he called it an EMP. A EMP is designed to be used at a high altitude (as written by Samuel Gladstone), and yes it is theorized that it will take out communications if used this way. However, there would be no blast effects because of how high the burst is. So having an EMP-esque bomb would not produce the same effects as a nuclear bomb.
I digress.
Still a 3⭐️ read as we got more of the story and how it connects with the Pretties, Uglies, Specials series which I thought was pretty ingenious.
Again, I’m confused on if we got closure, if this was the last book, or if there is more coming bc it was not wrapped up in a finalized sort of way. I didn’t get answers to questions or maybe I did and I was just too incensed about the misuse of an EMP (but that’s my problem lol)
I still can’t get over a character death and it made me lose a lot of interest in the book.
June 28, 2022
This is... bad. New plot points are created, but mostly unexplored, while very little gets resolved. I'm *still* confused about how this iteration of hoverboards work, if they "run out" of metal in the old Smoke but they're totally fine crossing the entire rest of the country?
The incredible return of Tally Youngblood, but she (and Shay!) are now twenty years older and still acting like teenagers, even TO the actual teenager that has just joined their crew.
The incredible return of Tally Youngblood, but she (and Shay!) are now twenty years older and still acting like teenagers, even TO the actual teenager that has just joined their crew.
April 8, 2022
Petition for a third quartet series a la Cassandra Clare. If she can keep writing those incestuous Shadowhunter novels that center on the same four families, surely Westerfeld can continue to let us live here in this expansive future and keep following our lord and savior Tally Youngblood through the wilds no?
July 20, 2022
C'est vraiment pas le dernier, hein? Hein?
June 21, 2022
3.5 stars, rounded up for GR. I don’t review favorite authors but I have lots of thoughts on this to come.
January 12, 2023
i really enjoyed another foray into this world, can’t express how lucky i feel that one of my series got to have a lil extra life.
May 2, 2022
I felt like the story just didn't "flawlessly bring the world of Uglies and Imposters together" as it said it would. Uglies came out in 2005, and it existed as a dystopian world formed from 2005 societal order in many ways. It spoke volumes about feminism and the ability of strong women to make hard choices when society was literally offering them, no, forcing them to undergo a surgery that made them exactly what their elders had told them they needed to be since they were young: pretty. The fact that in the original series, Tally and Shay choose to take down the regime, giving up the one thing they have been taught to want for so many years. That was a strong message with some amazing world building in the background.
Imposters began on an okay note, but I felt like details were left out in certain places and I while I enjoyed Frey's journey, I felt like the whole thing with Col at the end of book 3 was just... unnecessary. Especially since it was originally supposed to be a trilogy. I get that it set up the whole fourth book, but at least one couple would have been nice without any deaths. I really hated how incredibly volatile Tally was presented as. It's been a long time since I read the original series but even knowing Shay was the level headed one, I felt like there was a better literary solution to destroying all of those. Not to mention, the ones about parents who left messages from secret prisons for their children in the dust, which were stolen, was just like, a forgotten plot point. So was the whole "finding the real kids who had robot copies made of them".
Also, why is he trying to be so "woke" about everything? That character who has no gender which just makes the dialogue more confusing, mentioning enbys as if that word even existed when this world was created in the early 2000s. Acknowledging that people can choose to be in between two sexes based on how they dress and act only pushes feminism backwards by defining by contrast, someone who does not dress androgynously as either male or female. Which is ridiculous. It paints a picture of women as being defined by dresses and makeup and long hair and feminine traits. When I wear male sweatpants and shave my head and don't put it on makeup, I'm still a woman. Just as well, a straight man should be able to walk out in a skirt in heels and have no one question he is a straight man. Love whoever you want, but an outfit change doesn't make a difference in our chromosomal makeups and sex based pronouns should be the norm. As a male author, perhaps Scott can't see how taking away the words "she" and "he" in the name of normalizing they/them and the idea of nonbinary, he is feeding into the ideal that anyone deserves the pronoun "she". So much for feminism. Tally and Shay brought hell, and as women I am sure they felt the force of the pretty regime more than men ever could, because sex based oppression is in our history and will undoubtedly find its way into our growing dystopian future. So don't fall for the woke language in the name of trying to validate a movement that pushes feminism backwards in the end. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk, back to the review.
I guess I just had too many questions for that to be the last book. What are Rafi's intentions? How old was Tally supposed to be? Are Shay and Tally together now? I don't even remember what happened in specials or Extras so I should stop judging now 😂. They weren't bad, but this final chapter of a book just didn't do it for me.
Imposters began on an okay note, but I felt like details were left out in certain places and I while I enjoyed Frey's journey, I felt like the whole thing with Col at the end of book 3 was just... unnecessary. Especially since it was originally supposed to be a trilogy. I get that it set up the whole fourth book, but at least one couple would have been nice without any deaths. I really hated how incredibly volatile Tally was presented as. It's been a long time since I read the original series but even knowing Shay was the level headed one, I felt like there was a better literary solution to destroying all of those. Not to mention, the ones about parents who left messages from secret prisons for their children in the dust, which were stolen, was just like, a forgotten plot point. So was the whole "finding the real kids who had robot copies made of them".
Also, why is he trying to be so "woke" about everything? That character who has no gender which just makes the dialogue more confusing, mentioning enbys as if that word even existed when this world was created in the early 2000s. Acknowledging that people can choose to be in between two sexes based on how they dress and act only pushes feminism backwards by defining by contrast, someone who does not dress androgynously as either male or female. Which is ridiculous. It paints a picture of women as being defined by dresses and makeup and long hair and feminine traits. When I wear male sweatpants and shave my head and don't put it on makeup, I'm still a woman. Just as well, a straight man should be able to walk out in a skirt in heels and have no one question he is a straight man. Love whoever you want, but an outfit change doesn't make a difference in our chromosomal makeups and sex based pronouns should be the norm. As a male author, perhaps Scott can't see how taking away the words "she" and "he" in the name of normalizing they/them and the idea of nonbinary, he is feeding into the ideal that anyone deserves the pronoun "she". So much for feminism. Tally and Shay brought hell, and as women I am sure they felt the force of the pretty regime more than men ever could, because sex based oppression is in our history and will undoubtedly find its way into our growing dystopian future. So don't fall for the woke language in the name of trying to validate a movement that pushes feminism backwards in the end. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk, back to the review.
I guess I just had too many questions for that to be the last book. What are Rafi's intentions? How old was Tally supposed to be? Are Shay and Tally together now? I don't even remember what happened in specials or Extras so I should stop judging now 😂. They weren't bad, but this final chapter of a book just didn't do it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
October 7, 2021✶ cries. screams. hyperventilates. this cover????? after the last reveals I didn't know how much better it could get but honestly Aykut Aydoğdu actually never disappoints.
this is going to be such a ride yall...I'm not ready, tbh! but can't wait to have my heart shattered to pieces multiple times :,) so excited (starts sobbing in TALLY is coming back to me) ✶
this is going to be such a ride yall...I'm not ready, tbh! but can't wait to have my heart shattered to pieces multiple times :,) so excited (starts sobbing in TALLY is coming back to me) ✶
May 3, 2022
This was a fun look into a post-Pretties world, and I love the theme that you can solve one problem but open the door to other ones.
I enjoyed the issues they faced in the story, and it was a fun read, but definitely not my favorite book in this series.
I enjoyed the issues they faced in the story, and it was a fun read, but definitely not my favorite book in this series.
July 21, 2022
3.5 stars
It was very chaotic to read but I liked seeing the old gang again!
It was very chaotic to read but I liked seeing the old gang again!
July 30, 2024
kind of lackluster compared to the other three books in the series, felt like there was too much going on at all times.
May 31, 2024
I read Imposters books 1-3 and then reread the Uglies series before reading this book. Because I wanted a super refresh on Tally and all my beloved characters! Overall I did enjoy Youngbloods and I think Tally’s characterization was actually pretty spot on. I see a lot of reviews complaining about the portrayal of her in this book but if you reread Uglies you’ll get a strong reminder of how Tally is an extremely flawed character! That being said I was really surprised about David not being included even if him and Tally weren’t together (even if that’s what I wanted). I cannot see David just giving up and Tally and that’s what was implied. I did love Shay and Tally’s dynamic and it made sense to me.
Some of my other smaller complaints… why is Croy in the Youngblood’s crew and not Fausto? Also mentions of Andrew Simpson Smith in the previous books and none in this one? Even a quick mention of him being there in the final battle? I also was SO excited for them to return to Tally’s city but we got basically no update on how they’ve changed and that was lame!
ANYWAYS I overall liked it but unfortunately didn’t LOVE it. Although Westerfeld’s author note at the end did make my heart melt a little a bit. X and Col have my heart in this series and Col saving Frey in the end made my heart hurt!
Some of my other smaller complaints… why is Croy in the Youngblood’s crew and not Fausto? Also mentions of Andrew Simpson Smith in the previous books and none in this one? Even a quick mention of him being there in the final battle? I also was SO excited for them to return to Tally’s city but we got basically no update on how they’ve changed and that was lame!
ANYWAYS I overall liked it but unfortunately didn’t LOVE it. Although Westerfeld’s author note at the end did make my heart melt a little a bit. X and Col have my heart in this series and Col saving Frey in the end made my heart hurt!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2022
"Freedom has a way of destroying things." Sure does, Tally.
Frey joins Tally's crew, and we finally get to see what Tally is like as an adult. (And Shay, too. The characterization of Shay was actually amazing, was one of my favorite parts.) She has a surprising perspective on Rafi's actions at the end of the previous book, giving Frey some needed context.
After the Fall of Shreve, Frey and co. are discovering more of the dead dictator's secrets, many of them utterly chilling. The stuff with the kids, ugh.
Also really liked Frey and X's continued dynamic. Theirs is a complicated relationship with a lot of baggage, but ultimately it's a loving one, almost sibling-like.
This book is all about hard decisions. Impossible decisions. And chaos.
Frey joins Tally's crew, and we finally get to see what Tally is like as an adult. (And Shay, too. The characterization of Shay was actually amazing, was one of my favorite parts.) She has a surprising perspective on Rafi's actions at the end of the previous book, giving Frey some needed context.
After the Fall of Shreve, Frey and co. are discovering more of the dead dictator's secrets, many of them utterly chilling. The stuff with the kids, ugh.
Also really liked Frey and X's continued dynamic. Theirs is a complicated relationship with a lot of baggage, but ultimately it's a loving one, almost sibling-like.
This book is all about hard decisions. Impossible decisions. And chaos.
August 16, 2022
every book in this series is absolutely phenomenal. scott does not fail when it comes to big content ideas, little details, and everything in between. my heart is so sad this series has come to an end, and i will miss frey with all my heart as she is my favorite book character i think ever. if this ever becomes a movie can i plz be her actress like i need this to happen. #freyandcolforever
August 13, 2024
It’s been a long time since I read the Uglies series but I just re-read the first couple of these books so I could finish this story. It made me want to go back and reread all the Uglies books too. This was a pretty satisfying ending to this series but I’m not sure if people who really love the original series (who read them in their youth) would agree.
March 8, 2023
I ment to read this last year, but than the slump happened. And sci-fi and dystopia aren't really my thing. They're are exceptions. I do like the world of the uglies but wasn't feeling it. Kinda sad the series is over now.
February 17, 2022
A wild exciting ride that was hard to put down.
April 14, 2022
I think Scott Westerfeld is so so good at understanding technology's impact on culture and it's thrilling!! I loved seeing what Tally and Shay had become! I did have to read a wiki to remember what Frey and Rafi's whole deal was but that's on me!
September 6, 2022
An ending to this set. So many questions. A few unanswered about Rafia and Diego.... Will Frey find peace?
December 10, 2022
I honestly don't remember a single thing about this book and I just finished reading it an hour ago.
This did not need to be a 4 book series.
This did not need to be a 4 book series.
May 2, 2022
This seems to be the conclusion of the latest trilogy, and it wraps up in a satisfying way.
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