Book Review: "Specials," by Scott Westerfield

In the third installment of the “Uglies” series, Tally Youngblood has changed yet again. She’s a Special, the elite police force of the city, imbued with super strength and speed, unbreakable and unbeatable. Perfect.
Yet Tally can’t forget Zane, her boyfriend from her pre-special days, tragically damaged in his attempt to reverse the mind-dulling effects of becoming “Pretty”—damage Tally still blames herself for.
Now Tally is once again torn between allegiance to her best friend and fellow Special Shay, and feelings of love and responsibility for Zane.
This was probably my favorite (so far, anyway, since I haven’t yet read “Extras”) of the “Uglies” series. In the previous two books, I had a lot of trouble “bonding” with Tally and relating to the decisions she made. But the emotional climate in this book seemed much more plausible, and Westerfield’s dialogue shines. My only complaint is that the action scenes were a little too complex—you almost needed to sketch a diagram to keep up.