As you may remember, I recently edited a collection of essays about the Uglies series, called Mind-Rain. We got a bunch of YA authors together and asked them questions like, “Is Shay the real hero of the Uglies series?” “Who was the better boyfriend for Tally: David or Zane?” and “How can we prevent prettyheaded behavior in our own world?”
The answers are thought-provoking and will re-wire your brain!
Mind-Rain doesn’t come out until June 2, but Teen-Libris (the publishers) are having a contest right now. Enter now to win a copy of Mind-Rain AND Robin Wasserman’s excellent book, Skinned. You may remember Robin as a guest blogger here, and from this IMterview with her I did last September.
Here’s a brief description of the collection:
In Extras, the last book in Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series, Aya tells us that when Tally Youngblood made the mind-rain fall, it cured all the pretties and changed the world forever. But Tally and her friends did more than change their world; they changed ours too.
Mind-Rain continues what Tally started, with startling, funny and insightful essays on the world, characters and ideas of the Uglies series, plus the short story that inspired Westerfeld to write the books in the first place.
Think you know everything about Tally’s world? After Mind-Rain, you’ll never look at the Uglies series the same way again.
With essays by Lili Wilkinson, Robin Wasserman, Diana Peterfreund, Sarah Beth Durst, Gail Sidonie Sobat, Rosemary Clement-Moore, J. Fitzgerald McCurdy, Janette Rallison, Linda Gerber, Charles Beaumont, Ted Chiang, Will Shetterly, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Delia Sherman.
For the contest rules, go here to the Teen-Libris contest page.
Click here to learn more about the collection.
Click here to read an excerpt.
You can pre-order the book from Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and of course Indie Bound.
Update:
The contest accepts entires until May 30. When first posted, the rules had a typo saying April 30, but that has been corrected!
Dude! The cover IS kinda freaking me out. But it sounds great. OMG. I soo can’t wait.
Sugarpao:
pplz have been talking about the movie fer forever but know onw knows for sure when it comes out. many ppl say its come in 2010 or 2011
uhm, to all of u Shay haters( ESPECIALLY ANT-LA) i think that you should maybe think a little more about this. SAHY is the one that got Tally into being a more tricky ugly, SHAY is the one that encouraged her into being a crim, SHAY is the one that says( and i directly quote)
Tally: ” And you’d really do that for Zane?”
Shay: “For you, Tally-wa”
pg 95 Specials.
then SHAY is the one that comes up with the plan to make Zane Special, SHAY is the one that helps Tally stay icy, SHAY is the one that RESCUES tally from being despecialized in Diego, and Shay has always come back for Tally, no matter how much tally is a total ASS to her, as she says on page 266 of Specials:
I hate you sometimes, Tally. Like I’ve never hated anyone else before. Maybe that’s why I keep coming back for you.”
And, quite simply, without SHAY, The whole story would be nothing. Tally would have been a bubblehead.
omg i spelled Shay wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cries
yoohoo/?????
aanyone here to answer to my rant???
Ahh i soo want to read this!
I love the series I have all of the books,
But one thing, to Pony-la
I agree with most of your argues but,
isn’t it bad that shay wanted to make zane a special..
because thats what finally killed him right?
Ant-la I don’t really agree with team Tally but I seriously think neither could be the main character, although since it centered around Tally it seems the more obvious choice, although it feels as though Shay made the bigger decisions Tally still filled in all the spaces. Like Shay would make the line for Tally to write on :).
But Ani-la is right, although Shay started it, it’s centered around Tally, I mean neither could be a main character without the other.
And in Extras tally and shay team up to help Aya 😉
but, of course it wasn’t purely to help Aya.
If the movie does come out, of course it won’t be as great as the books but i will SOOOO look forward to it, they should do a movie for each book so they won’t cram it all together, and then they can leave room if Scott decides to add another addition to the series *excited* 😀
Oh and I agree with Alwyn, the end of Extras Tally and David, but she still hasn’t kissed anyone since the death of Zane though. But for me im stuck a bit towards Zane, since i happened to accidentally read pretties before uglies then back to specials then extras. Also since David sort of betrayed Shay-la but Frizz sort of reminded me of Zane, like they had some great points but just couldn’t really be as helpful as David, and they sort of dragged the girls back a bit, I mean it felt like the girls were the ones to take care of them. But they were both very smart.
I sort of agree with Ant-la on David though, because he did end up sticking with his mother, although it was also due to Tally calling him ugly at the end, he really wanted her to come and he probably was quite jealous of Zane, he did understand that they had to leave Zane because it wasn’t possible to take him with them without getting caught in the end. But what else could David do, if Tally wouldn’t budge, and if David got caught bad things would happen to him.
I completely forgot until just a moment ago, that Zane doesn’t die until specials right? And its soo sad, because when Tally is a special she can’t stand Zane..
Ahh it makes me want to cry so bad
Ani-la: Lol, yeah. That would make a short story.
Pony-la: To your direct quotage I say: Nay. Shay was using Zane to find the New Smoke and by using Zane she had to use Tally. ‘Cause you know, that’s what I call friendship.
But I do love all the characters in the books (I find Aya a little self-centered, but they all are she’s just more obvious)
And the reason Shay saved Tally from Despecialization is because Tally had to go face Dr. Cable, so again, Shay used her.
Kiri-wa: I agree with your post. And it makes me want to cry to. *eyes fog up*
I would have to say that Zane and David were good for her. Zane was good because he kind of helped her see and take chances and changed her from bubblehead and from specialhead. David helped her understand herself (though it took forever) and he over-flatters her which I think makes her humble.
I read this in Defining Dulcie:
“What made her a hero is that she included other people in the rescue.” (or something close)
And I think they’re all heroes. Even Peris a little bit. When he didn’t jump with Tally in Pretties, she kind of realized that being friends wasn’t follow the leader. Atleast, that’s how I felt.
Terrence: I see what you’re saying, and I agree, and I’m excited!
P.S. Star Trek (the movie) WAS AMAZING!! SERIOUSLY.
Peace!
Lol how long did it take for you to read my post?
Pony-la:ok, ok ok, hold on a second here!!! I havent exactly read all of Specials, and i just think that shay is NOT the greatest friend. Shay wants to live in the past, while all tally wants to do is move on! Tally, yes i do agree, jacks up everyone’s life as they know it, but she doesnt mean it! Tally isn’t always an ass, but shay is one too sometimes!! All shay thinks about sometimes is HERSELF. so does tally, but….well…lets just say on the road, shay and tally are very………………….ungainly….. I doubt they even know what they are doing sometimes!
But I totally agree with the peris and friends thing..
Random I just noticed that alexander smith simpson, sorry I sort of forgot his full name but his initials are ass.
Sorry again, im rather slow
Oh and Pony-la, I do agree with you. Without Shay, the story would just be plain boring. Shay can be the life of the story when she wants to be!
Ant-la, I don’t think the story would exist without Shay. It’s been ages since I read Uglies, but wasn’t it Shay’s fault Tally had to go to the Smoke, which started the whole thing with Special Circumstances???
I agree with those of you who said that there would be no story without Shay. I mean, Tally was too busy being all jealous over the fact that her best friend was in New Pretty Town to question the system or consider running away or anything. When Shay showed up, she acted like a catalyst for all of Tally’s changes. Shay, in effect, made Tally who she was.
Yet there aren’t a million Shay-cults.
Kiri-wa: Lol. Awhile…
Also, I just noticed that too…(the Andrew Simpson Smith ASS thing) So instead of cussing, on can shout ANDREW SIMPSON SMITH! in anger. >_<
I agree Tally wouldn’t be Tally without Shay, but without each other there probably wouldn’t be a story.
it’d be like
Shay runs to the Smoke either gets captured or stays
Zane is in New Pretty Town trying to not be bubbleheaded but doesn’t have a way to not be (because no nanos)
Like Ani-la said: Tally goes to a party tally gets drunk tally shoots fireworks tally gets a hang over.
It’s a beautifully orchestrated domino effect by the puppet master, Scott Westerfeld
By all the commenting going on here, I’m sure the book is going to be great.!!
Dahlia-wa the Black-Winged Ninja Sorceress: I know… Shay is like half the story, and tally is the other half. Tally never ment to trigger special circumstances, but she did. Now she is one! And ya know, i think she likes it!
Ant-la: You haven’t read all of Specials? How far are you?
http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/831822/RSS_from_the_Last_few_posts_on_Scott_Westerfeld%27s_Blog
Oh wow, Jay-wa…. that’s cool I guess…. I agree with all ya’ll too. No Shay, no Uglies. How can you hate her????
Alex-wa: lol. Sorry I’m bored… WHO HATES SHAY?
I really like Shay… she’s cool, besides the cutting part. that’s not so cool. Just reread the series, and I made some super weird connections that I didn’t notice before. (mostly from skipping around the chapters) You did mean to mention the 5 years of evolution twice, right Scott-la? I have to read again though.
And extras from Hiro’s view would have been bogus, Scott-la. 🙂
Ani-la: What connections?
haha, Jay-wa, yelling ANDREW SIMPSON SMITH is waay more satisfying than yelling a short curse word. i’m gonna do that from now on…
Jay-wa: Yeah, im not exactly done…Im only like 30 pages into specials. WORKING ON IT! hahahaha…yeah..its a great book so far though
ok ok ok:
Kiri-wa: yeah i guess, but it was what Tally wanted at the time and Shay did her best to help her. And Zane kinda didnt want to be a special, in fact, he hated the whole idea of it. Zane wanted to be normal, without the tremors and stuff, but in no way did he want to be special.
Ant-la: Ok, so maybe they aren’t cut out to be friends, but shay doesn’t think about herself. She thinks about the cutters as a whole, that is why she seperates from Tally, is to go save Fausto, becuase Tally isnt a baby anymore, and she can do things on her own, and the whole world shouldn’t be centered around Tally, who always seems to mess things up for everyone else in the end: Uglies- Just because SHE doesnt want to stay ugly, she betrays Shay
Pretties- She shares the cure with Zane, just because he is her latest boyfreind.
Specials- she starts the whole diego war because SHE wants her widdle Zane back;and SHE KILLED ZANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jay-wa: Yes. That was an added bonus. But in no way would I see Shay just using Tally like that. AND IN NO WAY DOES SHE WANT TO USE HER!!!!!!!! Shay wants Tally to GROW UP and face the war that she started. oh and LOL about the andrew simpson smith thing. I am totally gonna say that now, cuz the teachers wont kno wat it means. oh and ps sorry 2 anyone that i yelled at, i am very opinoanated
oh yeah, and TEAM ZANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if David is sooo much of a baby that he cant even face Tally in the beginning of Pretties, then he cant be her bf
oh ya and the cutting is sooo creepy. at first i was stupid and i was like scars, cool! but now i think about someone cutting themself, and the descriptions that Scott-la uses are soooo creepy tthat it makes me squirm
squirms
oh and ps ant-la she cuts herself because Tally was too selfish to share the cure with her
Wow, really opinionated. :L
Shays awesome, but kinda annoying when she just turned pretty. And the way she made tally special.
there you go – my opinion :L:L
ahh, im bored. :L
Pony-la: ok, I have to admit. your right! Tally is very self centered. Tally IS selfish, destroys everything, and is just plain brain-missing. but in the End, Im going with 2 teams. Team Tally and Team Zane. David sucks. everyone knows that. In Uglies, she wants to become pretty! Is that so wrong? But she does betray shay, i have to agree with that. She REALLY Jacked up there. Well, you know what? i HAVE 3 TEAMS. Team Zane (the awesome bf), Team Shay (She just wants to live her own life), and Team Tally (because SOMEONE has to be on Tally’s team!) But in the End, Im with you with Team Zane. Zane sticks by her at all times and vice versa. When I get the T-shirt, i am SO getting a Team Zane shirt!!!! go ZANE! too bad he dies, but i haven’t got to that part yet…)
Team Zane forever.
Pony-la: Having opinons is good! And I see what you’re saying, Shay was just trying to get/see friends and whatnot.
Ant-la: Sorry! I didn’t know you hadn’t finished Specials yet! I would have made a spoiler warning! I mostly agree with what you said.
Millie-wa: Your opinion is nice and small…I like it!
Team Tally
Team Shay
Team Zane
Team David
Team Fausto (because, hello, awesome name!)
Personally, I hate Maddie (SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because of the Nanos. D:
and shes a bitter old hag lol
Peace
Is it kind of like Bogus to Bubbly? I recently read that (it was GREAT) so just wondering :]
Yeah Shay was being pretty bratty to turn Tally special but not zane :l i wish he was special and lived!! lol
yeah, ant-la its good that u see my side, but I also see yours. Tally is, sort of important, i mean, she is the main charachter. Yea and i wanted to get the Team Zane shirt but im savin up to replace my ipod( my mom put mine thru the wash and now i have to replace it, which totally sucks)
jay-wa. yea i kno. i am totally all of those except tally and david. I HATE MADDY!!!!!!! she is TOTALLY an old hag that killed Zane. Well, i guess tally did 2 but thats beside the point.
Millie-wa
yes i am a horseperson and we horsepeople tend to be VERY opinionated! but im proud.
happy moms day to all of u hardworking moms!!!!!!!!! especially mine who just got us a horse!!
wait, i kno this is kinda wierd but i am team CABLE. i kno she is the “Villan” but to me she justs seems cool and she hates maddy too, and she…. oh CRAP!!!!!!!!! i forgot my reason!!!!!!!!!! wow i am totally brain-missing today!!! well that may also be cuz i am food-missing roght now, but im sry i will try to remember then i will tell u!!!!
Ahhh on chapters it says under the Mind-Rain info:
“From the Publisher
Bringing fresh ideas and thought to the table, this unauthorized guide is the perfect read for Harry Potter fans as they finish the series with book seven. This whirlwind tour of Harry Potter’s universe uncovers unexpected truths and speculates on unanswered questions, such as What could have happened to sort Harry into Slytherin? Why are Hermione’s parents dentists and why don’t we see more of them? Why doesn’t Hogwarts teach writing of literature? The books’ 25 most satisfying moments are …+ read more
Bringing fresh ideas and thought to the table, this unauthorized guide is the perfect read for Harry Potter fans as they finish the series with book seven. This whirlwind tour of Harry Potter’s universe uncovers unexpected truths and speculates on unanswered questions, such as What could have happened to sort Harry into Slytherin?”
Noo!! Not Harry Potter!! UGLIES
hmmm thats wierd Angela-wa… Today at my school there are 2 other girls who read Uglies series and we made today Bubblehead day. we talked pretty talk and called eachother wa and la. here is the sched for the week:
Tues: Cutter/Clique day
Wed: Special Day
Thurs: Smokey Day
Friday:oh crap!!!!!!!!!!!!1 what is with my memory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow im rele sorry
gluh. i dund wanna go do math homework!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! man, and then i have to read like 50 pages in the Diary of Anne Frank, and i mean like no offense cuz i kno its a great piece of literature, but it is soooooooooooooooooooooooo B O R I N G !!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean, how good can it be if u r stuck in an ATTIC for 2 years!!!!!!!!!!!!
I read Anne Frank in 4th grade for fun. I thought it was good but I understand how it could be considered boring. I personally love Shay. I like David more than Zane but I just have this thing where in books I alsways like the person who comes along first.
SHAY IS AWESOME(or fawesome for those of you who’ve read The Last Days)
Jay-la: I HATE MADDY TO SHE IS SUCH A………….BAD PERSON! (trying to hold in swearing fit) blooberty blater blungerheed flabberdoodle! huh!
UUUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BLUOOOPBA EMMASA COOPA NAMMM
SORRY I SOMETIMES HAVE FITS…..I THINK I AM PART CAVEMAN…..
lol
Ok, well one thing. I got my friend to read this series and she now says i’m WAY more like Shay than Tally. I said how?, she said dunno. But anyways I just read the sneak peak and found that i am more like Shay!! Creepy yet so cool…. It boggles my mind…..
Bi Bi!!!
cool, beli-wa!
I don’t see what’s so wrong with Maddy, I mean she overreacted considering that everything was an accident but you have to look at it from her perspective. I mean if someone one killed my husband I’d be pretty ticked. Not that I have a husband(I’m 13) but still.