Book 3 Project

Specials by Scott Westerfed
Final Rating: 7 out of 10

This is a deleted scene right after Shay and Tally have been turned into Specials. They are flying on their hover boards and experimenting with their new abilities. Tally’s point of view--

“Shay-la, wait for me!” Tally yelled, her voice ringing out among the trees.

Tally giggled at the sound of her voice. It was clear with perfect pronunciation. The sharp but beautiful notes echoed around the forest. Tally could just barely see Shay’s outline ahead of her, gliding gracefully on her hover board, darting in and out of site behind the trees. But, what Tally could see was perfect. Everything was vibrant and sharp. No detail escaped her gaze. Tally felt everything with an icy clarity: the brittle, freezing wind across her bare hands, the shifting gravities that pressed her feet against the hoverboard. (Pg. 3)

“Geez Tally-wa get your board moving already,” replied Shay as she dashed past Tally in a whirlwind of long dark hair. “Enjoy our new life!”

Tally grinned and nimbly hopped on her hover board in response. The propelling fans on the bottom began to whirl quicker and quietly to lift her in the air but Tally could still hear it. Just like she could hear a distant trickle of water off to her side or the faint rustle of leaves in the cool evening breeze. Although she noticed the lack of brash noises made by animals. When she used to come out in the forest when she was an Ugly she could always spot animals and hear the birds chipping, but that was the difference. The animals knew when fierce predators were around and had intelligently hidden or run away from Tally’s presence. After all, Specials were the ultimate predators.

Delighted yells sounded throughout the air as Shay dove and dipped on her board. Icicles whipped past in glittering streaks, and moonlight silvered the world, like an old, colorless moview come flickering to life (Pg 4). Tally tried to follow her example but her heart wasn’t in it anymore. She ran her tongue over her teeth, feeling the sharp canine edges cut at her soft skin. They were unnatural. Meant to inspire fear into those she hunted. Tally remembered when she was a Pretty. One step better than being an Ugly, a Pretty’s whole life was centered on having fun and being, well, pretty. Was it worth it to become such a fearsome creature?

Shaking her head, Tally cleared her mind of those bubble-headed thoughts. Of course being a Special was worth it. She had highly enhanced senses and abilities. She got to keep Shay as her friend. For if Shay was made special and Tally wasn’t, they would never see each other again. Tally tried to keep her mind off of all the people she left behind. But she couldn’t help but wallow in sorrow.

Tally’s hands began to tremble and her board stopped moving. “Shay? Do you wish we weren’t turned into Specials?” she whispered. Shay would hear.

“Why would you say that? Keep your head filled with icy thoughts Tally. Being Special is special. I never want to change back to being a soft, weak, bubble-headed Pretty,” Shay replied harshly as she zoomed to a stop in front of Tally.

The moon light draped over Shay’s face and Tally could see the harsh beautiful features. They were those of a hunter, a deadly ruthless hunter. They were those of Tally’s face as well.

Shay’s pointed look settled on Tally and she realized she needed to reply. “Oh Shay you’re right. I hated being a bubble-head,” she added fiercely. Pretties went about their life unaware of what happened around them. That was the problem. The lessons that were injected in their brains kept their thoughts harmless and fun loving. It was much better to be Special where everything was in icy clarity. She liked being special, being outside and and icy and better (Pg 6).

“Let’s go Tally,” Shay said gently. “I saw a waterfall a few miles away. Race you there!”

“Ha I’m coming Shay-la! No way I will let you win!” She called as she moved her board into motion.

Tally whipped past the trees and felt the surge of adrenalin knowing that she was in no danger because her body was perfect and she was flawless. She was Special.

 

 

Villains (Reflection 10)

Villians are interesting because they can be so almost otherworldly. True villians do horrible things that are worthy of taking notice of. It's not like you casully encounter a villian walking down the street everyday. Usually their backstories are interesting and compelling. At least in my case, I always want to know what it was that pushed them over the edge. I feel that in stories they usually reflect the culture of the current time. Or in the reader's case, their worst nightmare. If I'm going to read and believe a story, I have to be scared of the villian. Or at least a little concerned about them.

I can think of many villians like Voldemort and Sauron but the most memorable villian to me is the Joker. Now, I'm not a huge superhero junkie (although I do enjoy a good superhero movie every now and then) but The Joker has left the most lasting impression. He does absolutely the most horrible things, constantly killing and wreaking havok for seemingly no reason. He is probably certafiably insane. But this is so compelling. I want to know why he is that why, why he goes to such extreme measures. But he kind of has this outlook on life that rings true. I am always startled at his quote about human nature:

 "To them, you’re just a freak, like me! They need you right now, but when they don’t, they’ll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it’s a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these… these civilized people, they’ll eat each other. See, I’m not a monster. I’m just ahead of the curve."

- The Joker (http://www.buzzpirates.com/2009/06/the-13-best-quotes-by-the-joker-in-the-dark-night-heath-ledger-lives-on/)

He has a poor outlook about the selfish nature of people that sometimes is very true. Plus, through his almost goofy childlike ways, he's just a villian I love to hate.

Great Moments (Reflection 9)

Tally and her friends have just recently been turned into Specials, the things they used to loath when they were Uglies then Pretties. They go to an Uglies party where they plan on crashing it to find people who are wanted for rebelling against the government. Throughout this scene, Tally is thinking about how great it is now that she has been turned into a special when the music from the party interrupts her thoughts. She says, "Uglies were always noisy," (6). This is a big idea even though it is an understated quote. Tally now completely distances herself from when she used to be an Ugly. This is important because the whole first book of the series is about her fighting to stay and Ugly and not be turned into a Pretty. Her entire point of view has been altered.

Shay and Tally sneak into an old armory to steal weapons. Someone spots them there and Shay picks up a bottle amoung the racks of deadly weapons and throws it to the ground were it shatters. A silvery liquid seeps and and beins to spread and eat everything it touches. Shay says it is "hunger, in nano form. It eats pretty much everything, and makes more of itself." (111). This is a great moment because of the tension. Our protagonists are in major peril with no way out so readers worry about what will happen.

Before Shay releases the liquid, Tally finds a biowarfar filter mask. It is revealed that "the whole Rusty culture had been undone by one artificial oil-eating bacterium" (102). This is very important because the Rusty culture is supposed to represent our time now, since this book is in the future. The author alludes to what he predicts our downfall will be: something of our own makeing, for our own greed.

Top 5 (Reflection 8)

My Top 5 Favorite Series'

The Moral Instruments

This trilogy is about a young girl named Clary who's life is compeltely normal until she starts seeing strange creatures. He life is then thrown into chaos when her mother disappears and she is taken in by a race of peopel called "Shadow Hunters" who live to protect humanity from demons. Clary delves into her past to find out where her mother is, what role Clary has to play, and what she is, because she definately isn't human.

 

These books were fast paced and suprising which kept me interested. I love the twists and turns.

 

RIYL: Twilight, Beautiful Creatures, or Divergent.

Movie Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc4CiTvQ-YE
 

 

 

The Hunger Games

In this distopian society, the Capital rules over all. This a place, where in order to prevent rebellion, 24 kids are randomly choosen to compete in a competition: A fight to the death. Katniss Everdeen is thrown into the mix when she volunteers in place of her little sister. She must fight to stay alive as well as fall in love along the way.

 

I love this series. The characters just seem so interesting and dynamic that I can't help but love them. The storyline is completely different from anything I have ever heard of before and is truely captivating.

 

RIYL: The Mortal Instruments, Harry Potter, or any distopia

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plts4kivGzE

 

 

 

The Mistborn Trilogy

Born into poorness and poverty, Vin must fight to stay alive, but that seems to be difficult when people like her are hunted. In this distopian world where a mysterious dictator rules over all, there are such people as Mistborn: those who are born with the ability to Alomance or control metals. Vin finds herself taken in by one of the strongest Mistborn there ever was. He agrees to teach her with one contition. She must aid his attempt at overthrowing the government.

 

I loved this series. I was very suprised with myself though because this is very fantasy and I don't always like that. The characters are so endearing that I just couldn't help cheering them on and the plot was full of some of the most game-changing twists that I have ever experienced.

 

 

RIYL: High fantasy, Eragon, Pendragon

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0TOVHEnfe0

 



The Chemical Garden

In a world where men die at the age of 25 and women at 20, everyone must fight to stay alive. Due to an outbreak everyone dies very young. Rhine, a girl just 16 years old, is kidnapped to be married to a rich man who wishes to be happy after the death of his first wife by filling the void with multiple wives. Soon, a plot is discovered as Rhine realizes that his father intends to experiement on her and her sisterwives to find a cure. Time is running out and she intends to leave before he is able.

 

Having only read the first book in the series, Wither, I found that I enjoyed it imensly. I can tell that this series will be very riviting and keep me on my toes.

 

RIYL: Hunger Games, mysteries, as well as distopias

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJD_C0eh_K8

 







The Gallagher Girls

This series is all about spies. Cammie Morgan is a young teenage girl who is like anyone else except for one thing, she goes to Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a school for spies. A mysterious company is after Cammie and no one is sure why. Cammie must look into her past, investigate her father's disapperance, and evade capture, as well as solve her boy drama along the way.

 

This series was such a fun read. It is comically written but also has an in depth plot that keeps readers wanting to hear more.

 

RIYL: The Heist Society, espionage books

 

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTokHWds6rc

 

Maximum Ride

 

This series is about a young group of kids constantly on the run from an evil organization known as "The School". The kicker? These kids are part bird, part human. They have wings. Max, the female protagonist must keep her family together while attempting to stay alive.

 

I love this series. I read it in middle school because the books are directed towards a younger audience but I will always remember how much I liked it. The plot is just so interesting and James Patterson, the author, just gives Max such a funny internal voice that it is so entertaining.

 

RIYL: Sci-fi books, Artimis Fowl, or Witch and Wizard

 

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwW3GRvhSfY

Book 2 Project

I chose to do a self-generated art project for my second book, Wither, by Laurn DeStefano. I hadn't originally planned to draw something, but I was messing around and happened to like what I ended up producing. The theme of the two pictures is a guilded bird cage. This is a symbol that is common throughout the entire book. The idea is that Rhine (the female protagonist) is trapped in a bird cage. No, not literally. She is trapped in a beautiful mansion though. It has everything she could possibly want. Others envy her for it, and envy her for her seemingly wonderful life. Although this is not the case. She remains trapped in a place that she doesn't want to be. Much like the bird in the guilded cage, it looks beautiful from the outside, but nevertheless the bird is trapped. Rhine is just like the bird and longs for her own freedom and happiness of her own making.