Specials

In his young adult dystopian novel Specials, Scott Westerfeld offers readers a world where classism takes on a whole new meaning. It is the third book in a series preceded by Pretties and Uglies.  Westerfeld’s third installment is set in a world that has been split into various cities that want nothing to do with each other.  Tally Youngblood is a part of this world. In her city, kids are considered “ugly” until their sixteenth birthday. At that point, they undergo a procedure that transforms them into “Pretties,” but with a very distinct and important catch.  A caveat of this transformation are special lesions surgically implanted into an individual to make them unintelligent.  Once the procedure has been completed, the newly pretty-fied teenager joins the city with the other pretties without having any clue what’s been done to them. Tally is different. She realizes something has ben done to her that sets her apart from the others. It is at the end of Westerfeld’s previous book, Pretties that Tally undergoes the transformation that makes her a “Special”, and it is in this form that the reader finds her at the beginning of Specials.

As a “Special” Tally is gifted special abilities that give her an edge over her counterparts.  These enhancements ensure she is operating at peak efficiency. She has heightened visual and auditory capabilities. Her bones have been replaced by a highly durable material, and her teeth and nails are now razor sharp. She also has special mechanical machines called “nanos” implanted in her body, designed to repair any physical damage she sustains. Most importantly, Tally is instilled with a superiority complex unlike any of the Pretties or Uglies. The reader gets a taste of this when Tally’s ex-boyfriend Zane ingests some rather crippling nanos that make him weaker. Despite their history, Zane’s sudden weakness repulse Tally, who finds him inferior now that he no longer matches her strength and regenerative abilities.

Tally is a member of an elite faction within the Specials known as Cutters. These Cutters, led by someone called Shay, adhere to the practice of cutting themselves in order to achieve a clarity of mind that normal Specials lack. Tally sees Shay’s help in turning Zane into a Special. His initiation will once again make him her equal so she can love him as before. Their plan backfires when others Specials learn of what has happened and war breaks out.



Through this conflict, Westerfeld sheds light on how superficial humanity can be. The theory he offers in the narrative is that if everyone looked the same, there would be no need for conflict. But the plan turns out to be futile. Humanity is innately designed to distinguish among certain groups; accepting their own while ridiculing and shunning others. Despite their place within the culture, event the Uglies find reasons to shun the other groups, clinging to the idea that beauty comes from within. Perhaps most astonishing of all is the fact that that ever facet of society meant to cultivate – and in some ways encourage – cultural biases are magnified many times over by the technological advantages of this fictional 24th century technology.

It should come as no surprise that the characters are as inherently flawed as the culture in which they live. The two female characters at the forefront of the narrative–Tally and Shay–are probably the worst of all.  Tally is as superficial as they come. Her actions toward her boyfriend and her willingness to help him become a Special are not to ensure his wellbeing and survival. Instead, she encourages the procedure so she can love him again, as if love were something to be put on and taken off like a winter jacket.

Shay is no better. She is inherently selfish and does little for anyone unless it benefits her in some way. Her treatment of Tally is despicable, yet Tally still seeks her help with getting Zane into the Specials. She is also blithely unaware of Shay’s ill treatment of her. Whether because she herself is just as superficial, or she because Shay’s assistance benefits her in the long run, Tally doesn’t care. In her mind, the end always justifies the means.



At its core, Specials is an action-packed novel with a moral center. Westerfeld shows his readers what can happen if avarice and shallow-mindedness are allows to rule the human heart unchecked. It is a think piece about social issues, government involvement and how appearances can often times be deceiving, all packed into a fast-paced science fiction novel.