Extra! Extra...

As promised, a review of Extras by Scott Westerfeld.

I don't know if I can gush enough about this one.

Set in Japan, many eons into the future, Aya Fuse just wants to get noticed. After the mind-rain wiped out all the brain damage forced on citizens of Earth at the age of 16, Aya's city turned to an economy based on fame and merit. In order to make "money" a person either has to do good for society or become famous. Aya definitely prefers the latter, finding the adventure of kicking the latest story a necessity of life. In her quest to do so, she infiltrates the Sly Girls clique--a clique so secret the members change their nicknames periodically to keep off the feeds. Their latest derring-do is surfing on top of ultra fast meg-lev trains. It doesn't take them long to figure out that Aya is not really one of them, but the story they have stumbled on is too city-damaging to keep under cover. More adventure follows, so make sure to check it out!

This book is great for ages 12 and up. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good story. It is fast paced--everything happens in less than 2 weeks--and we get a return performance from Tally Youngblood, the protagonist from Westerfeld's other books in the series. Although Uglies, Pretties and Specials sets up this book well, I don't feel that you have to have read them to enjoy Extras.

Have I mentioned that it has hit #1 on the New York Times Children's Chapter Books best sellers? Oh yes, yes it has! :)

Yay! Ursula K. Le Guin in ... 2 hours!