So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld

Published in 2004.
Audiobook read by Scott Brick.


Scott Westerfeld, author of the Uglies series, is a brilliant social commentator! On his website, he describes So Yesterday this way:

What if it was your job to say what was cool? What if clothes and electronics companies gave you cash for your opinion, and lots of free stuff on top of it? You wouldn't complain about that, would you?

Hunter Braque is a professional cool-hunter. No ads go on TV without his approval, no new shoes hit the stores unless he's down with them. It's a pretty sweet deal, until he meets Jen—a rare Innovator, one of the people who actually creates cool at street-level. Real cool, not the corporate kind. Suddenly, strange things start to happen.

First Hunter's boss Mandy disappears. When he enlists Jen to help find her, the two begin to uncover a plot to end consumerism as we know it! Will the world change forever, or can Hunter save the sacred bond between brands and buyers? Does he even want to?

I enjoyed the first two-thirds of this unique book more than the last third, but overall I found it to be a fun, satirical look at who decides what is cool.

Westerfeld's wife, author Justine Larbalestier, called So Yesterday "a love letter to New York City" in a blog post about the book. I particularly enjoyed the shout out to Becky Hammond of the WNBA (even though she's no longer with New York). There is a cool photoblog of So Yesterday celebrating New York City on Westerfeld's blog.

2011.9

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Published in 2005. 312 pages.


First line: After a year of hunting, I finally caught up with Sarah.

Plot summary (from the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data): Cal Thompson is a carrier of a parasite that causes vampirism, and must hunt down all of the girlfriends he has unknowingly infected.

Why I read this book: I put Peeps on my to-read list a while ago, after my now 19-year-old daughter recommended it to me and I picked it up via BookMooch. Because I needed four more books published in 2005 for the Countdown Challenge, I decided now was the right time to read it.

A few random thoughts: This is a very readable sci-fi novel that combines science with myth in a plausible manner. The book alternates between chapters that move the plot forward and chapters that explain some of the science of parasites. With its 19-year-old protagonist, I think the book skews toward the upper end of the young adult age continuum - and it certainly entertained me as an adult. I thought of Will Smith in I Am Legend a few times as I read about Cal's hunting trips.

What Scott Westerfeld said about Peeps on his website: "Some days you wake up, and you just have to write a vampire novel." (Read more here.)

From the peanut gallery: My 14-year-old book-loving daughter says, "Creative take on the stereotypical vampire. But it freaked. Me. Out."

2010.61

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Published in 2006. 372 pages.


Specials is the third book in the young adult science fiction Uglies trilogy. The storyline nicely completed the saga of Tally Youngblood, but I found the telling to be a bit uneven. Some of it was fast-moving and exciting, and, like with the other books, I thought the social commentary - which included not only society's obsession with appearance but also the concept of choice and the idiocy of war - was superb. But other parts seemed too much of the "same old thing," and I thought maybe the series was continuing on too long. The ending was great, however, and I've heard good things about the fourth book - Extras - so I'm eager to read more.

Before I read Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, Scott Westerfeld was an "unread author" for me. With Extras, that'll be four of the six books required for the Unread Authors Challenge. I am going to also count Specials for the Winter Reading Challenge, the Young Adult Challenge and my "Oh, To Be Young Again!" category of the 888.

2008.3

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Published in 2005. 370 pages.


This second book in the young adult science fiction Uglies trilogy - which now somehow contains four books - wasn't as good as Uglies, but I still enjoyed it. Like Uglies, it's fast-paced and easy-to-read, and I think the social commentary about our obsession with unobtainable standards of beauty is terrific.

Before I read Uglies and Pretties, Scott Westerfeld was an "unread author" for me. I plan to read the rest of the series - Specials and Extras - too. That'll be four of the six books required for the Unread Authors Challenge.

2007.64

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Published in 2005. 425 pages.


First Line: The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.

Why I Chose This Book: My daughter Jelly Bean had read this young adult novel and recommended it to me, so when I saw it on Faith's List in the "Something About Me" Challenge, I jumped at the chance to "have to" read it. More recently I put Scott Westerfeld on my preliminary list for the Unread Authors Challenge, so reading this book counts "double."

What I Thought of This Book: This was a great read! Compelling and quick-moving, I had fun with this tale of a dystopian society. At the same time, I appreciated so much its message about beauty and body image - a particularly good topic for teens to think about.

For More Information: Scott Westerfeld's website is here. I particularly enjoyed the transcript of an interview he did about Uglies (find it here).

What Is Next: Uglies is the first in a trilogy - and it ends with a cliff hanger - so I've definitely got to read books two and three, Pretties and Specials. Jelly Bean also tells me that her favorite of Westerfeld's books is the Midnighters trilogy - so I'm going to have to put those on my to-be-read list as well.

FYI: As soon as I have time, I'll be posting about Uglies on both the Something About Me Challenge blog (click here) and the Unread Authors Challenge blog (click here) too.

2007.55