Why did he write a fourth book? Book three would have been a perfect ending but no he had to continue to write. This book was pretty bad I think. The original characters are in the last quarter. That's it. What's the point? And were at a completely new city too. It doesn't make any sense. I had the hardest time trying to finish this one. ( )

Highly enjoyable--since I've lived in Japan, I actually liked this book a little more than the rest of the series, but it's not really five-star material, so I'll leave it at four.

Aya Fuse is a "kicker"--which is sort of like a YouTube journalist in a futuristic Japanese city. After the "mind-rain" that took down the structure of society as the world knew it in the previous books, this city has developed a new economy in which a person's earnings and value are based upon their "merits"--the good deeds and behavior within the society--and "face"--their level of fame, represented by a number from one (most famous) to over a million (considered nothing more than "extras").

The world-building here was excellent. I enjoyed the structure of the society a lot more than the ugly/pretty/special concept of the first three books. I liked the characters in this better too, except for Frizz Mizuno--I felt like he was thrown in as a "manga-eyed" love interest and didn't have much personality other than his "Radical Honesty," a brain surgery that made him unable to lie, which drives a few of the major plot points near the end.


My fingers had a death-grip on the book until Aya, Hiro, Frizz, and Ren met up with Tally and the Cutters and went to... a jungle in Singapore? I felt like the book had gone on too long and the plot sort of blew up at that point, although I didn't see the monkey-alien-people-thingies' true purpose coming and the big reveal was cool.

Aya totally should have fallen in love with Ren Machino, though. Way cooler character than Frizz who didn't get enough "face time" (haha), and way more useful. Also would have made way more sense for Aya to fall for Ren since she knew almost nothing about Frizz throughout the entire book other than the fact that he liked her nose and that he couldn't lie. I didn't buy the relationship.

Also, I do not believe that Tally never kissed David in the three years that they were living out in the wild together. You can't tell me she was mourning Zane that entire time... while alone... with her first boyfriend whom she found out still loved her at the end of the last book. Did her fangs get in the way? Come on.


However, I stand by my four stars--probably would have been five if the whole book had taken place in or near the city. Love the city! And props to Westerfeld for using Japanese honorifics correctly, even if the language thing got a little weird after they met you-know-who and were speaking in really fluent English sentences despite none of them being English experts. Can't complain too much, though. ( )

honestly, i remembered this book being my favorite and i’m pretty sure it still strongly is. tally’s city is interesting, but idk i feel like aya’s city is just so much more realistic. i definitely already said that in an update but it’s true. i feel like a “fame economy” is a cool setting to write in and weirdly enough i’ve never encountered the concept quite like this anywhere else.

overall, i find the characters in this book a lot more likeable and funny. tally’s kinda… annoying to me? i guess? weirdly enough, i think i liked her better in this book than in the ones where she’s the main character ahahaha ( )

I didn't like this one as much as I liked the first three, but it was still enjoyable. It's interesting seeing how a city different from Tally's city responded to the changes. I also found it interesting how similar the reputation economy is to the influencers of today. Since this book was published in 2007, it seems almost like a prediction of Tik Tok. There were times where I felt the Japanese influence could've been better handled, as with Aya always talking about sushi as if that is the only thing Japanese people eat. Also, I wasn't sure if the timeline of events was totally accurate. Overall, I enjoyed the story and may check out Westerfeld's other novels that take place in the same universe. ( )

It's funny how an "extra" book that looks like simple addition to the series managed to get so lively and good. Ah, there is much to argue and say, but when ideas get the right concentration with language and story (well, almost here!) I can't say anything against top score. This book look like a ready meme to me, alive with words and ideas to spread. ( )