She is now in fact doubly privileged - as a pretty/special/famous person she has all the privileges that go along with being high-status in her society, AND she also has a sophisticated understanding of the "dark side" of her society that others can't see, through ignorance or fear or whatever other blinders they have on. Unlike all the other unenlightened pretty or famous folks who have never questioned their society's structure, however, she is well-aware of the pitfalls. Although the main character openly questions and in some cases initially resists the societal mandate to become pretty, special, famous, etc, she ALWAYS eventually ends up becoming pretty or famous even if it is against her will. The problem I have with Westerfeld's books is that these critiques, which are intriguing and thought-provoking, don't actually go far enough.
In all of these books, the main (female) character desperately wants to be pretty, special, popular, famous or whatever, but ends up questioning the values of her society when she meets outsiders who don't subscribe to those norms. (If you think this is an interesting idea, you might want to check out Cory Doctorow's book "Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom" which explores the same conceit but with more skill and humor). In Extras, people earn money, respect, and privilege through the "reputation-based" economy, which rewards those who can make a name for themselves by publicizing and popularizing their thoughts, exploits, etc through the "feeds" (read: Internet).
In Uglies & Pretties, everyone is "cured" of ugliness through a mandatory operation that takes place when individuals turn 16. Like most dystopian science fiction, Westerfeld's books cast a critical eye on disturbing aspects of our present-day society - obsession with looks, fame, etc - by taking those aspects to extremes and weaving them into the very fabric of the future society.
My years as a student steeped in cultural studies and gender theory make it pretty much impossible for me to read works of popular fiction without subjecting them to critical analysis, and Westerfeld's books certainly lend themselves to this sort of critique. However, Extras raised the same prickly issues for me that the other books in the series did. I read this book in about 2 and 1/2 hours, pretty much non-stop. Like the other books in the Uglies trilogy, Extras is fun and a very fast read.
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