Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0689865406, Hardcover)

"Special Circumstances":

The words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious ugly. Back then Specials were a sinister rumor -- frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast. Ordinary pretties might live their whole lives without meeting a Special. But Tally's never been ordinary.

And now she's been turned into one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.

The strength, the speed, and the clarity and focus of her thinking feel better than anything Tally can remember. Most of the time. One tiny corner of her heart still remembers something more.

Still, it's easy to tune that out -- until Tally's offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she's programmed to complete. Either way, Tally's world will never be the same.

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 142813462X, Audio CD)

Tally never wanted to be a Special, but some talents cannot be denied. Specials keep the Pretties happy and naive, keep the Uglies wishing to be Pretty and--most importantly--keep the Smokies powerless. But their latest mission is to end the New Smoke forever, and there is still a little part of Tally that is telling her to think for herself--that remembers when Tally lived happily among the Smokies. Maybe the Specials aren't really protecting anyone but themselves.