Content levels
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
After being captured and surgically transformed into a "special," teenaged Tally Youngblood, now a government agent programmed to protect society from outside threats, is ordered to eliminate the rebel colony New Smoke, Tally's former home.
Is Specials appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
Teen protagonist undergoes forced surgical transformation and brainwashing to become a government weapon, raising themes of bodily autonomy and identity. Contains moderate action violence and dystopian themes of government control.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include body horror, violence, and mental manipulation (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Tally faces impossible choices when her own government turns her into a weapon against her former friends and home.