Uglies

Uglies

by
Scott Westerfeld

published	March 2005 by Topeka Bindery
binding	School & Library Binding
isbn	1417660546 (isbn13: 9781417660544)
ebook
characters	Tally Youngblood, Shay, David
description	Playing on every teen's passionate desire to look as good as everybody else, Scott Westerfeld (Midnighters) projects a future world in which a ...more [close] Playing on every teen's passionate desire to look as good as everybody else, Scott Westerfeld (Midnighters) projects a future world in which a compulsory operation at sixteen wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. The "New Pretties" are then free to play and party, while the younger "Uglies" look on enviously and spend the time before their own transformations in plotting mischievous tricks against their elders. Tally Youngblood is one of the most daring of the Uglies, and her imaginative tricks have gotten her in trouble with the menacing department of Special Circumstances. She has yearned to be pretty, but since her best friend Shay ran away to the rumored rebel settlement of recalcitrant Uglies called The Smoke, Tally has been troubled. The authorities give her an impossible choice: either she follows Shay's cryptic directions to The Smoke with the purpose of betraying the rebels, or she will never be allowed to become pretty. Hoping to rescue Shay, Tally sets off on the dangerous journey as a spy. But after finally reaching The Smoke she has a change of heart when her new lover David reveals to her the sinister secret behind becoming pretty. The fast-moving story is enlivened by many action sequences in the style of videogames, using intriguing inventions like hoverboards that use the rider's skateboard skills to skim through the air, and bungee jackets that make wild downward plunges survivable -- and fun. Behind all the commotion is the disturbing vision of our own society -- the Rusties -- visible only in rusting ruins after a virus destroyed all petroleum. Teens will be entranced, and the cliffhanger ending will leave them gasping for the sequel. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell [close]
date added	05-25-07 edit book

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(For people who have ONLY read Uglies) What do you think will happen to Tally in Pretties?	7	69	30 days ago, 01:55AM

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Emma rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

02/26/08

Read in June, 2007

I’ve only seen one episode of The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a woman undergoes a battery of surgeries to look normal. At the end of the episode, viewers learn that this latest surgery has failed: the woman is still hideous. Except that to the audience she is beautiful. Online research led me to another episode where teenagers are surgically altered to live longer and conform to a unified standard of beauty (based on a limited number of acceptable “models”). “Uglies,” Scott Westerf...more I’ve only seen one episode of The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a woman undergoes a battery of surgeries to look normal. At the end of the episode, viewers learn that this latest surgery has failed: the woman is still hideous. Except that to the audience she is beautiful. Online research led me to another episode where teenagers are surgically altered to live longer and conform to a unified standard of beauty (based on a limited number of acceptable “models”). “Uglies,” Scott Westerfeld’s dystopic novel, plays similar games of perception.

The novel starts with Tally Youngblood a fifteen-year-old girl desperately waiting for her sixteenth birthday when she will be reunited with her best friend and, more importantly, when she will finally be pretty.

“Uglies” is set in the distant future after a mysterious global catastrophe precipitated changes to the foundations of what readers would call modern society. Fearful of war and violence cities now operate as independent states (think Renaissance Italy as opposed to contemporary Italy). Isolated and self-sufficient, the cities have agreed to certain standards for the greater good.

New technology ensures that citizens never want for food or luxury items, weapons of any kind are largely illegal, and at the age of sixteen everyone undergoes a series of extreme surgeries to better conform to societal standards of beauty. The logic being that, since humans are preconditioned to respond to certain visual cues in each other already (big eyes are non-threatening, a clear complexion and good teeth indicate that a person is healthy), applying these beauty standards will reduce conflict and create a more harmonious society.

But in a world where everyone is movie-star-gorgeous (oldies like Rudolph Valentino and Greta Garbo are considered “natural pretties”), normal people are so not pretty. In short, they’re ugly.

Things change for Tally when she meets Shay, another Ugly girl, who wants to run away before the operation to a place called The Smoke where people can live like “Rusties” (that would be us basically) in the wilderness without any surgery. As the novel progresses, and Special Circumstances (a government agency) coerces Tally into finding The Smoke for them, Tally is forced to choose what means more: friendship or beauty?

As the plot might suggest, this is a science fiction novel. Just to be clear, the real difference between sci-fi and fantasy is that the technology in science fiction novels could conceivably work if someone ever built it (dragons, most likely, are never going to be genetically engineered so they’re a good indicator of a fantasy novel). At times this leads to more explanation of, say, hoverboard mechanics in the novel than is strictly necessary to the plot but the rest of the book makes up for this small shortcoming.

What makes "Uglies" great, besides how it looks at cultural values, is Westerfeld’s use of language. The novel is not pretentious or brash. Instead, Westerfeld creates a narrative voice that is really unique—especially for a sweeping sci-fi saga like the Uglies trilogy. The novel opens with Tally observing that “The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.” That is not, it is fair to say, a typical opening for any novel. Yet Westerfeld moves from that observation seamlessly into the story.

This book is the first in the Uglies trilogy (followed by “Pretties” and “Specials”) which focuses on Tally and her city. The scope of each book can largely stand alone, but to get the full story it’s best to read the entire trilogy. Additionally, Westerfeld released a companion book to the trilogy last year called “Extras” which is set a few years after the trilogy with different main characters.

“Uglies” is simultaneously funny and frightening, showing how overvalued beauty can be while illustrating how Tally’s world has been conditioned to believe there’s no other way to live. The sections where Westerfeld describes the Rusty Ruins and the end of that era are particularly haunting (and eerily reminiscent of the History Channel’s recent documentary “Life After People”).

Sci-fi book discussions often bring up a writer’s “world building” in reference to how well a writer creates their alternate universe. Westerfeld’s world is built really well. The cities have their own culture, the characters their own slang, but Westerfeld manages to bring in enough references to our own contemporary culture that it’s easy for readers to believe Tally’s world is built on the ruins of our own.
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Shannon rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

12/28/07

bookshelves: 2007, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, urban-fantasy, ya

Read in December, 2007

Three hundred years after an apocalyptic-sized disaster that reshaped the world, Tally is about to turn 16 and pretty. In her contained, isolated, self-sufficient city - just like all the other contained, isolated, self-sufficient cities - the operation to make her pretty will be intensive, extreme and, as far as she and everyone else alive is concerned, absolutely worth it. Once she's pretty, she'll go to live across the river in New Pretty Town and party the nights away, loved by all.

It's ...more Three hundred years after an apocalyptic-sized disaster that reshaped the world, Tally is about to turn 16 and pretty. In her contained, isolated, self-sufficient city - just like all the other contained, isolated, self-sufficient cities - the operation to make her pretty will be intensive, extreme and, as far as she and everyone else alive is concerned, absolutely worth it. Once she's pretty, she'll go to live across the river in New Pretty Town and party the nights away, loved by all.

It's a shock to her, then, to find that her friend Shay doesn't want to be pretty, and doesn't think she's ugly now. Of course she's ugly - everyone's ugly before the operation. But Shay runs away to the mysterious, secretive Smoke where her friend David awaits, leaving Tally a set of cryptic directions in case she changes her mind and decides to go too. But Tally has no intention of running away: turning pretty is all she wants, so she can be with her friend Peris again across the river, and be noticed and listened to because beautiful people cannot be ignored.

But on the day of her own operation, she is taken instead to Special Circumstances, where cruel pretties with lethal reflexes bring her to Dr. Cable. They want to know about Shay and the Smoke and where it is located, but Tally keeps her promise not to tell. Even when Dr. Cable tells her she won't get the operation and be turned pretty until she does what they ask, she does not yield. Not until Peris unexpectedly visits her in Uglyville, and reminds her of the promise she made him, that she would be with him again, a promise that predates the one she made Shay. Latching onto this ray of hope - for she doesn't want to stay ugly the rest of her life - Tally is sent to spy for Special Circumstances and give them the location of the Smoke by sending a transmission via a heart pendant given her by Dr. Cable.

When she arrives, though, it's not that simple. Yes, the people are all ugly, and that takes a while to get used to. But there's something else about them, something sharp and clear at odds with the vacuousness of all the pretties she's ever known, including her own parents. And then there's David, who was born in the Smoke and is definitely not pretty ... but who teaches her that she's beautiful because of who she is, not what she looks like.

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me a lot of Isobelle Carmody's books, her heroines especially, and also Ellie from John Marsden's Tomorrow series, and a host of others. She's a quick thinker, afraid yet brave, resourceful and caring, faced with a choice no one at sixteen would want to have to make. The writing style is clear and descriptive without wasting a word, the characters deftly portrayed. While the themes and messages of the book may not be subtle - nor are they meant to be, since we're talking about the structure of their world here - there are depths to the concept, and nothing's black-and-white. There are also little digs about our own lifestyle (we are the "Rusties" in the book - because what's left of our cities are just rusty ruins), about how we clear-fell forests and waste resources and genetically modify plants. The entire concept could have fallen flat on its face for being too contrived and as superficial as the operation itself, but Westerfeld holds it all together with a great heroine in Tally, a dark sci-fi underworld beneath the glitter and party fun, and an examination into what price we really want to pay for the things we hold most dear....less

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Corinne rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

05/01/08

Read in December, 2007

these are the best books in the whole wide world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...more

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Sookie rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

08/19/07

Read in September, 2006

recommends it for: young adults and adults who like adventure/Sci-Fi

The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield

Uglies is about a certain Tally Youngblood who lives in a dystopic, futuristic world that is supposed to be us in the future, after we have almost ruined the earth with our oil and tree cutting. This is a purely secular book. But even as a Christian I liked it....The story was good, the futuristic terms (ie. Rusties, Smokies, and Crumblies) are very creative, and the futuristic toys (hoverboards, hovercars, and my personal favorite- Bungee Jackets) are r...more The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield

Uglies is about a certain Tally Youngblood who lives in a dystopic, futuristic world that is supposed to be us in the future, after we have almost ruined the earth with our oil and tree cutting. This is a purely secular book. But even as a Christian I liked it....The story was good, the futuristic terms (ie. Rusties, Smokies, and Crumblies) are very creative, and the futuristic toys (hoverboards, hovercars, and my personal favorite- Bungee Jackets) are really fun. And this is possibly the one and only series I can recomend from Scott Westerfield (if you ever see Peeps at a bookstore, just go ahead and walk on). The reason why I'm recommending this book when it is clear that God has no part in this author's books, is because it brings up some important issues that we Christians should always try to look at and if possibly improve. The main thing with Uglies is how everyone gets turned into a "Pretty" when they turn sixteen. This is a very image obsessed society-so obsessed that they call each other ugly beforehand, and they call each other only by their nicknames which have to do with some undesirable trait they have (like how Tally is called "squint").
This book really reminded me of some of the friends I have who call themselves ugly or fat or stupid and waste their time with over-obsessive excercise routines.
And also this whole thing with plastic surgery-God created everyone of us uniquely, why would we want to change ourselves just to fit the criteria that the world says we have to fit in order to be beautiful...or even adequate?
Alright, I won't bore you all night with this sort of talk...now on to the story.

Uglies-Tally Youngblood is an Ugly, eagerly awaited to be turned into a Pretty so that she can join her best friend Peris in New Pretty Town. But while she's waiting, she meets a new friend-Shay who talks about a group of rebels that live outside of the city, and who don't want to have the operation to become pretty.
Tally is at first disgusted, but then after an impromptu meeting with "Special Circumstances", Tally must turn in her friend Shay, who's gone to live with those rebels, called the Smoke,
or she'll never be pretty.
Desparate-Tally goes and finds the Smoke...but she also finds...well, she also finds David. Who changes her mind about turning the Smokies in. Accidently, she does turn them in, and then after some serious decisions, turns Shay and herself in to become Pretty.
Pretties- Tally is now a pretty, and well, I have to go now, but I will tell you this-Pretties was my favorite of the three because...oh really I don't know why, but it just is. And also, Specials is a good book, just basically a continuation of Pretties. I would really love to be one of those Specials...hey-infared vision WOULD be handy now and again.
-Sookie

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Lady Ozma rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

01/12/08

bookshelves: 2008, bookgroup, sci-fi, youngadult

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone, teens

In a world filled with breathtaking beauty, what is there for a normal person?

Set several hundred years after a major shift in life as we know it, the world hides from nature in large cities segregated into two major factions. Uglies and Pretties, the names speak for themselves.

Around the time of puberty, children set off for Uglyville to continue their education as well as await the blessed day they turn 16. No longer does this bring coming of age things we know like driving or dati...more In a world filled with breathtaking beauty, what is there for a normal person?

Set several hundred years after a major shift in life as we know it, the world hides from nature in large cities segregated into two major factions. Uglies and Pretties, the names speak for themselves.

Around the time of puberty, children set off for Uglyville to continue their education as well as await the blessed day they turn 16. No longer does this bring coming of age things we know like driving or dating. At sixteen you get initiated into the Pretties, leaving your ugly self behind forever.

A series of operations intended to not only make you beautiful, but to also bring everyone into the visual norm. No differences to set people apart means no differences to make people feel superior or inferior to others.

The society at large seems pampered in their lifestyle. Uglies have their needs met, Pretties give the appearance of vapid lives of ease.

However pretty the world seems from the outside, though, there is an ugliness hidden just below the surface.

Follow the story of Tally, an Ugly anxiously awaiting her sixteenth birthday so she can join the ranks of the Pretties in New Pretty Town. Her friend runs away, spurning the usual desired Pretty lifestyle. Tally, given an ultimatium, sets off to find her friend lest she suffer the worst punishment the society could inflict... left ugly forever.

The first in a series of novels for young adults, this sets the way we look at things on its head. Causes one to reflect on the way we treat the world around us, our own dependence on technology, the way society views one another, and the lengths people will go to maintain the status quo.

The author channels George Orwell and Ray Bradbury in a Judy Blume-esque book quite well. You take aspects from a Twilight Zone episode and mix in a little 1984 and just about any Bradbury book I can think of and you get yourself Uglies. Best of all, the social commentary follows a vein that not only speaks to youth in a way they relate, it also takes on the question of beauty which is so hot right now.

Shows like What Not To Wear and Extreme Makeover combined with America's Next Top Model along with websites like Hot or Not glorify the shallowness of a person's physical beauty. I once heard a quote, "Be your own kind of beautiful", that goes against the grain of modern society. In the society created within the pages of Uglies, the last thing desirable is a person to find their own inner beauty or uniqueness.

Engaging and quick to read, the story grips at your heart. Especially good for teens suffering through the pains of adolescence where so much of the world around them focuses on Uglies and Pretties, I highly recommend this book to all....less

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Marta rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

01/04/08

bookshelves: 2008, 60-book-challenge

Read in January, 2008

I really didn’t like this book. It might be its setting, it post-apocalyptic environment perhaps. Particularly the most irritating thing about the whole book was its un-authenticity. The situation wasn’t believable, there were no set perimeters (in contrast to Orwell’s 1984, that book was petrifying and believable). Its grounds to set up a totalitarian society was very weak, and I think it was because of the way Westerfeld handled the writing.

The whole issue with beauty nowadays has be...more I really didn’t like this book. It might be its setting, it post-apocalyptic environment perhaps. Particularly the most irritating thing about the whole book was its un-authenticity. The situation wasn’t believable, there were no set perimeters (in contrast to Orwell’s 1984, that book was petrifying and believable). Its grounds to set up a totalitarian society was very weak, and I think it was because of the way Westerfeld handled the writing.

The whole issue with beauty nowadays has been discussed so densely that writing a sci-fi book about it would allow the message to get across, to teach humanity what best to avoid. But somehow, although the message is given across, it’s done in a clumsy manner. The serousness of the manner wasn’t done strongly enough, perhaps dumbed down a bit for the younger audience.

Synopsis; Tally Youngblood exists in a futuristic world. At the age of sixteen, everybody undergoes an operation to become “pretty” from their former “ugly” selves. Most of her friends already having undergone the operation , Tally is isolated and lonely. Then she meets Shay, who is not sure she wants to become “pretty”. Her unconventional ideas begin to upset Tally’s world and when Shay runs away on the eve of her operation, Tally is given a hopeless choice: either she follows Shay’s cryptic directions or she will never be allowed to become “pretty”.

I really don’t like Tally. She’s a bit brainless, and I don’t think her metamorphosis from wanting to be “pretty” to being the rebel se turns out to be was written very well. It was almost forced upon her, just to keep the plot moving. I don’t like the romance either, considering how fast-paced it was (not very believable). The villains weren’t believable either. Sure, they were frightening and evil, but they did not seem like people who’d go to great lengths to ensure control over the societ - and that made me doubt how “strong and “perceptive” the society’s leaders really could be against a couple of teens. The same thing actually bothered me in Harry Potter #7, how powerful villains can be beaten by kids (…but I won’t go into that)

The story dragged along. The middle part was the worst. Tally’s journey from point A to point B took the longets part of the book to get through. I was bored.

Good stuff The parts about exclusion and desolation from the society because of the physical appearance aspect; it got me a little tense. The segway into the sequel is also very well done.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book....less

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Chloe rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

03/10/08

Book one in this series, Uglies, was an enjoyable enough beach read. It wasn’t great literature (the author seems determined to never use a word that would send even the shakiest reader to the dictionary), but there is a place for “junk-food” books in this world. Uglies is the sort of book that one reads to relax after Crime and Punishment or The Grapes of Wrath. It’s like pulp fiction: it offers comfortable, escapist, insubstantial fun. And it was fun. I enjoyed it, even to the point w...more Book one in this series, Uglies, was an enjoyable enough beach read. It wasn’t great literature (the author seems determined to never use a word that would send even the shakiest reader to the dictionary), but there is a place for “junk-food” books in this world. Uglies is the sort of book that one reads to relax after Crime and Punishment or The Grapes of Wrath. It’s like pulp fiction: it offers comfortable, escapist, insubstantial fun. And it was fun. I enjoyed it, even to the point where I ignored the glaring plot holes and the general improbability of the tale. I ignored the fact that Tally watches old movies and yet doesn’t know what a train is, and thinks the name David is strange, for example. Why? First of all, the action was taught. You never have to wait for something to happen. It’s like a rollercoaster ride: a cheep thrill, but a thrill no less. Secondly, it was a fresh idea. Sure, the idea of a world based off of the cares of typical teens is silly, but there were messages in the book that I agreed with. And a world obsessed with beauty was interesting. It wasn’t interesting in the way a piece of art is interesting, but it had a carnival-like attraction to it. Lastly, the author was not preachy. All futuristic stories have a potential for peachiness. The author will naturally ride his/her hobby horse. If it is a utopian book, the author will say his/her political/religious views brought about the time of peace and harmony. If it is dystopian, the author will blame all of the views he/she disagrees with. However, Scott Westerfeld delicately allowed his readers to come to their own conclusions about the various subjects he presented. At least, he does this for most of the book. (There are some random environmentalist moments that verge on the tedious, and I’m an environmentalist). So, I must say that, for a beach book, it was fun. I was willing to forgive Westerfeld all of his faults for the cheep thrills he offered. Hey, they were *fun* cheep thrills. In fact, I put book 2 on hold right away. …Unfortunately, book two was the worst book I have ever read, and so I lower my opinion of this book from three stars to two. ...less

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Brenda rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

09/07/08

bookshelves: adverturous-romance, sci-fi-adventure, young-adult-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

NOTE: This is a review for all 3 books, excluding Extras since I haven't read that one yet. I'm not sure what to think about this book/series. I'm actually in the middle of reading Specials and have Extras on hold at my library, so the premise is enough to grab me. In fact I find myself wanting to know what happens to everyone. I like the Shay/Tally girl bickering/angst, I recognized that from my own life (amazing that a guy is writing it...i'm sure he had help.) I'm still trying to figure...more NOTE: This is a review for all 3 books, excluding Extras since I haven't read that one yet. I'm not sure what to think about this book/series. I'm actually in the middle of reading Specials and have Extras on hold at my library, so the premise is enough to grab me. In fact I find myself wanting to know what happens to everyone. I like the Shay/Tally girl bickering/angst, I recognized that from my own life (amazing that a guy is writing it...i'm sure he had help.) I'm still trying to figure out what social commentary Scott is trying to make, is it acommentary on "pretty" culture of our society today? religion? environmental issues? apathy and laziness in thought and politics? Our ability/inability to change our natures, obsessive disorders? I'm not sure, maybe a combination of all of them...just not a clear defined social commentary, which I don't really like. I would have preferred he stick to one instead of trying to fit them all in.

In regards to the story, I found I wanted to know what happened to certain people. I really like Tally, Zane, and Faustos and actually the Special Dr. that's always tracking them I liked her (at least I like the way she was written). Shay not so much but I don't think you're supposed to like her all that much, she just seemed very petty minded and power hungry. A good foil for Tally...I haven't finished Specials yet so I'm not sure how she turns out. I wish David were more fleshed out. I was surprised at Maddy's reaction to Tally, she should have been more mature than that. But maybe it was her mother bear instinct taking over, however she was far too intelligent to have made some of the comments toward Tally that she did. I wish her character had been more fleshed out as well. And as far as the other characters I didn't really care about any of them.

I think it needed a little more editing because I found myself skipping ahead because I was bored with certain parts of the story. A lot of things kept being repeated throughout the books that I felt was uncessessary and just distracting.

And the last pet peeve with the book was the very first line. "The sky was the color of cat vomit" I almost stopped reading just because of that. She's describing a sunset and maybe because she's an "ugly" then everything must be described in ugly ways...but I can't even picture calling something as beautiful as a sunset the color of cat vomit...it just makes it sound like the whole thing was hideous and disgusting. I hate that first line....less

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Reed rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

07/09/08

Read in July, 2008

I remember my initial disappointment when Scott Westerfeld switched from adult sf to YA fiction. How could he do this to me? I liked his books, but I don't wanna read a dopey YA novel!

I'd read in an interview that it was mostly a financial decision--the YA market has exploded, and that's where the money is right now. How can you fault a guy for trying to make a living?

As a junior high Language Arts teacher, it's impossible not to notice that Westerfeld's first YA series has done extre...more I remember my initial disappointment when Scott Westerfeld switched from adult sf to YA fiction. How could he do this to me? I liked his books, but I don't wanna read a dopey YA novel!

I'd read in an interview that it was mostly a financial decision--the YA market has exploded, and that's where the money is right now. How can you fault a guy for trying to make a living?

As a junior high Language Arts teacher, it's impossible not to notice that Westerfeld's first YA series has done extremely well. I guess it's time I checked it out for myself.

Well, after the first section of the novel, I can understand why Uglies has been a hit with the YA crowd--it's a fun, easy read. While Westerfeld hasn't completely dumbed down his writing, it is certainly much more accessible than his adult novels. Tally is a likeable teenager that the readers will identify with, and her plights are standard ones, considering the world she inhabits.

Yes, it takes some suspension of disbelief to accept the premise that all people are given massive plastic surgery and made "pretty" at the age of 16. But if you are willing to accept the premise, the rest of the world makes sense.

Tally wants to be pretty, as do all teens in this world. But she's a mischievous girl and loves to play pranks and pull tricks. When she meets up with Shay, a fellow prankster, her world is turned upside down. Shay introduces her to a world where people don't consider being pretty the ultimate goal, and when Shay runs away, choosing NOT to be made pretty, Tally is led down a road that will completely alter how she sees herself and the world around her.

Westerfeld has created a good old-fashioned coming of age tale in a sf world. Sure it's a YA novel, but that's ok. We need to create another generation of sf readers. It might be a bit of an easy read for a more sophisticated (ie. old) reader like myself, but it was still enjoyable. The book is in fact the first of a trilogy, but it is possible to read the first novel by itself. Sure, the story continues, but Westerfeld does give the first book a sense of closure.

I think the YA market is lucky to have Westerfeld. I hope he continues to have great success. And maybe someday, he'll write adult novels for his growing legion of YA fans.

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Julie rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

08/25/08

bookshelves: science-fiction, young-adult

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: Sci-fi fans, fans of "thinking books"

First off, it took me about 10 minutes to get over the first line of this book, which is "The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit."

I was not expecting that. And... ew.

Anyway, the book takes off pretty quickly. Westerfeld creates a believable and interesting world, a world that values being "pretty" most of all; not singling out those who were already blessed by nature (with a very few examples of "natural pretties" such as Greta Garbo), but offering ...more First off, it took me about 10 minutes to get over the first line of this book, which is "The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit."

I was not expecting that. And... ew.

Anyway, the book takes off pretty quickly. Westerfeld creates a believable and interesting world, a world that values being "pretty" most of all; not singling out those who were already blessed by nature (with a very few examples of "natural pretties" such as Greta Garbo), but offering equality of "beauty" to everyone by turning them pretty through an operation at age 16.

The book explores this society from the inside, from the viewpoint of someone brought up in this mentality. Tally Youngblood WANTS to be pretty. She knows the operation is invasive and rather gruesome but she still wants it more than anything, so that she can stop being an "ugly" and join the "new pretties" in their hedonistic lifestyle.

Once Tally meets Shay, however, her life starts to change. Shay doesn't want the operation - she thinks she's fine as is - and ultimately decides to run away, leaving a cryptic set of directions for Tally to follow if she changes her mind. Although Tally has NOT changed her mind, she is blackmailed into finding Shay and her rebel friends, under threat of staying ugly forever if she fails.

Once Tally's eyes are opened to the world outside the cities, she has to decide whether to betray her friend, and also the entire way of life of the band of rebels.

The story is quite interesting, and especially started to pick up (for me) toward the end. There are some really intriguing concepts here - some of them are even downright scary when you think about it - such as the oil plague, and the white flower "weeds" that, left alone, could destroy the ecosystem of entire continents. These are creepy in their very plausibility.

The concept of "pretty" used in this book is on based solely on biological definitions of attraction. From the book's description, I have a feeling that the "pretties'" appearance would be extremely jarring, if not downright disturbing. The extra-large eyes and uniformly high cheekbones, not to mention every single face with perfect symmetry... I'm sure they would be a bit outside our current definition of "pretty."

I think Westerfeld has created an intriguing concept, and has executed it well. I am REALLY looking forward to the next book....less

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Alicia rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

07/15/08

bookshelves: own

recommends it for: fans of sci-fi, action, romance and comedy

in a world of extreme bueaty, anyone normal is ugly.

As an avid fan of YA and sci-fi novels, I can tell when one is good or bad. Uglies definantly falls into the ealier category. Not only does the book have sci-fi, it also has a good amount of action, comedy, romance and suspence. Even though Uglies is placed under the young adult catergory, any fan of a good book has to read this one.

Character(s): Before I read Uglies, I had been reading Westerfeld's ...more

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Anna rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

06/24/08

bookshelves: fiction, science-fiction, youngadult

Read in June, 2008

Tally is an Ugly. She is almost 16 and will soon have the operation that will turn her into a Pretty. It is many hundreds of years in the future and the world now operates like this. From the time you are born until the time you turn twelve, you are a Littlie, and live at home with your parents. At 12, you go to school with other Uglies until you turn 16. Then you have the "operation." Your face is reconstructed, your skin sanded down, and your bones reset to be of uniform height. Ever...more

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Rachel rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

09/03/08

Read in August, 2008

This one actually deserves 2.5 stars. The idea that everyone undergoes an operation at the age of 16 to make them pretty was interesting at first, but it got old really fast. Mostly I felt that the author created himself a world that was too convenient; how nice that the story is set hundreds of years in the future where surgery can alter bone and muscle structure and create a pretty face. How perfect that our protagonist, Tally, finds all the right tools and has all the right friends and finds ...more

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Res rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

09/26/07

bookshelves: locus_poll, sff

Read in September, 2007

The one where everyone has extensive plastic surgery when they turn sixteen, changing them from study-and-prank-obsessed Uglies into party-obsessed Pretties.

Better than The Secret Hour -- the speculative elements are a lot less perfunctory here -- but it still feels like Science Fiction Lite to me.

You'll notice that when reviewers describe the book, what they describe is the premise -- the Uglies and the Pretties. That's ...more

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Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

06/21/08

bookshelves: 2008-books-read, dystopia, fantasy, favorites, post-apocalyptic, young-adult

Read in June, 2008

After finishing 425 pages that I couldn't put down, I'm finding myself needing to buy the next in the series as soon as possible. No wonder editors are getting copy-cat novels similar to this from aspiring writers.

Uglies tells the story of a post-apocalyptic dystopia where everyone gets a surgery at age 16 to make them "pretty" with a perfect body, perfect face, and diminished personality. This surgery is supposed to prevent people from having an unfair advantage in the work...more

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Decendant_of_Darkness rated it:

(review of isbn 0689865384)

03/14/08

Read in March, 2008

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