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Uglies (Uglies #1)

by Scott Westerfeld

3.89 · rating details · 84,310 ratings · 9,503 reviews

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to h...more

Paperback, 425 pages

Published February 8th 2005 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

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Jul 26, 2009

Sparrow rated it

Shelves: young-adult, utopia-dystopia, punching-tour, reviewed

I need to never run into Scott Westerfeld down a dark alley, or during a Civil War reenactment, or at Charlton Heston's house, or whatever. My deep desire not to be arrested for murder would have an epic battle with my need to reach for a weapon when I see his stupid face. In all fairness, as you see, I coughed up three stars for this book, so I will clarify that my empty threatening is really directed toward Pretties and Specials (books two and three in this series). I'm posting this review ...more

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Feb 26, 2008

Emma rated it

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 dyst...moreI’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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May 24, 2011

Stephen rated it

Shelves: science-fiction, audiobook, 2000-2005, world-in-the-shitter, ya

So my wife and I occasionally swap books which may seem a little kooky. However, you have to keep things spicy when you’ve been married as long as we have and since nipple showers with hot candle wax make me break out into shouts of “FUCKARELLA THAT HURTS” we needed some alternative sizzle. So she hooks me up with this little philly of a novel while I matched her with The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Well…my wife loved the book I set her up with….as I knew she would because it is all over a...more

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Sep 02, 2010

Ryan rated it

I go a little crazy if I read more than one Margaret Atwood novel a year. I hope I'm not alone in this. I get the feeling that Atwood's sharp, but her writing is filed to a finer edge. I realized a while ago that one book per year was enough.

I have a similar reaction to Stephen King, though I'm not sure why. I really loved The Stand, but when it was over I knew that I wasn't going to read another of his works for a while.

At first, I thought this meant that I didn't like S...more

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Dec 28, 2007

Shannon rated it

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

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.

...moreThree 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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May 11, 2009

Thomas rated it

Recommended to Thomas by: Read it in 2008; read it again in school

Shelves: five-stars

"Uglies" is about Tally Youngblood, who is about to turn sixteen, much to her liking. This is a futuristic novel, and when you turn sixteen you get an operation to make you "pretty". What being pretty means is that you have all your bones taken and ground, your skin re-sized and your whole entire body is basically re-done. Like a huge surgery. The thing is, during her wait to turn sixteen (Tally was the youngest in her group of friends) she meets a girl named Shay, who doesn'...more

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Oct 08, 2008

Michael rated it

Shelves: read-in-2008, science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. At an unspecificied time in the future everyone turning sixteen is given surgery to become "pretty." Tally Youngblood is young woman, counting down the days to the procdure which despite being extremely intensive is considered worth it for a life of luxury and decadence among her peers. She's waiting to be reunited with her best friend and enjoy the life of being pretty together.

That is until she meets Shay. The two bond over having lost all their friends to the surgery ...moreAt an unspecificied time in the future everyone turning sixteen is given surgery to become "pretty." Tally Youngblood is young woman, counting down the days to the procdure which despite being extremely intensive is considered worth it for a life of luxury and decadence among her peers. She's waiting to be reunited with her best friend and enjoy the life of being pretty together.

That is until she meets Shay. The two bond over having lost all their friends to the surgery and waiting to join them. They sneak out of the city to the wasteland and Tally discovers that not only does Shay not consider herself "ugly" but she has no intention of having the surgerys. Instead she wants to run off with a mysterious boy named David to a secret group of insurgents who refuse to have the surgery. She invites Tally to come with her, but Tally refuses.

Shay runs away, leaving details on how Tally can find the group if she desires. On the day of her surgery, Tally is taken aside by Special Circumstances and told unless she finds Shay and betrays her to them, she (Tally) will be ugly for life. Tally agrees and sets out on her quest to find the rebels.

If that were all the story was, it might just be merely interesting. And though the story does follow a fairly predictable character arc for Tally (she finds the group, fits in better than Shay and decides to stay), the secret behind the surgery that Scott Westerfield reveals mid-way through the novel is far more fascinating. And it also goes a long way to explaining some of the behavoir by post-surgery characters in the novel.

Tally finds out that the surgery creates a specific kind of brain damage among all receipients. This twist explains why certain characters are so vapid and hedonistic in the story. Not only are the people being made to all be the same externally, they're being made to think the same way, to no longer question anything and to live only for the pleasure of the moment. The process is reversible (theoretically) and all of these various storylines lead to one massive cliffhanger that had me curious to see where things go next. (less)

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Jul 09, 2008

Reed rated it

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 serie...moreI 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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Mar 10, 2008

Chloe rated it

Shelves: popular, ya-j, trash

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 i...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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Feb 24, 2009

Amanda rated it

Recommended to Amanda by: From Coventry's "take my books" party

Shelves: fer-teenagers-kids-and-younguns, 2009, fantasy-and-some-sci-fi

I'd heard of this book before, but I didn't realize it was futuristic. The story line is one you've all heard before--in the future, everyone is forced into some nutso plastic surgery which makes you gorgeous, and of course, the post ops spend all day living it up and having a grand ol' time because they're brainwashed and beautiful. It sounds kinda like an ok life, but there are some folks who are like, "Hellz no, you ain't cuttin' me, beyotch!" So these folks have to become renega...more

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Jun 21, 2008

Amy rated it

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

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 wor...more

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Sep 26, 2007

Res rated it

Shelves: locus_poll, sff

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 because it's the most interesting thing in the b...more

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Trin I have to say: I really enjoyed the first volume, but the series goes drastically downhill from here. Pretties is okay, but Specials is a god-awful ...more
Sep 26, 2007 09:21pm

Res It amazes me that Ted Chiang had any role in this; Chiang does such a good job of considering all the consequences of a change, even the really unexpe...more
Sep 27, 2007 08:53am

Phoebe Trin wrote: "I have to say: I really enjoyed the first volume, but the series goes drastically downhill from here. Pretties is okay, but Specials...more
Feb 22, 2009 04:25am

May 10, 2010

Uci rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: hibah-hadiah

Bayangkan sebuah dunia di mana semua penghuninya bersosok indah. Wajah dan tubuh dalam proporsi sempurna sesuai perhitungan matematis. Kuat dan halus tanpa luka. Tidak ada perang, tidak ada perselisihan karena semua orang sama. Tidak ada penebangan hutan, tidak ada perburuan binatang, tidak ada penambangan minyak untuk bahan bakar. Yang ada hanya daur ulang, tenaga matahari, dan daging dari kedelai. Singkatnya, dunia yang melepaskan diri dari alam bebas. Alam terlalu liar, terlalu sulit dikendal...moreBayangkan sebuah dunia di mana semua penghuninya bersosok indah. Wajah dan tubuh dalam proporsi sempurna sesuai perhitungan matematis. Kuat dan halus tanpa luka. Tidak ada perang, tidak ada perselisihan karena semua orang sama. Tidak ada penebangan hutan, tidak ada perburuan binatang, tidak ada penambangan minyak untuk bahan bakar. Yang ada hanya daur ulang, tenaga matahari, dan daging dari kedelai. Singkatnya, dunia yang melepaskan diri dari alam bebas. Alam terlalu liar, terlalu sulit dikendalikan, terlalu berpotensi menimbulkan perang dan perpecahan.

Dunia rekaan Scott Westerfeld ini langsung membetot perhatian saya sejak membuka halaman pertama. Idenya sungguh cemerlang, menyindir obsesi manusia untuk tampil sempurna. Di dunia ini, kelompok manusia terbagi menjadi dua, Kaum Rupawan dan Kaum Buruk Rupa. Tapi tidak perlu khawatir, kau hanya perlu menjadi buruk rupa hingga usiamu 16 tahun. Di hari ulang tahunmu yang keenam belas, kau akan dioperasi menjadi rupawan, pindah ke Kota Rupawan Baru, dan hidup bersenang-senang. Tak perlu bekerja keras karena semua kebutuhan sudah dipenuhi oleh penguasa.

Lalu di mana masalahnya? Masalahnya, sekelompok orang merasa bahwa selama ini mereka dicuci otak oleh penguasa yang ingin menyeragamkan seisi dunia menjadi manusia-manusia sempurna berpikiran dangkal. Tally Youngblood tanpa sengaja terlibat dengan kelompok pemberontak itu, saat sahabatnya Shay melarikan diri ke markas kelompok tersebut. Tally dipaksa mencari persembunyian mereka dan melapor kepada Kaum Spesial, jika ingin dioperasi menjadi Rupawan. Kalau menolak, Tally akan dibiarkan menjadi Buruk Rupa selamanya.

Tadinya saya agak kecewa kalau ternyata intinya hanya conspiracy theory (padahal hampir semua cerita seru pasti ujung-ujungnya conspiracy theory ya). Tapi seperti saya bilang tadi, yang paling menarik dari buku ini adalah dunia rekaan itu sendiri. Rasanya seperti melihat peradaban kita dari kacamata manusia masa depan yang lebih 'beradab'.

Ada bagian yang cukup menggelitik saat Tally membuka majalah tua. Kira-kira seperti majalah kita sekarang, yang isinya gambar-gambar manusia dengan wajah dan tubuh beraneka rupa. Tally menganggap orang-orang dalam majalah itu sinting karena tidak malu dengan penampilan buruk rupa mereka, malah berpose dengan gembira. Shay menjelaskan bahwa mereka itu orang-orang terkenal pada jaman dahulu kala. Begini katanya:

"Pria-pria berambut jabrik ini kurasa pemusik. Yang berwajah paling jelek biasanya politisi, dan ada yang bilang, kebanyakan buruk rupa bertubuh gemuk adalah komedian." Hahahahaha....

Dan jangan salah, meskipun para model di majalah itu dianggap paling menyerupai kaum Rupawan, namun menurut Tally mereka seperti orang kelaparan!

Westerfeld dengan gaya sarkastiknya berhasil menciptakan dunia ajaib yang menghanyutkan. Tapi jatidiri Uglies sebagai buku berseri benar-benar terasa. Membaca satu buku saja tidak akan cukup untuk memahami gambaran besar kisah ini. Setelah mengenal Kaum Buruk Rupa, buku kedua nanti menyelami Kaum Rupawan, lalu Spesial, lalu Extras. Yang Extras ini belum tercium gelagatnya di buku pertama.

Kalau saya sih, rela bangeeeet deh nunggu buku keduanya ^_^

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Jul 11, 2010

Amelia, the pragmatic idealist rated it

Shelves: 2010, ya-kids-teen, dystopian, simon-schuster, own

All in all, I was VERY impressed with Uglies. Westerfeld is now one of my favorite writers, not only for his immense creativity but also for his ability to blend the JUST RIGHT amount of action, description, and dialogue. This may sound like a weird comparison, but Scott Westerfeld reminds me of a gourmet chef: he knows how to measure out and mix together the right concoction of ingredients in order to make a delicious product!
It made reading Uglies a fun and smooth experience. Let's face ...moreAll in all, I was VERY impressed with Uglies. Westerfeld is now one of my favorite writers, not only for his immense creativity but also for his ability to blend the JUST RIGHT amount of action, description, and dialogue. This may sound like a weird comparison, but Scott Westerfeld reminds me of a gourmet chef: he knows how to measure out and mix together the right concoction of ingredients in order to make a delicious product!
It made reading Uglies a fun and smooth experience. Let's face it, it's really hard for authors to come up with a story that is 100% interesting and confusion-free, and it's really hard for readers (sometimes, if we're honest) to stay focused and interested the whole time. In all fairness, the middle part of story (from when Tally arrives at the Smoke to when the Smoke is ambushed) dragged just a little, but thanks to the quality of Westerfeld's writing, it never descended into tediousness. Oh, and this is a BIGGIE: there is SYMBOLISM!! Yes, Scott Westerfeld employed the literary device with such skill and thoughtfulness, I can totally see English teachers chirping with delight. I'm going to give this copy to my English-teacher mom :)

Tally Youngblood is one of those characters who seems to divide readers - some of them think she's shallow and a little flat, and others really like her and can connect with her. I'm definitely in the latter category. When I read a dystopian novel, I have to keep in mind that I am reading about a society that is (probably) drastically different from my own, and it's full of people who have a different reality from me. Tally is no exception, and once I put myself in her world, it was really easy to see why she behaves the way she does and why she chooses to make certain decisions. But besides all that, Tally was just a fun character to read about. Once again, master chef Westerfeld had all the ingredients for a great character: she was assertive and witty without being bratty or snarky, she was a good friend (sometimes) who struggled with loyalty and doing the right thing, and she was self-aware without being self-absorbed. Perfecto! Oh, and I definitely need to mention Dr. Cable. Excellent, excellent villain! I *think* she's the main antagonist of the series, and wow, she was great. Yes, I have been known to really like certain villains, if they're interesting enough. I kept imagining a woman version of Agent Smith from The Matrix. My absolute favorite aspect of the story was Special Circumstances. That was *so* Matrix!
The world Westerfeld created was really interesting and I love dystopians but haven't read many, so this certainly didn't disappoint.
The only groan-worthy things have to do with the dystopian elements. I don't know if this is just what all dystopians have become now, but there's an element of sameness to them that I'm picking up on. It's all about how bad we are to the environment, how materialistic we are, how dependent on oil... a little too quasi-political at times. I'll be interested to see if Suzanne Collins takes this (rather convenient) road in Hunger Games. I *do*, however, like how Westerfeld touched on some of the inherent flaws in our social culture, but the Pretty society is pretty much hedonistic like our society, just more elevated. I would have liked to feel a little more of a contrast in cultures. New Pretty Town instantly reminded me of the thirty mile zone in LA :P

In a nutshell,though, Uglies was an amazing, enjoyable, and thought-provoking read that I would definitely encourage everyone to pick up. Teens will love the story, and adults will find this book immensely clever. RECOMMENDED! (less)

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May 19, 2009

Jenisse rated it

Shelves: 9th-grade-advisory

Uglies

In a world of extreme beauty,
Anyone normal is ugly.

By Scott Westerfeld
426 pp. New York, NY
Simon Pulse. $6.99
ISBN 0-689-86538-4

Young Adult Book; A World With only Beautiful humans!

By JENISSE BOURET

Have you ever imagined living in a futuristic world where all humans are beautiful and ugly people await the day they become a “pretty” at 16? Probably not, unless you decide to read the marvelous Ug...more

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Jul 15, 2008

Alicia Bracken rated it

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

Shelves: own

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 Midnighters and Peeps...more

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Nov 18, 2007

Caryn rated it

Recommends it for: fans of 1984 and Brave New World

Shelves: youngreaderandteen, scifi

Uglies is the high school english teacher's answer to prayer when they try and assign 1984 to their tenth-graders and get all those complaints from parents about the "crap" their kids have to read in school.

It's 1984 or Brave New World without all the really offensive stuff.

Consequently, it's a little bit watered down, message-wise. But it's also fantastically detailed. Scott Westerfeld definitely thought this one out, what with the hoverboards (not quite like B...more

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May 29, 2007

Kate rated it

Shelves: dystopia, intrigue, other-worlds, outsiders, social-commentary, strong-women, ya-fic, science-fiction

I love a good young adult novel about dystopian futures, and Uglies is undoubtedly my favorite so far. Set hundreds of years after Americans finally self-destruct at the hands of foreign oil dependency, Scott Westerfeld's future seems, at first glance, a neo-liberal paradise. All energy is clean and renewable, all materials instantly recyclable; all citizens are vegetarians, appalled that their ancestors ever wasted acres of South American farmland on raising cattle. There is no war, no hunger, ...more

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Jan 20, 2009

Terri rated it

Shelves: young-adult

In a society where every 16 year old is made "pretty" by an operation in order to avoid social strife, Tally meets Shay, a girl who will change her life.

A very quick and enjoyable read making me want to read the next one in the series

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Feb 25, 2011

Joyzi rated it

Recommends it for: Those who love dystopia

Recommended to Joyzi by: Youtube

Shelves: e-book, fiction, ya-books, sci-fi, reviewed, dystopia, political-intrigue

I love it, it reminds me of my other favorite dystopian futuristic novel which is the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. However if I’m going to compare the two I’d think the Hunger Games is far better than the Uglies.

In comparison to the Hunger Games they both have the element of political intrigue, we have the Specials in this book which is the equivalent of the Capitol in the Hunger Games. So the Specials kind of have this social manipulation in which when you've turned sixt...more

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Jun 24, 2008

Anna rated it

Shelves: fiction, youngadult, science-fiction

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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Jan 15, 2008

Clackamas rated it

Recommends it for: Middle-schoolers

Recommended to Clackamas by: Battle of the Books

Shelves: apocalyptic-fiction-dystopias

Okay... I struggled with rating this book because for me it didn't do much. It was really slow in the middle and I had trouble believing the main character's change of values. It was abrupt and was not presented in a believable manner. For me, it was more of a two than a four. But then I'm not the book's target audience.

My eleven year-old son read it after me and loved it. Even though the main character was a girl ("ew, Mom"), he got the point that the author was trying to...more

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Feb 19, 2008

Beth rated it

Bring on the teen fiction! I can’t get enough!! ThIs BoOk RuLz!1! (Okay, yeah ... maybe that's a little much.)

So, this isn’t exactly a masterpiece. But we knew that going in, didn’t we? Like I said, it’s teen fiction, and it wasn’t nominated for the Newbery or anything. Nevertheless, the premise is intriguing: a futuristic society, in which everyone has been created equal (in looks, anyway; at your sixteenth birthday, you’re given an operation which makes you extremely beautiful) and...more

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Aug 19, 2007

Sookie rated it

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 Jacket...moreThe 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

(less)

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Sep 12, 2008

Christina rated it

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction, 2008-reads

Almost a month later... I finally finished it. About time.

Like someone else reviewed, this isn't the sort of book you go to when you want to read something brilliant. It is a beach read, something light and fluffy after you've tackled War and Peace. Maybe not even then.

The plot starts off extremely slow, then moves on too quickly. The romance - quick and unbelievable (reminds me slightly of Bella and Edward - there's absolutely no basis for it and they dive right in).
...more

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Sep 03, 2009

Shellie (Layers of Thought) rated it

Recommends it for: girls, women, anyone who likes light science fiction

Recommended to Shellie (Layers of Thought) by: Zoobie

Shelves: age-young-adult, spec-fic-science-fiction, read-in-2009, challenge-gr-spring-09, spec-fic-sf-utop-distop-ia-appocaly

This was a fun and easy read, with a strong main character whom is a female - Yeah! I wish there had been science fiction like this when I was younger. Except for Nancy Dew, which is not sci-fi, I was stuck reading stuff for boys - with male main characters. Not that I didn't enjoy them but.....
There's a number of important if not trite messages as well. One is that being pretty isn't all its made out to be, which makes this book all the more significant in this beauty obsessive culture. T...more

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Apr 13, 2008

Lisa Vegan rated it

Recommends it for: teens, sci-fi fans

Shelves: fiction, gr-groups-buddies, reviewed, novels, speculative-fiction, young-adult

I’d seen this book and the next two books in this series of three books (Pretties and Specials) but did not know what they were; the covers & titles didn’t appeal to me.

I read this because it was the May 2008 selection for the Goodreads’ YA Book Club, and I was pleasantly surprised.

This is a very good sci-fi book for young adults. The created world and characters are interesting and it’s thought provoking about such subjects as perfection, self esteem & appearance, and ...more

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Oct 17, 2009

Rachel rated it

Shelves: books-becoming-movies, i-own

This was actually really good. Better than i expected it would, to be honest. I really enjoyed the whole concept and idea about how the 'Uglies' were. I enjoyed how the author spun his whole world. It was very interesting and i'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

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Jan 26, 2009

Molly rated it

Shelves: futuristic

this book is about a girl named Tally who lives in a futuristic world, where at your sixteenth birthday you turn pretty. They scrape off your skin, put plastic cartalige in you to make you bones the right shape, make you immune to diseases, and make your teeth strong and white. you are sculpted to make you look beautiful to anyone around you. Tally's best friend turns pretty before she does, and she is lonely for a while. then she meats a girl named shay, a girl with a completely different persp...more

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Dec 22, 2008

Maggie rated it

Shelves: quarter-2

Uglies
By Scott Westerfield
425 pp. New York, United States
Simon Pulse. $8.99.
ISBN: 0-689-86538-4

Can you imagine living in a universe with two different worlds― one’s for Uglies and another for Pretties the place where everyone is supermodel gorgeous? The Uglies get an operation when they first turn 16 to become one of the Pretties. Anyone younger then 16 is consider an uglie even if you are the cutest thing alive.Uglies by Scott Westerfield is an interesting, ...moreUglies
By Scott Westerfield
425 pp. New York, United States
Simon Pulse. $8.99.
ISBN: 0-689-86538-4

Can you imagine living in a universe with two different worlds― one’s for Uglies and another for Pretties the place where everyone is supermodel gorgeous? The Uglies get an operation when they first turn 16 to become one of the Pretties. Anyone younger then 16 is consider an uglie even if you are the cutest thing alive.Uglies by Scott Westerfield is an interesting, science fiction book with different themes, from losing a close friend to another world to meeting a new friend, Shay. Shay herself doesn’t want the operation. In a world where we ride on hoverboards to get to place to place and Shays’ run- away changes Tally Youngblood for the rest of her life. Westerfield creates a whole different world for us; it’s as if you were right there with the character flying from world to world!

Becoming a Pretty is probably the most important event that can ever happen to an Uglie. When Tally’s best friend became a Prettie, she has caused more trouble then ever. Westerfield creates a situation that keeps going. Her secret visits to Prettyville had caused an alarm to go off and meeting a complete stranger, Shay. Tally took it step by step gaining information about a stranger, her new best friend. For the first time, over the 15 to 16 years Tally had been an Uglie she never heard anyone around her saying they don’t want to become a Prettie until she had met Shay. Tally’s emotions towards what Shay had believed had caused their friendship between them two to be more difficult. Westerfield purposely includes a character to mix in with the situation the character has. Shay runs away to another world called “The Rusties”-- where all the Uglies that don’t want to get the operation to become a Prettie run away to.

The run away situation had ruined Tally’s 16th birthday and as well as her opportunity to become one of the Pretties. Now she has to find her best friend that she had only met for that summer. The situation Tally goes through is like a movie playing in your head you can see how hard she worked to get to “The Rusties” to look for her friend. And soon she is considered a run away also. The adventure to find her friend had gave Tally the time to become more confident and realized there is so much in life she hadn’t seen, while she had been hypnotized by gorgeousness around her all the time. She finally realizes and thinks what is really the means to be a turn pretty.

On a spare day when you sitting at home think what you should do today go stop by your local book store and get a copy of the first book of the series, Uglies. If you understand how it is to live in a world with so much pressure come and follow, one girl’s journey to find a friend that caused her 16th birthday such misery. Who knew in a world of operations can change a person view of themselves, as if one statement or opinion can change someone’s way of thinking and can change their thought and idea as if it were convincing. This book has an unexpecting twist I never figure I would have read. It is mind blowing and heart warming; I’m not talking about melting plastic now, if you know what I mean!(less)

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Would you rather turn “PRETTY” or stay UGLY”? SPOILERS	21	53	1 hour, 34 min ago
Mrs. Fabsik's LA/SS: Uglies	10	5	Feb 05, 2012 04:33pm
Future Survivors,...: What happened to the UGLIES movie?	6	66	Feb 02, 2012 09:30am
Which celebrity do you think would be a natural pretty?	115	389	Feb 01, 2012 04:16pm
The Smoke: Pro, or Con?	20	49	Jan 31, 2012 11:36pm
GERMAN - Fantasie...: Scott Westerfeld - Uglies Serie (Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras)	15	16	Jan 27, 2012 01:10pm
Ugly. Pretty. Spe...: Uglies Movie	5	9	Jan 13, 2012 12:58pm

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About Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld is a New York Times bestselling American-born author of YA sci-fi literature. He was born in the Texas and now lives in Sydney and New York City. In 2001, Westerfeld married fellow author Justine Larbalestier.
His book Evolution's Darling was a New York Times Notable Book, and won a Special Citation for the 2000 Philip K. Dick Award. So Yesterday won a Victorian Premier's Awa...more

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Quotes from Uglies

“What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.” — 1,725 people liked it

“You're insane!" she shouted.
"Pretty cool, huh?"
"No!"Tally yelled. "Why didn't you tell me it was broken?"
Shay shrugged. "More fun that way?"
"More fun?" Her heart beating fast,her vision strangely clear. She was full of anger and relief and...joy.
"Well, kind of. But you suck!” — 226 people liked it

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