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Uglies (Uglies, #1)
by Scott Westerfeld
by Scott Westerfeld
Reena Jacobs's review
bookshelves: reviewed, 2011-reads
Jul 13, 12
bookshelves: reviewed, 2011-reads
Read from September 27 to October 01, 2011 — I own a copy
Expect my complete review October 24, 2011 at Ramblings of an Amateur Writer: http://wp.me/pPz8s-1Ob
First off the bat, Tally rubbed me all sorts of wrong. All she could talk about were pretty people and how she couldn’t wait to become one. She reminded me of that scene from A Bug’s Life…
Bug one: Harry, harry no! Don't look at the light!
Bug two: I can't help it... it's so beautiful.
!!Zap!!
That was Tally when faced with a Pretty. And when she wasn’t being enraptured by the Pretty, she was full of condescension. Consider these lines/thoughts by her:
pg 76 Their ugly little faces peered up at the dorm’s four-story height, their eyes full of wonder and terror. Oh I hate Tally and her attitude.
pg 81 “Don’t be weird, Shay. I’m an ugly, you’re an ugly. we will be for two more weeks. It’s no big deal or anything.” She laughed. “You, for example, have one giant eyebrow and one tiny one.” Tally being the biggest jerk as she talks to her friend.
pg 198 “What are these freaks?”
“They aren’t freaks,” Shay said. “The weird thing is, these are famous people.”
“Famous for what? Being hideous?” Tally talking about people in our modern day magazines.
Need I say more? Let’s just say, Tally and I didn’t hit it off.
How about the plot? The beginning was rather rocky, and I wasn’t sure I’d even finish Uglies. Once Tally started focusing on other issues beside just being pretty, the book improved. I couldn’t help but be interested in what happens during the Pretty process. I had a hard time believing a child could grow up thinking they’re were ugly and worthless all their life, then after a surgery which fixed the outer imperfections they’d have high self-esteem. Then the Smokies were introduced, and I had to know what that was about.
Uglies also had a bit of romance action. At first, the romance seemed so fake considering it came out of the blue. But sometimes, I guess that’s how it happens. Just having someone take notice can create an attraction. In the case of Tally falling for an Ugly, I’d say that’s what happened. After all, she was quite superficial throughout the story.
Over all, this wasn’t the best read, and the presentation wasn’t all that great. However, the story was unique to me. It also ended on a cliffhanger, which I absolutely hate. I’m just glad the series is over, and I have the complete collection. Now I can read (or not read) them at my leisure.
First off the bat, Tally rubbed me all sorts of wrong. All she could talk about were pretty people and how she couldn’t wait to become one. She reminded me of that scene from A Bug’s Life…
Bug one: Harry, harry no! Don't look at the light!
Bug two: I can't help it... it's so beautiful.
!!Zap!!
That was Tally when faced with a Pretty. And when she wasn’t being enraptured by the Pretty, she was full of condescension. Consider these lines/thoughts by her:
pg 76 Their ugly little faces peered up at the dorm’s four-story height, their eyes full of wonder and terror. Oh I hate Tally and her attitude.
pg 81 “Don’t be weird, Shay. I’m an ugly, you’re an ugly. we will be for two more weeks. It’s no big deal or anything.” She laughed. “You, for example, have one giant eyebrow and one tiny one.” Tally being the biggest jerk as she talks to her friend.
pg 198 “What are these freaks?”
“They aren’t freaks,” Shay said. “The weird thing is, these are famous people.”
“Famous for what? Being hideous?” Tally talking about people in our modern day magazines.
Need I say more? Let’s just say, Tally and I didn’t hit it off.
How about the plot? The beginning was rather rocky, and I wasn’t sure I’d even finish Uglies. Once Tally started focusing on other issues beside just being pretty, the book improved. I couldn’t help but be interested in what happens during the Pretty process. I had a hard time believing a child could grow up thinking they’re were ugly and worthless all their life, then after a surgery which fixed the outer imperfections they’d have high self-esteem. Then the Smokies were introduced, and I had to know what that was about.
Uglies also had a bit of romance action. At first, the romance seemed so fake considering it came out of the blue. But sometimes, I guess that’s how it happens. Just having someone take notice can create an attraction. In the case of Tally falling for an Ugly, I’d say that’s what happened. After all, she was quite superficial throughout the story.
Over all, this wasn’t the best read, and the presentation wasn’t all that great. However, the story was unique to me. It also ended on a cliffhanger, which I absolutely hate. I’m just glad the series is over, and I have the complete collection. Now I can read (or not read) them at my leisure.
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Reading Progress
| 09/27/2011 | page 2 |
|
0.0% | "I've really been wanting to read this one. This morning, my daughter and I read the first page or so. After Ashfall, I'm really going to get into the Uglies." |
| 09/29/2011 | page 4 |
|
1.0% | ""Everyone ugly was in bed now." I can't help but laugh." |
| 09/30/2011 | page 46 |
|
11.0% | "I have a hard time believing children can grow up with the idea they're ugly, inferior, nothing then have an operation that makes them "pretty" and voila! They have great self-esteem all of a sudden." |
| 09/30/2011 | page 70 |
|
16.0% | "I was getting rather apprehensive about this book with all the talk of pretty. Was afraid it might end up as a DNF. But now that we've moved beyond pretty... kinda, it's gotten rather fun." |
| 09/30/2011 | page 139 |
|
33.0% | "I'm having a like-detest relationship with this book. I absolutely detest Tally and her superficiality. Yet I'm curious about Smoke, David, and Shay. And I'm eager to learn what happens during the process of becoming pretty (on a mental level, that is)?" |
| 10/01/2011 | page 325 |
|
76.0% | "This book is REALLY long. I'm at the point where I just want to know how it ends. 100 more pages." |
