Uglies (Uglies, #1) in WM Independent Readers

Mar 04, 2015 Saige Campbell rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When young Tally Youngblood thinks about turning pretty, there's not a doubt in her mind that things will go perfectly. Turning 16 for an Ugly means turning pretty and not being afraid in their own skin. Every ugly dreams of being pretty, or at least that's what people think. When Tally meets a new adventurer, Shay, they play pranks and become very well known for their shenanigans. After finding out that they have the same birthday, they become closer. Tally feels the need to turn pretty to see When young Tally Youngblood thinks about turning pretty, there's not a doubt in her mind that things will go perfectly. Turning 16 for an Ugly means turning pretty and not being afraid in their own skin. Every ugly dreams of being pretty, or at least that's what people think. When Tally meets a new adventurer, Shay, they play pranks and become very well known for their shenanigans. After finding out that they have the same birthday, they become closer. Tally feels the need to turn pretty to see her old friend, Peris, who has already turned pretty. After promising him that she'll come back after she turns pretty, Shay reveals that she knows someone from outside the city. When they go to finally meet their mystery friend, he doesn't show up. This makes Tally believe that this is all a scam. Shay then tells Tally a few days before their 16th birthday that she's running away to live with their outsider friend and not turn pretty. When Shay finally goes through with this, Tally sticks around to turn pretty on her birthday. Even though Shay said she wanted Tally to go with her, she left her instructions incase she would leave a few days late. What she doesn't know is that her information about Shay could ruin everything.
On Tally's birthday, she waits for her time to get the surgery and goes through all the normal procedures. Once picked up at her complex, she arrives at the hospital for measurements and such. After waiting for what she thinks is hours, she gets told that there's a problem. Dr Cable explains that Tally needs to bring back Shay and her rebelling friends. The "Smokies" are the kids that ran away before their surgery to live their life as an ugly with freedom. Tally gets sent on a mission to get them brought back by setting off a detector in the Smoke that will give notification as to where Dr Cable needs to send his people. The detector is disguised as a pendant so she can set it off easily and have them not expect anything. Tally has very little time to travel without getting suspected as a spy for Special Circumstances (where Dr Cable works). With little time to travel, she feels things could go very bad.
Traveling to the Smoke alone revealed many obstacles involving fires and drought and the fear of being followed. Once she is picked up by Rangers helping out the Smokies, she finally meets up with Shay and her friends. Her meeting with the mystery friend (David) ends up being awkward. She accepts the fact that she won't be trusted for awhile and should wait to set off the detector so she can get the right time and meet people. Once becoming closer with the Smokies (especially David), she finds that setting off the detector would be harder than she thought. David and his family reveal some of the biggest secrets to Tally that make her think twice about the pretty operation and about everyone she's working for. After hearing about the lesions that control the brain after surgery, she decides to destroy the detector so they can't find them. To destroy the pendant, she throws it in a fire to rid of any remains it would leave behind. From there, she finds that the detector doesn't need to be set off in just one way.
The morning after Tally destroys the detector, she wakes up to commotion outside of her tent. She walks out to discover that Dr Cable's people have arrived to take the Smokies and change them to be pretty. Tally tries to find her new friends and escape but she is caught by the people trying to ruin the town. After escaping the people, she is able to go and find David in one of their old hiding spots. David and her then decide that they need to break out their friends and David's family. Things wouldn't be easy but getting them out is exactly what needs to happen to redeem the Smoke.
After breaking into Special Circumstances, they find Dr Cable and knock her out so they're able to find their friends. Luckily, Shay was with her but to their surprise, she's been turned pretty. Shay then directs them to their friends and breaks them free so their able to head back to the Smoke. David's father was killed while there because of his knowledge about the lesions in the brain after the surgery. David's mother then makes the choice that since these lesions really change the way the person acts and thinks, she needs to find a cure to these terrible things. With a pretty on hand (Shay), David's mother makes pills that she thinks will cure them. Shay refuses to go back to the way she used to be and causes everything to turn backwards. After hearing the news that these pills might not work, Shay was completely refusing the thought of even taking them. Tally then makes the choice to turn herself in to turn pretty and then run back to the Smoke where David's mother can try to cure her. David then tells Tally not to do that to herself and runs away. The book then ends with David missing and Tally back at Special Circumstances turning herself in for everything that's happened. ...more

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