Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publication: May 10, 2006
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Teen, YA Fiction, Science Fiction
Pages: 448
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SYNOPSIS: (From Amazon)
Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. In just a few weeks she’ll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty. And as a pretty, she’ll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.
But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world—and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally’s choice will change her world forever.
REVIEW:
My book club selected Uglies as our read for November. I am not big on science fiction, so I was a little hesitant on whether I would enjoy this book. I was pleasantly surprised.
The story follows Tally, who is about to become a Pretty and get all the joys that come with it. However, she meets Shay who tells her things she’s never heard. Then when it’s finally her time.. things go awry. I did not initially love the characters I was meeting. Tally is very naive and that naïveté was a bit irritating to say the least. I wanted to scream at her every time she had a thought about what she had been told her whole life and that everything else was a lie. It was infuriating to see how brainwashed she was because that is what she was told. Made me want to shake her and make her think for herself, no matter what she chose to believe at that point.
I wouldn’t say I liked any of the characters really. I really enjoyed the storyline. It reminded me a lot of the Divergent series. Same concept. The characters annoyed me greatly until I got out of the city and then I enjoyed those characters. But honestly, I really did not like Tally even then. Shay was fun at the end of the story as well. I only point this out because of the strong feelings I had for the characters. I always feel a book is better if you feel strongly about the characters themselves. It makes the story even better.
With that being said, the story flowed really nicely. I like the inner monologues we got from Tally as we read along and all the things she was trying to process in her mind. We could see her growth because of it and it made the story deeper. My only issue with the book is that it ended on a cliffhanger. I knew there were more books, but I was still frustrated with a cliffhanger. Now I have to read the next book asap!!! I was going to do it anyway.
Overall Uglies is intriguing, interesting, and leaves me wanting more at the end. Thank goodness there is more! Pick it up and check it out if you are fans of The Selection, Divergent, Hunger Games or other books similar.
