Uglies by Scott Westerfeld review

Uglies (Boxed Set): Uglies, Pretties, Specials (The Uglies)
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 have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. 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 the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.





I thought this book was fantastic! Even though the climax is somewhat predictable, I love the idea of this book. The entire book is based on our willingness as a society to follow along with what we're told, because that's just the way we do things. Also, our obsession with being beautiful, achieving perfection, and having all that we think we deserve in life. When I was reading this, I kept thinking of The Hunger Games, which I LOVE. Whether it was the futuristic setting, with the hovercrafts and overdone plastic surgery, or the new world built out of the world that we destroyed, or the big, bad new regime that has taken over, Uglies is a fascinating story. I'm just glad that the other books in the series are out because the end of this book is a MAJOR cliffhanger!
Do not conform to the patterns of this world, ask questions, know why you do what you do and believe what you believe.

~Andye


You may want to know:  The main characters kiss, and there is some minor language.  Check out the content review here

Comments

  1. it is a good series. the first in the series is the best of them. be aware that there are more adult themes in the second an third books of the series. if i am remembering correctly, the main character and her boyfriend live together, and there seems to be a lot of drinking. good books that ask some great questions and make you think. there is also really great action!!

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  2. Oh, that's totally un-bubbly.... :)

    Thanks for letting me know that! I think that's good to know before kids start a series. Once you start, you don't want to have to stop. Especially with ones like this that have such a cliffhanger ending!

    I'm starting Pretties now.

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  3. please read them. i love these especially for girls as they grow. it starts a dialogue about beauty and what true beauty is. there is nothing graphic in the novels, but a parent would want to be prepared to have a discussion with their child about what is happening. (not to totally un-bubblify you, but there is also the subject of cutting that may raise a few questions!) still really great books. i enjoyed the whole series!!

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  4. I know, I just got to the cutting part! Mike and Kirstyn are snowboarding, and the two little kids went to a friend's, so I've been reading all day. Nothing else to do in this never ending snow!! I'm loving this book. I just can't believe how much I'm enjoying reading, especially YA. I guess I'm just too shallow for adult books! Ha!

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  5. YA books are so much more fun! i will read YA books before a regular adult book almost any day!!

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  6. My book club read this book last month. It is a great discussion starter - a chance to reflect on our lives as teens, the current world and what it might be like for our kids in a few years.
    Followed you from SITS. I'll be checking out your reviews and I have a friend who reads YA more than the rest of us so will tell her about you too!

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  7. Hey, Cranky Mommy! Thanks for commenting! I'm really loving these books. They do make you think about things. Extremes. I'm almost done with Pretties, and I love it, too. I'll be posting about it later. Thanks for stopping by, I'll check out your blog also!

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  8. P.S. I looked at your blog and was cracking up! I tried to leave a comment but for some reason, it wouldn't click through. I will try again.

    Andria

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  9. I'm not even sure you guys'll see this but, if you do, please answer: I'm a thirteen-almost-fourteen-year-old guy living in Brazil and was thinking of buying this. I absolutely loved The Hunger Games and love Dystopias, but the whole pretty-plastic-surgery thing made me wonder if I'd really like it... What do you think??

    Juan,
    Geeks & Books

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  10. Hey Juan! It's funny, this review is so old, it's one of the first I ever did. Kit JUST read these books too, and reviewed Uglies here:

    http://www.readingteen.net/2011/09/review-uglies-by-scott-westerfeld.html

    I thought these books had a very Hunger Games like feel, but at the same time were completely different. If you like dystopians a lot, you'll probably like this one. It seems kind of weird with the plastic surgery and stuff, but it's so much more than that once you get into the books.

    If you're interested, I made a list of my favorite dystopians here:

    http://www.readingteen.net/2011/04/cornucopia-of-dystopia-wrap-up.html

    The giveaway is over, but the list is still good :D

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  11. Yeah, honestly, the way they explain it is so much different and so much crazier than plastic surgery. I loved them and I think you definitely shouldn't let that stop you from reading them!

    ~Kit

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