Uglies

by Scott Westerfield

Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all.

• ISBN10: 0689865384
• ISBN13: 9780689865381
• Publish Date: 8 February 2005
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon Pulse
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

I avoided this series for years, for some reason under the impression that the books featured petty teenage dramas about who was attractive and who was not and the discrimination that could result from society’s rigidly defined ideas of beauty. In case anyone else thinks the same, let me reassure you that they are not. Uglies is actually set in a future dystopia, and the drama comes from chase scenes and confrontations with the government’s special forces, not from cliques and catfights.

The theme of what constitutes true beauty is present, however, and Westerfeld does a good job of incorporating character discussions about inner vs. outer beauty, changing concepts of beauty, and the dangers of everyone’s trying to be the same. Interestingly, however, the idea that people should not try to look a certain way is not the main argument of the novel. In fact, Westerfeld partially undermines this interpretation when he reveals (spoiler warning!) that the government is altering people’s brains in addition to their bodies. They are forcing people to think and behave in a certain manner. The fact, then, that the people in New Pretty Town all look relatively the same—same full lips, same big eyes, same height, and same weight—is unimportant because their changed bodies are not the cause of their cause of their shallowness. One could imagine that it would (almost) be fine for them to undergo the operation to become pretty if the government would just leave their brains alone. This makes sense because obviously having large eyes and clear skin cannot make you a clueless, neglectful, or superficial person—but the beginning of the novel truly does set the reader up to believe becoming a prettier person somehow substantially alters personalities for the worse.

Of course, the government was able to physically alter people’s behavior only because they first mentally conditioned them to believe that there was only one right way to look. Uglies, then, functions as a cautionary tale about what can happen when individuality is eliminated—and how someone might convince an entire society to give up their individuality willingly.

This review was also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.

[rakesandrogues]

I had been wanting to read this series for a very long time, but I never really got around to getting a copy. My friend Tasha is a huge fan of the series and finally lent me hers and I finally got around to reading it. Unfortunately, I started reading UGLIES in the middle of finals, BEA, and the end of the semester which meant that I really did not have much time to just sit down and read. My reading experience had been extremely choppy and it made it difficult to really get into the book. However, despite my personal setbacks, I was still able to enjoy UGLIES overall, and it definitely made me think.

Tally lives in a society where at sixteen, you turn pretty. Initially, I found many, if not all, to be extremely shallow. Uglies called each other terrible names like Zitface and Squint that basically pointed out their flaws. There is this obsession with facial symmetry and looking perfect, and Tally could not wait until she turns pretty herself and moves to Pretty Town across the river. I didn’t think that I was going to be able to relate to Tally at all, but she does grow as a character as the book progresses. We learn the secrets behind becoming pretty – secrets that still make my mind boggle – and Tally realizes that the whole world that she had known growing up may not be as perfect as it looks.

Other than the issues of self-image, beauty, and plastic surgery, Weseterfeld also brings up many topics that makes readers think. The book is way more than just about a teenager in a world where everyone turns pretty. He also makes readers think about issues such as genetic modification and experimental medicine. Like a good dystopian novel, he made me think of society today and how our actions could impact the world in the future.

There is a bit of romance in the novel, though it is far from the main focus. I did feel that it was a bit rushed, but there is some chemistry between the two characters. The romance does play a bigger part toward the end of the novel, and I am curious how it picks back up in the second book.

UGLIES definitely gives readers a lot to think about. Westerfeld is a fantastic world-builder and he absolutely makes you stop to think while reading. UGLIES is a fantastic example of what a dystopian novel should do: it should entertain but also make you question your actions and today’s society and how it could affect that future. The scariest part about the UGLIES? While the concept seems outrageous, there are probably many people out there who wouldn’t mind living amongst beautiful people.

I can’t wait to continue the rest of the series! I hope I can get to them all before school starts up again in the fall. UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld is definitely recommended to fans of dystopia and science fiction.