Uglies , by Scott Westerfeld

Paperback, 425 pages

Published February 8th 2005 by Simon and Schuster

more details...

edition language

English

original title

Uglies

url

http://scottwesterfeld.com/books/uglies/

series

Uglies #1

characters

David Baranov, Tally Youngblood, Shay, Peris

literary awards

South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2008), Georgia Peach Honor Book Award (2008), Abraham Lincoln Award (2007)

 

Tally can't wait to turn sixteen and become Pretty. Sixteen is the magic number that brings a transformation from a repellant 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. 

 

 

My Review

I was actually very hesitant about reading this book merely because of what it was called and what the front cover stated. Suffering from an eating disorder means worrying about the way you look is very important to you, so of course reading a book about looking perfect kind of has you on the edge. However, I was glad that I read it because it was not what I was at all expecting. Instead it made me think about the importance of apperance, why should we all look a certain way, and just because we may look "pretty" does that actually mean we are pretty. The book is what I would consider to be a very thought provoking novel because it truly opens your eyes to the world and what life should be about. For me it made me smile because it made me realize that actually, I could be overweight and ugly and someone would still love me, and thats what I like about this book. I often find that a lot of young adult books have characters who are slim, beautiful and just what we all dream to be. But this book hits on a very real aspect. It shows you that everyone is different and that it is their differences that make you unique.

 

I think the shocker for me was the whole Tally and David thing because I kept painting David as someone much older than Tally, an adult if you like. So of course when an obvious relationship started to blossom between the two, you couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask if this was the right thing. The concept of the book was very well done, and it is the sort of book that I would encourage all females who struggle with self confidence and esteem, to read, because it seems to invoke a lot of emotions within the reader. My favorite thing about the book though is that it is written by a male perspective, because to me that just shows and represents how males are not to be shallow about what a person does or does not look like. The book was written ina  very good way. There was a whole lot of morals and messages in the lines and for that always makes a very captivating tale, because it means that you actually read into what has been presented to you.

 

The beginning did feel a little bit rushed, but only because I wanted to find out more about the pretties, such as Peris. I wanted to know what was going to happen to them, what life was like over that sife, but I assume that this is something we will find out as the series goes on, and we get to explore what happens next. The book just provides a whole lot to the reader and I really did enjoy it.  

 

My rating