Uglies (Uglies #1)

Reader reviewed by artemis

This was an okay book. Not great, not bad, just somewhere in between. Tally Youngblood wants to be beautiful so she undergoes surgery to be just that. The idea is fresh and a welcome break from the typical teen fanfare you find in most books nowadays. The book is quite long--over 400 pages and some parts were very slow and boring. The cover is nice, though. Read this book if you have nothing else better to do.

Reader reviewed by linda

Tally is a young and impressionable girl who is waiting for her sixteenth birthday when she will be turned into a stunning Pretty and thrown into a world of parties and beautiful people. Everything is fine until she meets Shay, another young Ugly, who is not interested in a shallow life. Shay takes off for the Smoke and leaves Tally with many questions, regrets, and a group of Specials who want her to track down Shay. Tally is forced to take a hard journey to the Smoke where she learns about the past and has to decide whether she wants to be Pretty or whether she wants to be free.

Reader reviewed by Stella

Set sometime in the future, Uglies is the story of a young girl who discovers the ugly truth about the futuristic society in which she grew up. This novel causes you to think about what is happening in our society today, and not blindly follow the lead of others, but to question what is percieved as "right" by many. A great book and dramatic ending.

p.s. I also love that the books come out only two months apart and a released in paperback! (finally someone understands the pain of waiting!)

Reader reviewed by skin deep

Scott Westerfeld, the author for the novel Uglies, introduces a society thats located in the future. This utopia is unique, for when your sweet sixteen swings by, you dont just get a party, but a whole new face. On everyones sixteenth birthday, they go through a complicated surgery that makes them a Pretty. However, before you turn into a Pretty, youre known as an Ugly living across the river, staring at the tall, bright buildings, while the music blares all night long. Your childhood years seem like they get wasted as you patiently wait for the big day.
Seems like a great place, right? You get to be super model gorgeous, party at all hours, and sleep in all the time. Popularity and all the friends you need will be placed at your feet. Theres an endless supply of everything including clothes and bubbly bungee jackets that bounce you on the ground when you fall. There is just one catch, however. You are not given the choice of not turning Pretty.
Tally, like many fifteen-year-old Uglies, cant wait till her birthday. Since she has a late birthday, shes going to have one of the last operations for her year. This is where Shay comes in, another fifteen-year-old waiting for the operation. These two become close friends as the day nears. However, Shay is different. She runs away to the Smoke, a group of people who chose not to go through the surgery. Because of this, Tallys operation is delayed until she finds Shay and brings her back. This starts the long journey you take with Tally to find the Smoke and a mysterious David. As the book comes to a close, you really find out that beauty is only skin deep.
Scott Westerfeld introduces the idea of a utopia where you get to be beautiful, like everyone else, so there is no discrimination of being ugly. But if you really examine this concept, youll find you have no voice in whether you want your face to change. The theme in this book, in my opinion, would be transformation, on the outside as well as the inside. You change as you learn what goes on in this society. It really makes you think, whether you would go through this process, just to become pretty.
I, however, dont like the fact that Im not in charge of my life. Sure, the life seems great, but only at first. I want to make something of my life, no just be a bystander. In this society, a dream like that cant be possible.
So what do you say? Are you willing to pay the price of beauty?

Reader reviewed by two_sided_freek

this book has a little for everyone. some romance, a lot of advetnure, and it really makes you think about the world we live in. not only do you realize that this books holds certain truth to what our future world might be but you also are in a controversy whether you would turn pretty or stay "ugly"

The utopia these people live in allow them, and force them, to engage in a enormous cosmetic surgery that turns them "Pretty." However there are some like Tally's new friend Shay who don't want to turn and run away to the Smoke. When Shay disappears Tally is forced to find the Smoke for it is her only path to be Pretty. Join Tally as she travels her journey to find the Smoke and as she discovers where her true heart lies.

Reader reviewed by MissGoodie2Shoes

In this launch title of a planned trilogy,teenager Tally Youngblood is living an unexamined life in a world unlike ours, hundreds of years from now. She's impatiently awaiting her birthday because in her town, Uglyville, everybody gets the same gift at age 16: cosmetic surgery which transforms them into gorgeous creatures. They also move into "party towers" in New Pretty Town. Tally's best friend has already made the transition and, motivated by her desire to see him, she sneaks into town. Her near-capture leads to a new best friend, Shay, who has the same birthday. On the eve of their operations, Shay reveals a plan to escape to a renegade settlement called "the Smoke." When Shay disappears, government agents blackmail Tally into leading them to the rebels. Once in the Smoke, Tally has a crisis of conscience when she learns the surgery is more sinister than she imagined. Teens will appreciate the gadgetry-including bungee jackets and hoverboards that work by magnetic levitation. But plausibility problems creep in, such as Tally leading a breakout of Smokeys from a high-tech compound while wearing handcuffs.

I thought this book was really good. I cant wait until the sequel comes out. If you like the action saving and boyfriend getting types of books you will definetly like this trilogy and will be waiting impatiently like me for the 2nd book to come out.