Uglies (Uglies #1)

Reader reviewed by ruber band

this book was really good it was action packed all the was. the begining was a little confusing but it worked itself out in the end. it made me want to read the whole searies. well i am almost done with the searies i am just finishing specials right now. i would recomend this book to anyone who love a good action book. just give it some time in the begining. this book i think is a great book for all ages.

Reader reviewed by BooksObsession

This book was alright. It didn't stand out to me, and I've already forgotten most of the chapters. Since it's based on a futuristic world (that the author never really explained) it was hard to connect to the characters and their daily life. I think that the plot was very creative, but that Westerfeld didn't give it his full potential. It could have been a much better book, but maybe the next in the series will be a little bit better.

Reader reviewed by AlliBalli

I actually usually try to stay away from science fiction books, but this one was a pleasant surprise. I thought Scott Westerfield really knows how to catch a readers intention. At first the book was kind of slow, but right as I was about to give up on it, it took a turn for the better.
I actually went out and bought Pretties and Specials. Luckily, my library had gotten Extras in before I had even known that it had come out.

This book, like I said, was a surprise. It kept me turning the pages, and I almost got in trouble reading in class, because I could not put it down.

Reader reviewed by Rvnclw08

Very good.  THis is my favortie type of book--dystopia.  You'll find out the  being pretty isnt just about look.  Don't judge this book by its cover and title because it your teenage love story like you think it is deeper and a lil more scifi.  Vry good.

Reader reviewed by Patricia

The book was very good witha captivating plot and left you hanging. It gave a new look on the future and got you thinking about the importance of beauty and ugly. It showed a glimpse of the people in the furture and left us with unforgettable characters (Davids my favorite so far) and was just...goood.

Reader reviewed by vamp reviews

This is the best book I have ever read.  It's about a girl named Tally who lives 300 years in the future, with hoverboards, bunjee jackets and all the things we dream the future will be. But guess what? What do we all wnt to be?  Beautiful. and in Tallys world when you turn 16 you get an operation that makes you pretty, then you move into the good part of town, where your only job is to have fun. There's a catch, you give up being smart basically.  They take away your ability to question society.  Three months before she turns 16 she sneaks off to see her best friend whose already pretty and if your ugly (in this world your pretty, ugly, or special, specials are the authority figures) you're not allowed to be in pretty town, she had to run away from the party her friend was at.  While escaping she runs into a girl named Shay, who really doesn't want to be pretty, and some how they become friends. So when Shay runs away from the high-tech city to the smoke (a place ware rebbels go). then the authorities give Tally an awful choice, track Shay down and turn in everyone in smoke or never become pretty.

Reader reviewed by Cambria

this book is a wonderful book about not trying to be like everyone else even if that means being ugly tally just wanted to be like everone else and be well pretty but she happens to meet a girl that doesnt and her whole world is changed she has to go in search of people who dont want to be pretty along the way she finds that you cant find love in being pretty you find it in being who you are even if your outside is ugly you will look at people in a new light i say everyone should read this book 

Reader reviewed by Kath

Uglies was a verry mind-catching book. This book (the first of four) takes us in a world witch could be ours in our futur if we continue the way we are...We quickly fall in love with Tally and her friends, in this twisted world, where they push every thing to the limit. While they whait for their operation to finaly become Pretties, Tally's friend run's away and she needs to bring her back, but what they discover and experiance, will change her long life beleifs. Will she get the operation to become pretty even if she now knows the truth about the operation???
This book was verry good, verry easy to read and realy captivating. It leaves us wanting to know what will happen to Tally in the next book; Pretties and changes our view or the world of today!!!
Read it !!!
Kath

Reader reviewed by Max

Tally is almost sixteen, and ugly. When anyone in her society turns sixteen, they undergo an operation which makes them pretty. Her best friend, Peris, recently turned sixteen, and she has snuck into the area designated for the Pretties to see him, although he sends her back. Everyone there has a great time, and parties practically every day and night. While she's waiting for her sixteenth birthday she makes a friend named Shay, who isn't sure she wants the operation at all. When Shay runs away, she leaves Tally a message and the government won't let Tally have her operation until she finds Shay for them. Tally finds a whole society of Uglies, makes new friends, falls for one of the guys, and reconsiders what she values.

Uglies is an enjoyable read, and also makes you think about the importance of appearance and the importance of who you are as a person. It was well-written, and it's easy to sympathize with the main character as she struggles with the choice between her friends and herself. I really loved Uglies, and I strongly recommend it.

Reader reviewed by Lisa

in a sentence or so: Tally is 15 and Ugly. the good news is, on her 16th
birthday she gets to have the surgery that makes her Pretty - and then
life is one big party! until she meets Shay, a girl who is just fine
the way she is and knows of a place where everyone is Ugly. which leads
Tally to the question: why would anyone want to stay Ugly for life?

Tally's best friend Peris
turns pretty about a month before Tally is able to. while spying on him
one night in New Pretty Town, Tally runs into Shay. Shay is also spying
on her Pretty friends, but lacks the desire to join them that Tally
has. but - they are both currently friendless, and become prankster
friends pretty quickly. when Shay tells Tally mere days before their
surgery (same birthday = same surgery day) that she intends to run away
to the Smoke and stay Ugly forever, Tally is heartbroken her friend
will not be there with her in New Pretty Town. Tally has resigned
herself to live life without Shay, until Special Circumstances (super
creepy organization) decides to use Tally as a spy. Tally is faced with
the choice to either become a spy and betray the Smoke - or stay Ugly
forever...

i really dug the futuristic / sci-fi aspect to this. it wasn't over the top sci-fi (which, for the record, i am okay with), but had a lot of potential realism in it. sure there were hover boards and dehydrated food and interface rings, but nothing was really that
outlandish. which i think was the whole point. but anyway, Tally's
journey and decision making was interesting. without being too spoilery, i will reveal that there is a love interest at some point (other than Peris) which is super cute.

while
i am interested in the rest of the series (Pretties, Specials, Extras),
i was not super in love with this. i think it picked up during the
second and third sections, but a lot of it was explaining what things
were like, how society had evolved from the Rusties
(that's you and me folks) into the society they have now, etc... which
was necessary, but not the most riveting thing for me to read.
regardless, i enjoyed this book and am looking forward to seeing how
the rest pan out!

fave quote: "Sometimes Tally felt like she could almost accept brain damage if it meant a life without reconstituted noodles." (367)

fix er up: i felt like it took forrreevvverrrr to get to the action of the book.