Uglies Hot

I'll admit, I was a little wary about starting a series that revolves around being pretty. I mean seriously, how much more superficial can you get? I was prepared to be super-annoyed with the shallowness of it all.

But once I started reading, I found myself completely absorbed in Tally's world. Mr. Westerfeld actually made me understand how Tally would want nothing more in life than to become Pretty, and managed to do it without making me hate her. No small task.

There were a few things I could nitpick about the plot. The endless hoverboarding, for example, made me think someone bet Mr. Westerfeld that he couldn't write an entire book based off of the chase scene in Back to the Future II.

Also, I had a little bit of a hard time figuring out how anything actually got accomplished in this world. What I surmised was that the inhabitants of Uglyville go to school, then turn 16 and party hearty for a few years until they hit "Middle Pretty" age and actually start contributing something to society. Not that I could imagine any of them actually wanting to contribute, since it sounds like the Pretty lifestyle was the epitome of luxury and indulgence. Maybe you or I would get tired of living like that, but the Pretties don't seem to mind in the least.

Is a workforce consisting entirely of middle-aged ex-partiers (as it's implied that the elderly, or "Crumblies" -- ouch -- also do not work) enough to keep this advanced society running smoothly? Maybe not in the world you and I live in. In the world of Uglies, though, it works.

When it comes to YA fiction -- or any fiction, for that matter -- I can almost always poke holes in the logic of the world as it's written. The question I have to ask myself is, "Did I care?" If the answer is yes, it pulls me out of the story and diminishes my enjoyment of the book.

With Uglies, the answer was no. I didn't care that not everything made sense. What I cared about was Tally. Was she a perfect character? Heck no. She drove me nuts at times (this is also one of the main downfalls of reading YA lit, period. The protagonists are always teenagers. I am not). But she was fun to read about, her journey was exciting, and I couldn't put the book down until I knew what happened to her.

What a stunning idea, how could someone come up with such a awesome story? Uglies (normal people in my opinion) are people who haven't undergone surgery to become pretty (people who went under surgery to become stupid. Who would do that? I wouldn't!!). Tally is waiting for her birthday, the day she becomes pretty. But a few weeks until the very special day, Tally becomes friends with Shay, another Ugly. Shay tells Tally that being pretty is awful, she tries to convince her to leave, but to no avail. Shay leaves and Tally is caught up in her escape, she cannot become pretty until she finds the Smoke.

This book is full of choices, lies and hover boards, that will keep you eternally gripped in it's hold. I finished this book in one day since it was so good. I thought the cliffhanger was great, good idea Scot, great way to earn more money, you just need to know what happens.

I disliked the part where Tally volunteers to become pretty, after all that we learned about the consequences of becoming pretty. I thought that was pretty stupid (in Tally's case, not the authors, in that it was clever). I loved Shay quite a bit, but I hated it when she became pretty, and when in the Pretties book how she becomes special. She goes out of line my friends, out of line. I hope she she see the truth someday.

I recommend this book for 12+. Hopefully it will draw in more ever starving prey, like it did for me.

my opinion:

-on the characters: I liked that the girls ruled in this book. They (Tally and Shay) dared to do more than anyone. And the fact that a man wrote this book makes it even more fantastic. Tally is this girl you want to have as a friend, but you are too shy for. (or at least, I'm to shy for being her friend) and Shay is this one girl that is pretending always. Pretending that she dares to do everything. Pretending her life is perfect. But you will find out her life is not perfect after all when you get to know her better...
-on the future the book displays: Okay, this is very hard to say without spoilers. I liked the world at first, it seemed all perfect and better. But when you get to know this world and its secrets you will be horrified! There are some pretty cool inventions like hoverboards on which you can fly and bungeejackets with which you can bungeejump without the elastic cord :D
-on the way the book was written: The way this book was written annoyed me, a lot. It was way to simply written. Example (book) She wore a green T-shirt. (better) She wore a shirt. It was green, with a few spots on it that showed how often it was already worn. The shirt was a little bit oversized, but she looked very good in it. (or whatever) That was a very bad example, but I hope that you get my point
-on the cover: This cover sucks! There also are other versions of this book, and their covers are way more pretty. But I still think the cover has something to do with the books
-the end: Great, unespected, but a torture. I will say it always, so also now: I hate cliffhangers!

total:
I liked this book, I even liked it very much! The amounts of girlpower, romance and hate are perfectly balanced. I think this book is more enjoyable for children a little younger than me, about 11-12 years old. It was a pageturner, but I could put it away, so it was not a very pageturnery pageturner... I'll give this book

3.5 stars

The very title of the book suggests all the themes and morals that the author wants you to take away from it; I mean, seriously, a book titled Uglies. That said, on to the review.

The writing style was average. Nothing awful, but nothing quite outstanding either.

Tally has got to be one of the least relatable, least likable characters in all of YA. I found her to be selfish, weak, shallow, and unloyal. It takes meeting a boy she has only known for a little bit for her to decide not to betray her friends, rather than thinking about her friends when she made that decision. Yes, she’s flawed…so flawed I wanted, several times, to smack her in the face for being so superficial and actually caring so little about the friends she has had for months. And reading a story from the point of a view of a character that I absolutely despise will do nothing for that book’s reputation in my mind. At least there are some decent characters in the book.

The premise of the book is great! I’m going to assume you read the summary, so I don’t have to summarize it. It’s original (for dystopian), and though one of its themes is rather obvious, it is extremely relevant to today’s society, in which models and celebrities are admired for being underweight. I, unfortunately, felt as if the plot was going almost nowhere. It felt too much like a setup for the next book, rather than being unique and individual in and of itself. For a book that is over 400 pages long, all the necessary plot points can be summarized way too quickly, and most of the time, when there actually was some sort of action going on, I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters enough to actually care about the action.

My review’s a bit harsh, but that’s mainly because of the bad impression Tally left on me. A lot of other people seemed to love this book, so I’d recommend this book for: lovers of dystopian, lovers of romance, and more. If you have no patience for either of these things, as they are both extremely common on today’s YA shelves, don’t bother.

I rarely read a book that doesn't feature vampires, but I read the entire Uglies Series and enjoyed it. They are definitely out there, but that is what keeps you coming back for more. Scott Westerfeld has an amazing imagination that I think everyone should experience!

A world where once you turn 16 you must undergo an operation from Ugly to Pretty. Such a process, such a society. This book was something i never expected and I loved every minute that I was reading this book.

If those who are born Ugly must go through an operation to become Pretty, a lot of people in society wouldn't object. This book really makes you look at yourself and how you should really appreciate the true beauty you're given to yourself. Scott Westerfeld brings out such an elaborate story in such a society that puts looks on a high platform and envelops everyones lives around it. It really shows how modern society happens to be... how the conscious though of "pretty" can manipulate thoughts, outlooks and who we are and what we become. The fascination with beauty consumes everything.

This was a fun and quick read for me. The future world that Scott Westerfeld created was very intriguing and described so well that I felt I could imagine it perfectly in my head. There was clearly a contrast between Uglyville (dull, boring, etc.) and New Pretty Town (fun, colorful, exciting).

The premise of Uglies is very sad: Tally spends her whole life pining for the time when she turns 16 so she can be "pretty" and go live in New Pretty Town to finally have fun. It's a representation of the importance society puts on looks, but it also reflects the feelings of teens who just want to fit in. Tally doesn't want to be the prettiest girl after her surgery, she just wants to look like the rest of the popular kids who live in New Pretty Town. Sameness is desired while uniqueness is seen as ugly with no exceptions.

I think Scott Westerfeld did a good job making his point though I wish there was a little more explanation of the world Tally lives in. For instance, I'm not sure what the deal is with the adults in this world. Her parents and teachers seem to be just as clueless as Tally. Apparently that's just the way life is in this world, but I'm still wondering why?

A great idea for a book, this story just needs a little more fine tuning for me.

Reader reviewed by darklightkid

In the future, 16-year-olds are required by law to undergo extreme cosmetic surgery that turns them into people almost too beautiful to be human. Until then, until the day they become Pretties, they have to live in their own dorm halls, with only their peers for company, as unwanted Uglies.

Tally Youngblood is about to turn 16 herself, and she is tired of being the oldest ugly in the house. Her best friend Shay will get the operation a few days before she does. But on the big day, Shay inexplicably vanishes without a trace. And even worse, Tally is approached by Dr. Cable, the fearsome and intimidatingly beautiful leader of the Special Circumstances squad, who gives her an ultimatum: Find Shay and bring her back, or Tally will never become pretty.

So, Tally goes on a mission, across the same blasted post-apocalyptic landscape she and Shay used to hoverboard around on, carrying nothing but the clothes on her backs and seemingly endless packages of synthetic pre-packed food - specifically, SpagBol, or Spaghetti Bolognese, which Tally eventually gets tired of (a running gag for the rest of the series is that she will eat any other such food - PadThai, CurryNoods - anything but SpagBol.) Eventually, Tally discovers a camp full of runaway renegades, all ugly but mostly adults, Shay among them. And as she stays there, Tally discovers that being pretty is not all it's cracked up to be. The horrible sad truth is, when a person undergoes the Pretty operation, the surgeons sneakily insert brain lesions to prevent the Pretties from thinking of anything but partying. Who will Tally trust? Will she betray her best friend?

It's a sin that most people look at this book and automatically assume it's strictly chick-lit. I'm a dude and yet I still enjoyed this book, because Westerfeld is one of my favorite authors (and if I ever become a writer myself someday, I would cite Westerfeld as one of my influences.) It's not the best book in his bibliography, but it's a good start to a series with amazing potential. And it carries a very serious message, too: similarly to a famous quote from The Incredibles, when everyone's pretty, no one will be. Chew on that, Kim Kardashian!

Reader reviewed by avery

What if you
lived in a world where perfect beauty was the norm and ugly was just a stage of
life? In Scott Westerfelds book Uglies
everyone under the age of sixteen is an Ugly until they turn sixteen, when
they get a surgery and turn Pretty. 
After that there are four stages of Pretty; Young, Middle, Crumbly and
Dead Pretty. Tally Youngblood is the last one of her friends to still be an Ugly.
While waiting for her 16^th birthday to arrive she befriends Shay,
another Ugly, who doesnt believe that her face is hideous because it isnt
perfect or that there is only one way to be pretty. To avoid having becoming
Pretty Shay runs off to the Smokes, a secret hideout for those who want to stay
Ugly, the week before Tally and her turn sixteen. Tally is forced to follow Shay
to the Smoke by the Specials, a fierce group of Pretties who run the government,
and pretend that she came on her own free will. After she gets there Tally is
supposed to activate a special tracker the Specials gave her but once there she
starts to like the Smoke and starts to questions the Specials reason for
wanting to destroy it. Im not going to ruin the book for those of you who
havent read it yet so I wont say anything more.

I love the idea
of writing a book about a society based all around beauty and image. Its also
a little familiar because the way the world is today with millions of people
changing the way they look by surgery a world like the this could be very real
in the near future. The characters are really well developed in the book,
especially Shay, who was my favorite. She was a really radical thinker and not
afraid to be different, which, in this book, was a nice change. When I first
started Uglies I thought it was going
to be boring but there is a lot of plot twists and a completely unexpected
ending.

Tally was the
one part of the book I didnt like. Unlike Shay, she seemed pretty shallow, and
completely believed that she couldnt be pretty for who she was. All the Uglies
where brainwashed into believing this but Tally still vexed me, especially when
she decided that it was better to try to betray her friend than to remain ugly.
Tally was also pretty indecisive; she couldnt decide whether she should betray
the Smoke or become one of them when it was obvious that she loved being there.
(This next part has a minor plot spoiler, sorry) Or how she didnt tell David,
a Smoke man she fell in love with, about how she had originally gone to the
Smoke to betray them all even when they where all alone trying to save the
others from the Specials. Tally knew she would have to tell him sometime but
she kept on putting it off, which made matters worse in the end. If I could I
would change Tally and make her more like Shay and more trusting but it
probably wouldnt have been as good of a book.

If your
thinking about reading this book I recommend it to people who enjoyed the Hunger Games series, the new Lauren
Destefano book Wither, and fans of
other Scott Westerfeld books. Uglies
has a fair amount of action but it also has an underlying message of body image,
individuality and peer-pressure. Overall, this book is a great read unlike any
other book out there. Four out of five stars.

Reader reviewed by Brianna

This is the most wonderful book I have ever read! I could not put this book down. This book was a ture page turner. It made me feel "BUBBLY" All I did was read and reread this book then I found out that there was a second book and was imedaitley excited and was carefully watching the dates to when it came out and I Just Love to read. WhenI was done reading this book I could not believe what Tally had done. I just  OMG I just love this book best book ever It is almost a crime if you doon't read this book Uglies  SO READ THIS BOOK!  and i promise it will be the best book you have ever read.