Uglies (Uglies #1)

 
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Ugly, Pretty, Special, Extra, this series has it all!
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Gabrielle Carolina

This is a series review! I hope I dont spoil any of the fun, but here is a brief synopsis of each book.
In Uglies, Tally, a fifteen year old living in a culture where people are turned Pretty at age sixteen, there-by gaining the respect and elite privileges of Prettiness. Tally and Shay are two rebellious best friends, one of which, Shay, decides to go and join The Smoke, a band of outlaw uglies who insist on staying that way. When the head of the rumored Specials sends Tally out to find The Smoke and end their rebellion Tally is sure she can fulfill her mission, if for no other reason than to become Pretty! What Tally finds is a camp dedicated to preserving the old ways, ways that destroyed the world once before, but are somehow very freeing and yes, beautiful in its own way. When Tally meets David, an ugly, born and raised outside of Tallys Pretty-centered society she begins to really see herself and this is the tipping point of her new found self-respect.
*Uglies Spoiler Alert!*
In Pretties Tally is finally one of the many, brain-washed beauties that in-habit her Pretty-City. She is in a group called the Crims with Shay and Peris. Zane is the pretty leader of their little group, intent on staying Bubbly! As Tally and Zanes romance continues to grow and their bond deepens with the mutual knowledge of the nano-pills Tally continues to shake the legions that plague her mind and remembering the way things once appeared to Tally becomes easier and easier.
*Pretties Spoiler Alert!*
Specials begins with an epic party bust, better than the first two! Shays special Specials, The Cutters, are off to find the Smokies infiltrate spy and expose their tricks. The reader has the unique experience of seeing this society through the eyes of an protagonist turned antagonist. As a Special, Tally begins her journey by intimidating others and believing herself to be superior to all of those around her, even her boss Shay and her love, Zane, who is barely hanging on, unable to fully heal from the brain damage the nanos have caused him. Tally does find her way back to herself in time to fight against her society in the Diego War, but at what cost?
Extras is the fourth in the series, and quite possibly the final in the saga. This book is told from the perspective of Aya, a Japanese kicker in the time after the mind-rain. Tally is an immortal in this society, and everyone wants a piece of her high face rank. Kicking, or reporting, on oddities around the city is the fastest way to popularity. Lucky for Aya Fuse she has a story that could make her even more popular than Tally, but what will it mean if she exposes what she believes to be the truth behind a storage facility high in the mountains and the presence of strange, glowing creatures?
The UPSE Saga is a personal favorite, lets just get that out of the way. All four sit proudly on my Mod Podge Bookshelf, along with the companion novel, aptly named, Bubbly to Bogus. Tally is also one of my very favorite heroines, I want to be Tally, if only for the complications her society places upon her shoulders and the way she overcomes them from within. Her problems never have the most tidy endings, instead rolling over into the next novel, all dependent on who her society will create next, using her body and brain as their personal playground.

The Toys in these Scott Westerfeld books are so cool! Even being a girl, I want to ride a hover board! I love Tally's relationshipss with Shay, Zane and David. Ill say it now, Zane is my literary love in this novel. There is just something so self-sacrificing about his character, and Tally really loves him, I mean really, really loves him.

The chilling ends of the Diego War in Specials are still tingling inside me as I imagine the scene Westerfeld painted so vividly, so painfully.

Extras is my least favorite, I wanted in equal parts to experience a new world and go with Tally on a new adventure, letting her and Davids new relationship go less unnoticed. I really didnt feel like these desires were completely met, though the characters were still great, the plot lacked something Specials had left hanging- so perfectly- in the air, what with Tallys final warning to the world at the end of the third novel. Well, perhaps I will get my wish completely fulfilled eventually, I think I would love a fifth book from Davids perspective, going back to being in an Uglies mind after the Mind-Rain would be so cool!

My favorite, as you may have guessed is Specials, I cant even talk about it anymore without spoiling, what I feel you need to experience, in the moment. Pretties and Uglies are both amazing companions to each other, they are so different from the last two, which is the magic of these books. Though Westerfeld remains in one mind throughout the first three novels each time Tally goes under the knife your own perceptions of Tallys world change, along with the vernacular, the tone of the novel and the body you are inhabiting as you tackle the world with Tally. Read these books!
A word on the covers: They are all so cool, though I think Aya looks too cool, almost Special in a way. I get that an Extra is different than an Ugly, but I wanted something less sexy, less powerful, but secretive from Aya. Tally on the Specials cover is well, lets just say it, shes Icy! I dont like the Pretties cover at all, but the Uglies cover is what caused me to delve into the books in the first place. There is that sense of mystery to self, you know that Tally isnt even aware of her self, or her strength because she is hiding among all the greenery. Bubbly!
What is in a name? You know what I think the coolest name is in these books? Its Shays nickname, which in this society is Shay-la; I think Shayla is so pretty! Tally is super cool and you come to appreciate it as you read. Zane is also pretty Bubbly.

http://themodpodgebookshelf.blogspot.com/

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One of The Best Out There
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Haley

Summary: (From Goodreads) Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her licensefor turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent 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 worldand 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.



Review:



First let me say that the first time I read the summary I knew I'd love it. I loved how truthful and eye-opening this story was. It awoken me to a strange reality, Uglies made me think. And I love books that make you think. From the first sentence to the last word, Uglies had me hooked. Somewhere near the end though I became a bit bored, it dragged out just a bit, but as the end kept nearing, the story picked right back up again.



Tally was such a real feeling character I was lost for words after I finished it. She's easy to relate to because she feels what practically every girl has felt at some point. That she is ugly. Each character had me smiling, laughing, and cringing. Every chapter flew by in minutes. Everything about Uglies will make you take a step back and go, wow.



The only real problem I had was I didn't feel that strong connection with Tally as I would have if it was in first person. I usually read in first person, but it was different and still rewarding after reading Uglies in third. I recommend that you go and buy (or borrow/check out) and read Uglies as soon as you can.

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"Uglies" Series is Anything BUT Ugly
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Super Reader Girl

What if at 16-years-old we could all have an operation to make us
beautiful? No one would stand out unfairly as more or less beautiful
than another. Everyone would be attractive to everyone else. What if
society were perfectly orderly and technology took care of our every
need - and whim? What if our only "job" was to enjoy ourselves until we
hit adulthood? And what if you began to think that maybe life might not
be so awful without this operation...but opting out was not an option?


The Uglies
series is truly anything but ugly. I really enjoyed these books set in the
(maybe not so distant?) future! I loved the premise and how it makes
you look at things like beauty and individuality a bit differently. 
It was a little slow for me for the first section, but picked up after
that. I was a bit disappointed on a decision the main character, Tally,
chose somewhere near the middle of the book, and it made me
uncomfortable for much of the rest of the book, but overall I liked it.
Very clean book, telling what I felt was a very
unique story. 



Definitely a page turner for me. Highly recommended!

(Super Reader Girl Reviews: http://superreadergirlreviews.blogspot.com/)
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Adventure Sci-fi at it's best!
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Trillian

This book is exciting adventure sci-fi at it's best! It's futuristic, post-humans-almost-destroy-the-world and pretty awesome. In places it reminded me of Orwell's 1984, Alex Garland's The Beach and the video game Fallout 3. I love all three and combined with a good handful of teen drama, this book was brilliant.

Although it is a Young Adult book it didn't read like teen fiction - in a good way! The plot gave just enough away to make me want to keep reading, without being too obvious. The characters well written and believable - and I actually cared what happened to them, almost right from the start. Descriptions were enough to get the imagination going without giving every bit of detail away. If I were to write a book, I'd want it to be like this one!


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A Pretty World
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by SarahJane :)

Tally was born ugly, just like everyone else born into Tally's world. All Tally ever wanted to do was be pretty. But prettieness isn't like our pretty today. Prettieness is a gift given to you on your 16th birthday, an opperation that changed you from an ugly to a pretty. A few months before her 16th birthday Tally meets Shay, a rebellious girl that doesn't beleive in the way that their world is run. Then shay starts talking about this other world outside of uglies and pretties a world frobidden of the special circumstances. But what if Shay's right? What if the opperation isn't really what they have been told? was there a secret that the Special Circumstance keeping from all the people?
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Love this book!!
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5.0
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Megan S

I love this book! i ended up getting the whole series and im now on extras! i love tally! it was fun reading how she would sneek into new pretty town! Then not knowing what to do when shay left..Should she turn her in or not? i just loved the book!
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One of the best futuristic sci-fi books ever written.
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Suzanne

Scott Westerfeld is one of the most talented authors of the 21st century! In Uglies, Tally has grown up to expect that when she turns 16 she will become pretty, just like the rest of  the population. Her best friend has already turned 16, and now she's just biding her time. On her way back from sneaking to see her friend,she meets Shay. Shay is different from most teenagers and just wants to be her. She teaches Tally how to ride a hoverboard,and finally convinces her to move to The Smoke, an escape for uglies who want to stay ugly. After a long journey, she finally gets there,and starts to enjoy life as it should be. But then she is tricked into giving up the location of the Smoke and has to fight for her and her new friends' freedom. Filled with adventure, friendship, love, betrayal, and deceit, it'll keep you up all night!
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It was excruciatingly hard to stop reading
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Sab H. (Crystal Reviews)

I have to start saying that this is probably my favorite cover of
all times. Really! I mean, you can guess by my blog that green is my
favorite color, so that has to do with it. But also, I've always love
half-face pictures, the tricky part is.. can you actually tell who it
is from it? Not really, its hard! But anyway, I love the cover art. Way
too much!!

The plot was terrific. This has been one of the best
scenarios that an author has managed to stick in my head. The whole
ugly-pretty thing, wow! What a concept! When I was not reading, I was
thinking about the book, the world, the story, everything. That's the
power of a great book. It was excruciatingly hard to stop reading. The
characters are great, I love Shay.

Maybe at first it took a
while to get me interested, but then I figured he has too much to
explain. The way Westerfeld makes you look at the world today, is
priceless. It has definitely been more than just a novel for me. It has
a message of equality that screams out of the story. I had never read
his books, but he just became one of my favorite authors.

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Thrilling Ride!
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3.0
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3.0
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Reader reviewed by Amy Ward

When I first picked up this book, I thought the premise was very intriguing. A world full of beautiful people sounds like Heaven. But as I got into the book more and more, it sounded more like you know where! It took me a few chapters to really become engrossed in the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I was waiting for all the excitement to start happening. The story is based around Tally Youngblood, an ugly about to turn pretty. She meets Shay, an ugly that doesn't want to turn pretty. Shay runs away and Tally is forced to bring her friend home or never turn pretty. The events that follow start building up to the climax. After the climax, the story doesn't really slow down. The last sentence in the book will chill you to the bone and make you very excited about the next book. After a slow start, I really started to care about Tally and her friends. I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Pretties.
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Totally Awesome-Making
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5.0
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Reader reviewed by Ali

Wow...I don't even know where to start... I guess i'll just say that the entire Uglies Series is absolutely amazing... Scott Westerfield just transports you to a completely new world in the future where we humans in this time period have basically destroyed the worl. They have supposedly fixed it, but Tally Youngblood discovers that having everything perfect makes it all wrong. The series has an unbelievable cast of characters that you'll never forget... I promise!
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