Uglies (Uglies #1)

Reader reviewed by no-name

This book is just about the best book i ever read; i cant beleive how easily i got into it; im a very picky reader and i just adore this book so much.

Scott Westerfeld is an awsome writer and i give htis big 2 thumbs up. It is a powerful book not liek anything else i have read; Tally Youngblood is ready to become pretty; and on every pretties 16th birthday you get surgury and turn super star pretty, then along Tallys journy big big intreaging things happen; if you enjoy good books; this is the best one for you!

Reader reviewed by Co-chan

You don't need to be a science-fiction fan to enjoy Uglies. I'm not, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
From the very first page, Westerfield sucks you into the futuristic world of 15-year-old Tally. When you're under 16 in this world, you're an Ugly until you get the operation on your sixteenth birthday that will make you beautiful. Tally is like everyone else, and she can't wait to turn pretty and join her other friends in New Pretty Town. But then she befriends Shay who talks to her about running away. Tally must now choose in between her friend and becoming pretty. And that choice might be taken from her.

The characters are develop very realistically and naturally. The themes of the book are very well represented. Overall this book is a must read.

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 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 jessica

this was an awesome book. set sometime in the distant future, tally youngblood lives in a city called uglyville, anxiously awaiting her 16th birthday along with nearly every other fifteen year old in her school. so whats so weird about that, right? i mean everyone wants to turn sixteen, cuz everyone wants to drive. well, thats where the weirdness comes in. she doesn't want to be sixteen so that she can get her licence. the reason for her is a little different. you see, in tally's world your sixteenth birthday means an extensive cosmetic surgery that turns you "pretty." tally has spent the majority of her years awaiting the day she can finally have that surgery and move to new pretty town with all of her friends. eventually though, a new friend named shay reveals that she never wants to turn pretty at all and runs away to a place called the smoke where everyone is, by pretty standards, ugly. tally is forced to run away and turn in shay and her friends in the smoke. follow tally in her quest to find her way as she is forced to make a life changing decision that will change all their lives.

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

Tally is an ugly. Shes not necessarily ugly in the traditional use of the word; she just hasnt had an operation done to her to make her into a pretty. Thats because she hasnt turned sixteen yet unlike her best friend Peris, who just got the operation. Now he lives in New Pretty Town while Tally is stuck living with the rest of the uglies.

She is befriended by another girl names Shay, who she ran into while sneaking into New Pretty Town. She teaches Tally how to use a hoverboard. Shay is different in that she isnt looking forward to becoming a pretty. And then she runs away to Smoke.

Tally finds out from Dr. Cable, a special, that if she ever wants to become a pretty, then she has to bring Shay back from Smoke. Tally sets out to find smoke by herself, using cryptic instructions left by Shay and wearing a device that she can set off to let the specials know where Smoke is located. When Tally arrives, however, she starts to get used to the life there and even falls for David, which is unfortunately the guy Shay has also set her sights on.

Uglies is an amazing beginning to a series, and Scott Westerfeld has proven himself an amazing storyteller. The ideas are so original and new and yet so believable at the same time. The story is packed with action, suspense, betrayal, and even romance. It is easy to relate to Tallys character most of the time. I highly recommend this book to everyone who hasnt read it, especially for fans of futuristic fiction.

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/)

Reader reviewed by perlycc14

The book Uglies is a great start to a great series! I love this author becasue he puts so much work, detail, and time into his work. He is a great author! This book is a book about trying to survive in the wild. Without much civilization. But the twist to this book that makes it interesting is that Shay used to want to be a pretty really badly, but ever sense people told her the news about that it chages you drastically, she runs from the operation. She is basically living with all the other kids who are also running from the operation. This book deserves an A+!

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!

Reader reviewed by Lenore

When I heard there was a book series out there where everyone got plastic surgery to turn them pretty on their 16th birthday, I knew it would be right up my alley. It's high concept, it's dystopian, it involves a female protagonist - and I came to it so late that I could buy the whole series and not have to wait between books.

Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld, introduces us to a world where civilization has inched its way back into a robust existence after being nearly destroyed by us careless "Rusties" of the 21st century. Hundreds of years later, there is no more war because everyone over 16 is pretty and lives a vapid life of partying and feeling "bubbly". Tally Youngblood, nearly 16, can't wait to join the pretty life and rejoin her best friend Peris who had his pretty transformation already. But for now, she's still ugly and still up to playing ugly tricks - tricks that grow more dangerous after she meets Shay, also close to her 16th birthday but unsure she really wants to go through with the operation. Shay insists she's made contact with people off the grid, "Smokies", who say that being pretty is not all it's cut out to be. When Shay runs away, Tally is recruited for a mission by the ruling class "Specials" to get Shay back or shell be denied the chance to turn and will be ugly forever.

The plot is very well paced, following Tally from the city out into the wilderness on her search for Shay and the Smokies. Westerfeld grinds his exposition so finely that I never felt bored by a bunch of telly scenes. And even though Tally has a lot of her decisions made for her and character growth is pretty much accidental, it feels authentic to the story. The social commentary is very sharp as well, especially in regards to the superficial life of the post-op pretties. In one passage, Tally is told about a beautiful, rare orchid that was genetically reengineered and is now a monoculture, choking out any biodiversity it comes in contact with. Doesnt that sound just so pretty?

Highly recommended!

Reprinted here with author's permission