Book Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Imagine a world where everyone goes through surgery to become beautiful when they are 16. A world where flaws are easily erased, and everyone is beautiful and happy, and there is no such thing as war.

That is exactly what is about to happen to Tally Youngblood and her new best friend Shay. They are Uglies. (Uglies are normal people like you and I, with flaws.)
Tally wants nothing more than to join the Pretties on the other side of the city and reunite with her old best friend that has already gone through the transformation.
You see Uglies cannot mingle with Pretties until they go through their operation for some strange reason. The city is divided into two, one side for the Uglies and another side for the Pretties.

The pretty operation is done supposedly to keep people from discriminating against each other. That way everyone will be beautiful and no one can make fun of another person for physical flaws they may have. The government somehow managed to lead people into believing that being ugly was the reason for war and hate. If everyone were beautiful it would no longer occur; thus, the mandatory operation.

Shay however does not want to go through the operation, and one night Shay tells Tally about a hidden city called Smoke. It is a place where you can run away to so you don’t have to go through the operation and you can live freely without government telling you what to do.

Tally thinks she is insane, and when Shay starts talking about a young man by the name of David, Tally thinks Shay is making things up because when she tried to introduce the two he never showed up.

However the a few days before the operation Shay goes missing.

Tally is upset that Shay has left for the hidden city called Smoke, and cannot understand why Shay would not want to turn into a Prettie.
Shay though has left Tally a note with directions on how to get to Smoke if she ever wants to come for a visit.

Once the news hits the city officials they immediately turn to Tally for answers. They tell her that they have been looking for Smoke for years, and that they would not turn Tally into a Prettie unless she helped them find Smoke. They give her a heart pendant to wear around her neck, and once she makes it to Smoke to just press the pendant and the Special Circumstances will be there within a few hours.

Tally who waited her entire life for the operation to become a Prettie is devastated. She agrees though to betray her friend, and blow Smokes cover, and in return they will make her pretty.

That is if she can find Smoke herself. Shays directions were clues more than they were directions.

That very night Tally leaves to try and find Smoke. She goes through quite an adventure while riding on a hover board provided by the city’s Special Circumstances. (Yes there are freakin’ hover boards in this book!)

It took her quite some time, but eventually Tally lands herself in Smoke. She meets up with Shay and meets David and is introduced into this new world. Immediately some of the people in the city think she is a spy. And heck, they are right. She tells them a bunch of lies to try and win over the crowd and to have them all accept her into their society.

David, who plays a dominant role as Smokes leader (even though he isn’t) takes a liking to her and shares a whole bunch of secrets with her about Pretties, and Uglies.

Eventually he even is able to convince her that she is in fact not ugly, and that it is the city’s standards on what makes people ‘think’ they are ugly by calling them Uglies up until they are 16, and have the operation.

Tally begins to enjoy this new lifestyle, and even starts to resent the Pretties and the city in which she once loved; she even begins a small romance with David. Once she gets closer to David she learns more and more horrible things about the Pretties and the truth behind their ‘pretty’ operation.

Does Tally remain faithful to her new home in Smoke, or is she playing her cards correctly in order to sell the entire city out to Special Circumstances?

Is David blinding her with affection because he knows she is a spy?

What is the secret about the Pretties?

Why is Special Circumstances out to destroy Smoke?

I guess you will have to pick this one up on your own for the answer to those questions.

MY OPINION:

I enjoyed this read, even though it is quite a large book consisting of 448 pages, the read goes by quickly.

Instantly I was drawn into Tally’s ‘Uglies’ world, and was interested in knowing more about the Pretties and what made them act the way they did. (There is a second book in this trilogy, called ‘Pretties.’ I will definitely be picking up the continuation.

I liked how even though everything was so sci-fi I was able to follow the story without being confused, or without thinking this was to Star Trek-ish. I liked the use of hover cars and hover boards as means of transportation, and I liked how our civilization as it is now was mentioned historically.

It also was a good read because even though the book has nothing to do with our government as of now, it sort of gives you as a reader a little insight about what happens to people when they constantly follow what the government says, and what happens if you always agree and never have a mind of your own when bad things are going on in the world. How we just sit back and follow the leader. It is sort of scary and may even be viewed as a wake up call.

SO WHATS WRONG WITH THIS BOOK?

Well for one, I couldn’t understand why Special Circumstances wasn’t following Tally the entire time as she went on her journey to Smoke. If it were so darn important for them to find the city and destroy it, why would they not have a crew of Specials following her?

And without spoiling the ending….

Oh! What ending!?

I am disappointed to say that in order to know what happens in the end you have to buy the second book. Pretties. So I was a little bummed to learn that in order to finish the story and find out what happens I have to shell out another $8.

Its one of those dot, dot, dot, books…

And unfortunately you have to buy the second book in the trilogy. Man! I feel like I got sucked in then spit back out.

WHO WOULD LIKE IT?

It is a book sci-fi fanatics will enjoy as well as young adults and adults of any age, sci-fi fan or not. There is nothing explicit or sexual in this book either; so younger children may read this as well.

I found my copy at Walmart for $8.98. You can also get copies online at www.ebay.com for much cheaper. You may even be able to pick up the entire trilogy. I believe there are 3 books in this set.

OVERALL:

Even though I was upset about having to purchase the next book in the series, I enjoyed Uglies very much.

Horror books are the only ones that ever get the Melissa seal of approval and the two thumbs up, but I must say Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies deserves some recognition even though it’s not really a horror.

Two thumbs up, and the big “YES” I would recommend it.