Westerfeld, Scott. 2005. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN: 0689865384
Tally Youngblood can't wait to move to New Pretty Town from Uglyville. She and her best friend, Peris love to sit at the edge of the river that divides Uglyville and New Pretty Town. She loves to listen to all the partying going on across the river and how beautiful the town is. In this dystopian society, when a teen turns sixteen, they are welcomed to New Pretty Town to become pretty. They have extensive plastic surgery to correct any "deformity", like a nose job and eliminate their weight problem by means of liposuction. Before its her turn, Tally meets Shay, another girl who tells Tally that turning pretty is not as perfect as it is crack up to be. Right before she turns 16, Tally is approached by government agents. They want Tally to spy and turn in a group of teens, of which Shay is a part of. If she doesn't comply, she will be ugly forever. She accepts; and spies on the "Smoke" but soon learns what the government's true plan of making everyone pretty really is. She Also meets David, who falls in love with her.
Some aspects of science fiction, hover boarding and hover cars exist. Although, plastic surgery is a reality, the plastic surgery in the Uglies is so extreme it seems unreal, attributing to the characteristic of science fiction to incorporate science and modern technology. The protagonist is certainly adolescent and believable. Tally is certainly a victim when she is forced to spy on the Smoke in order to be pretty. In the plot, events are plausible and definitely fast moving and exciting. The setting certainly moves the reader into an imaginary world and leads the reader to escape into a futuristic world. One theme residing in the Uglies is "if is sounds to good to be true, it probably probably isn't." Teens will relate to the theme of changing to change themselves, either how they look and how they are. Uglies have the government control society, evident in trying to apprehend the teens in the Smoke to make them conform and taking away their free will. Uglies tackles the topic of body image and plastic surgery, as well.
For me, the strength of Uglies is the fast-paced action, particularly the fight in the woods. The romance between Tally and David is a bit refreshing among the action of this book. In my research, Uglies had not received any awards. Jennifer Mattson for Booklist wrote: "These elements, along with the obvious connections to reality programs such as Miami Slice, will surely cause this ingenious series debut to cement Westerfeld's reputation for high-concept YA fiction that has wide appeal."
Without giving away the ending, I particularly like the last sentence of the book, which leads to the "cliffhanger" aspect: " 'I'm Tally Youngblood', she said. 'Make me pretty.' "
Tally Youngblood can't wait to move to New Pretty Town from Uglyville. She and her best friend, Peris love to sit at the edge of the river that divides Uglyville and New Pretty Town. She loves to listen to all the partying going on across the river and how beautiful the town is. In this dystopian society, when a teen turns sixteen, they are welcomed to New Pretty Town to become pretty. They have extensive plastic surgery to correct any "deformity", like a nose job and eliminate their weight problem by means of liposuction. Before its her turn, Tally meets Shay, another girl who tells Tally that turning pretty is not as perfect as it is crack up to be. Right before she turns 16, Tally is approached by government agents. They want Tally to spy and turn in a group of teens, of which Shay is a part of. If she doesn't comply, she will be ugly forever. She accepts; and spies on the "Smoke" but soon learns what the government's true plan of making everyone pretty really is. She Also meets David, who falls in love with her.
Some aspects of science fiction, hover boarding and hover cars exist. Although, plastic surgery is a reality, the plastic surgery in the Uglies is so extreme it seems unreal, attributing to the characteristic of science fiction to incorporate science and modern technology. The protagonist is certainly adolescent and believable. Tally is certainly a victim when she is forced to spy on the Smoke in order to be pretty. In the plot, events are plausible and definitely fast moving and exciting. The setting certainly moves the reader into an imaginary world and leads the reader to escape into a futuristic world. One theme residing in the Uglies is "if is sounds to good to be true, it probably probably isn't." Teens will relate to the theme of changing to change themselves, either how they look and how they are. Uglies have the government control society, evident in trying to apprehend the teens in the Smoke to make them conform and taking away their free will. Uglies tackles the topic of body image and plastic surgery, as well.
For me, the strength of Uglies is the fast-paced action, particularly the fight in the woods. The romance between Tally and David is a bit refreshing among the action of this book. In my research, Uglies had not received any awards. Jennifer Mattson for Booklist wrote: "These elements, along with the obvious connections to reality programs such as Miami Slice, will surely cause this ingenious series debut to cement Westerfeld's reputation for high-concept YA fiction that has wide appeal."
Without giving away the ending, I particularly like the last sentence of the book, which leads to the "cliffhanger" aspect: " 'I'm Tally Youngblood', she said. 'Make me pretty.' "
