Uglies - Scott Westerfeld

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

I have seen this young adult science fiction novel reviewed in countless places, and decided I'd better give it a try. It sounded interesting, but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

Tally Youngblood lives in Uglyville. Across the river, she can see New Pretty Town, where she will go to live in just a few short months. When she reaches her sixteenth birthday, she will undergo plastic surgery and all of her faults will be erased. She will be made absolutely lovely, and then she can go live in New Pretty Town, because she will be a new pretty.

Everyone in town undergoes this surgery. It's as much a part of their way of life as breathing and eating. Everyone knows that you're ugly until you have the surgery, and Tally hates her frizzy hair, her squinty eyes, and her uneven skin. She can't wait to undergo surgery and become beautiful. Her best friend Peris has already had his surgery, and she's looking forward to being reunited with him, but she can't until she's pretty too. Pretties don't associate with Uglies. I mean, who would want to? They're so ugly.

While counting the minutes until her birthday, Tally meets Shay, a girl who has her birthday the same day as Tally's. Shay isn't so sure she wants to have the surgery, and Tally is astounded. How could you not want to be pretty? Shay explains that there's a whole colony of people living outside the boundaries of the city who have never had the surgery, and she wants Tally to run away with her and stay ugly. She doesn't think they really are ugly, another thing which throws Tally for a loop. Of course they're ugly. Everyone knows that.

Shay runs away while Tally remains, eager for surgery. But when she goes in for the procedure, an agent from Special Circumstances tells her that she can't have her surgery unless she'll help them find Shay and bring in all the others who have chosen to live outside the city, remaining ugly. Tally is so desperate to be pretty, she agrees, only to discover how very wrong she was.

This book is exciting, thought-provoking, and entertaining. I read it in one sitting, wondering what on earth was going to happen next. The characters are well-defined and likable. The story is clean and I highly recommend it for your teenager, and you, too.

(This book was published in 2005 by Simon and Schuster.)

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Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I am a stay-at-home mom, author of eight published books, a freelance editor, and the mother of four incredible children. I enjoy scrapbooking, watching good movies, and taking naps.

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