Uglies by Scott Westerfield

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Uglies by Scott Westerfield




                After spending four years with other Uglies in a dormitory, pulling all kinds of tricks, you finally grow up and become a Pretty on your sixteenth birthday. That’s what Talla had been looking forward too. Her best friend Peris was three months older than her, living lavishly in New Pretty Town, going to fancy parties, dressing up and having the time of his life. Alone and lonely, that was when Talla met Shay. Shay would turn sixteen the same day Talla would! But Shay wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a Pretty. And the stories she told Talla about a place where your looks didn’t matter, where you could live without looking pretty like everyone else, seemed appalling to her. But when Shay runs away Talla might not have a choice of whether or not she wants to be a Pretty. Someone might have just stripped that choice away.
                This new world Westerfield created where you become a Pretty and everything is perfect, everyone looks the same, no troubles, no care is downright disturbing. He took all those insecurities teens feel and put them in a box that you could burn and completely forget about when you turn sixteen and in theory it sounds amazing. Set in the distant future, in a time where technology and the world as we know it has disappeared, this is what society now looks like. There is no conflict, because there is nothing to fight over anymore. The cities are self-sustaining. Jealousy no longer exist. Everyone is safe. This is where the world building is done very well. Then when the characters reflect back on the history and the “rusties” that came before, it’s easy to understand why people think this new world may be better. That is until Westerfield starts pulling the layers back. I liked these characters, for the most part. Talla was well flushed out and her motivations were easy to decipher. She felt like a real teen struggling with the weight of the things she was learning. Some of the other characters I would have loved to see fleshed out more. I had a harder time believing some of their motivations.
                My biggest complaint comes with the ending of this book. It felt rushed. A lot of things happened and it felt like we were running towards a cliff and certain things had to happen before we jumped off it into the abyss. But now I’m here after devouring this book and I know I am intrigued enough to finish the series. It’s been worth it so far to get lost in this city of Uglies made Pretty and I want to see where this journey takes Talla and what she discovers. I give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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