September 30, 2011

Eye of the Beholder • Uglies

Uglies book cover
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Series: Uglies #1
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: February 8, 2005
Source/Format: Bought || Paperback

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. In just a few weeks, she'll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world - and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change the world forever... 


I still can't decide how I feel about Uglies. I finished it a day or two ago, but I find that when I think about it, a riot of emotion just overwhelms me. I'm a big ball of worry, sadness, disgust, curiosity, hopefulness, admiration, and a couple of other feelings. (Notice how I didn't include happy on my list. There's a reason for that and I'll talk about it in a bit.)

Uglies is another spectacular dystopian novel, and reading it has increased my love for this particular genre. Scott Westerfeld created a world that was both realistic and surreal all at once, simply using a concept that modern day society makes a big deal out of - beauty. It literally took my breath away how he managed to wrangle this concept into something so seemingly definable, and how he used it to delineate between what kind of people the characters were. His writing is masterful and, best of all, I loved that it made me reflect and think about things I never would have thought about.

Final verdict: Uglies is another brilliant dystopian novel, and personally, it definitely lived up to its hype. It also made me think a lot about beauty and society's pressure for a certain kind of beauty to prevail amongst all others - and that definitely made my mind whirl. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Pretties.

6 Comments:

  1. I actually just got this book yesterday. I read it years ago and loved it, but it's been so long I don't remember much about it. I'll be rereading it soon. I remember liking Pretties. Enjoy!

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    Replies
    1. I never continued this series, but I am curious about how it all turns out though.

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  2. i tried.. i really tried so hard to get into this book, but i can't seem to! i pick it up, read a couple of pages, then put it back, collecting dust for months and the process continues. I stopped when they told her she has to catch shay or she wont turn pretty. Does it get better?

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    Replies
    1. I like the latter part of the book, so you might want to try to read until you hit it. HOWEVER. I didn't actually continue with the rest of the series so...

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  3. i attempted.. i truly made a decent attempt to get into this book, however i can't! i lift it up, read a few pages, then set it back, gathering dust for quite a long time and the procedure proceeds. I halted when they let her know she needs to get shay or she wont turn beautiful. Custom Dissertation Writing

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  4. I relay enjoyed to read this book but still can’t get it
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    ReplyDelete

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