Uglies

I really enjoyed this. It's highly readable with interesting characters, but what really grabbed me were all the interesting ideas. Nothing is clear cut in Uglies. While Tally and the Smokies are the protagonists, there are still a lot of ethical grey areas in their world. What kinds of sacrifices are acceptable for peace? And if the Smokies get what they want, what might be the ramifications? Nothing is absolutely good or bad, right or wrong, and that makes for a truly engaging read.

Tally Youngblood is an Ugly, just a normal teen in a segregated society, killing time and pulling pranks until her 16th birthday when she can finally get the operation to become Pretty and move to New Pretty Town. She makes friends with Shay, another elder Ugly, who tells her a startling secret - she’s going to run away before her birthday and refuse to get the operation. Tally refuses to go with her, and then on her birthday instead of getting the operation she’s brought before the secret police and given an ultimatum - locate Shay and the encampment of outsiders she escaped to, or stay Ugly forever.

I originally read this book in 2012 when I was steeped in teen girl dystopias and I did not appreciate it much. With some distance I show more enjoyed it more. The writing is more juvenile than I would expect from YA today, and it feels derivative until I remind myself that it came out a full 3 years before The Hunger Games. Tally feels unique - until almost the halfway point she is acting on behalf of both the authoritarian government and her own desires. Shay is the more common dystopia heroine, but viewing the story from Tally’s perspective feels more realistic. It takes quite a bit of convincing to get her to turn against the status quo, which I find more inspirational than a protagonist who knows the right thing to do from the start.

I’m glad I revisited this book and I plan to keep reading. I’m very intrigued that Westerfeld decided to pick this series back up after more than a decade and I can’t wait to get to the newer books. It's worth noting that Tally and Shay are definitely queer-coded, though I can't tell if it's intentional or not. They clearly make each other feel real feelings, and David has a real "him??" quality. (Every time Tally said his name it reminded me of David and his sister Alexis from Schitt's Creek.) I really hope the author goes somewhere with it.

Emily Tremaine is a perfectly good narrator. I appreciated that she didn't try different voices for the different characters, I don't generally enjoy that. show less

Alright… this one hurts a little to admit 😅 because this recommendation came straight from my youngest, and up until now her picks have been absolute emotional damage in the best way. But this time… yeah… we missed the mark.

Let’s talk about it.

In Uglies, we’re dropped into a futuristic world where turning sixteen means getting surgery to become “pretty” and living your best, carefree life. On the surface, it sounds like a glittery dream but of course, things are not what they seem. When Tally’s friend Shay questions the system and runs away, Tally is forced into a choice that cracks open the truth behind this “perfect” society.

And listen… I see what this book was trying to do. The deeper message about beauty show more standards, conformity, and control? That part had potential. There’s definitely a thoughtful idea buried under the surface, and I can respect that.

But the execution just didn’t land for me.

I struggled a lot with the writing style and world-building. Some of the terminology like “Ugly Town” and “littles” felt a bit too elementary, almost like it was aimed younger than the typical YA audience. It pulled me out of the story more than it immersed me. And while dystopian worlds are supposed to feel immersive and layered, this one felt a little… flat?

Also, I think it’s finally time I accept my truth: dystopian just might not be my genre. I keep trying… I really do… but we are not bonding

And I owe Divergent an apology because while that one wasn’t my favorite either, I at least enjoyed the ride. This one had me more confused than captivated.

That said, I can absolutely see why this book resonates with others. The concept is interesting, the themes are relevant, and if you enjoy dystopian reads with social commentary, this might hit differently for you.

As for me? It just wasn’t my vibe.

Now excuse me while I go gently break the news to my daughter… pray for me 🫠😂

Genres:
Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction

Tropes:
• Coming of Age
• Rebellion Against Society
• “Perfect” Society Isn’t Perfect
• Government Control
• Friendship Tested
• The Choice That Changes Everything show less

wow, i so didn't expect to like these series as much as i did. smallq recced them to me ages ago and i kept putting and putting them off until finally giving in, and really, i should've gave in way earlier. it unfolds a pretty complex, solid, increasingly creepy world, with a system that starts out seeming a bit silly and ends up being completely logical and more and more unsettling, and watching all the little and big details make one big picture is pretty fascinating. and if you, like me, prefer characters to setting, you have tally, the flawed and sympathetic teenage protagonist with a spot-on voice, and watching her drag herself out of this shiny brave new world, through friendship and betrayals and falling in and out of love and show more learning the price of the most benevolent lying and getting through mostly on the sheer desire to never stop, never submit to somebody else's idea of her - well, as she says it, Sometimes it felt like her life was a series of falls from ever-greater heights. - from start to the finish. she grows up, and the process is harsh and unforgiving, and watching her keep the sense of self (not so easy in the world where they... okay, i'm actually not going to spoil this, even in review with spoilers), and watching her win feels like a victory.with all that, i fell in love with these books after tally's first journey into the wild - westerfield's writing is beautiful and sparse, and the world he describes, empty cities overrun with nature, giant, echoing, living space with nobody around, the way every journey ends up being about a world so big and her so small, and also about traveling back to herself, again and again and again - oh, yeah. and second thing would be tally and shay, her first friend who becomes the catalyst of the whole thing; i was vary of what was going with her in the second book, because it looked like she was set up as a failed counterpart to tally succeeding, but all turned out well - she climbed same scary steps out, just from another sides, and the whole story turned out, in a way, to be about them, about their tangle of friendship-betrayal-love-hate, and some moments of it - As Tally tuned her suit, trying to match the color of Shay's, her head still spun with wild energy. "You came for me," she said, trying to keep her voice low."I couldn't let them do this to you.""But I thought you hated me.""I hate you sometimes, Tally. Like I've never hated anybody else before." Shay snorted. "Maybe that's why I keep coming back for you." - yes, and thank you, and more please.fourth book is set further in the timeline, with different characters operating in the world tally and her friends and enemies made, and it's definitely lighter in tone and easier on consequences, but it also makes a perfect resolving point for both world and characters, and also has a proper, no hooks hidden happy ending, so it's a must-read. and also the reputation-based system is hilarious and a little bit disturbing and also completely spot on, and not to be missed. show less

I am definitely hooked. I didn't know too much about this book before I started it, and didn't really have any expectations, but I was really impressed. Among the proliferation of YA dystopias, this stands out as one of the best I've read.

Like many dystopian novels, what happened to the world as we (the readers) know it is vague for a while; it is implied only that we (the "Rusties") brought about our own destruction through environmental carelessness. Tally's society, by contrast, is unwasteful and footprint-free (though it's not really clear how, especially since the society seems based on entertainment and enjoyment, and little hard work or education). In this world, everyone is transformed surgically at age 16 from an ugly to a show more pretty. Tally is awaiting her transformation with excitement - especially since her best friend Peris turned before her, and she has only seen him once since - but her new friend, Shay, doesn't want to become pretty, and plans to escape: "We don't have to look like everyone else, Tally, and act like everyone else. We've got a choice. We can grow up any way we want" (86). Shay does escape successfully, leaving Tally, who refused to go with her, behind. However, Special Circumstances intervenes: they won't let Tally become a pretty until she goes after Shay and finds her and the others who have escaped. Once Tally has betrayed her friend, she can turn into a pretty.

Tally ventures through the outside world and eventually makes her way to the Smoke, where Shay is; there, she is supposed to activate her locket, sending a signal that will alert Special Circumstances to her whereabouts and the location of the camp. However, she is reluctant to do so, and the longer she stays in the camp with other runaway uglies, the more her way of thinking changes. She meets David, who was born outside the city to doctor parents who fled when they discovered that the surgery didn't just make people pretty: it changed their brains. Tally decides to destroy the locket instead of activating it - but its destruction, unbeknownst to Tally, also summons Special Circumstances. The camp is attacked, and only Tally and David escape. Then they journey to the city to rescue Shay, David's parents, and the others - before they are turned into pretties against their will.


"Doing what you're supposed to do is always boring. I can't imagine anything worse than being required to have fun." -Shay
...
"Better dead than ugly." -Tally (48)

"Out here, you find out that the city fools you about how things really work." -Shay
...
"I kind of like being fooled about some things." -Tally (57)

Maybe this really would be an adventure. Of course, at the end of the journey there would be only betrayal. (137)

This was the wild, she reminded herself. Mistakes had serious consequences. (145)

"Everything's so big." -Tally
"That's what you can never tell from inside. How small the city is. How small they have to make everyone to keep them trapped there." -Shay (199)

Tally had spent the last four years staring at the skyline of New Pretty Town, thinking it was the most beautiful sight in the world, but she didn't think so anymore. (199)

Nature, at least, didn't need an operation to be beautiful. It just was. (219)

"We wanted to start a community of people...who were free from pretty thinking." -Maddy (256)

Perhaps the logical conclusion of everyone looking the same was everyone thinking the same. (259)

Maybe he really could see past her ugly face. Maybe what was inside her did matter more to him than anything else. (264)
"You really think I'm beautiful."
"Yes. What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful." (264)

Not just your face was changed by the knife. Your personality - the real you inside - was the price of beauty. (388) show less

With this impressive jaunt into the teenage psyche, Westerfeld explores what it really means to be perfect, and the cost of that perfection. Westerfeld's futuristic world that is neither dark nor grim; it is bright and constructed, a cheerful facade of absolute beauty that he introduces with subtle skill. What really makes this book stand out is not the setting (though it is masterful). Instead, it is the unique position of the heroine, who actually wants to be normal. ("Normal" in the city is to become a Pretty at age sixteen.) Most heroines are set apart by their desire to change things, to be different. At the beginning of the novel, Tally's motivations are as selfish as the world around her, and as the setting changes into that of show more the wilderness and the society to that of the people who really are normal, Tally's sympathies change. This is an excellent book because it offers perspective from all sides, and dares to leave you hanging. show less

I am a huge fan of dystopian novels, and "Uglies," the first in a series of four, did not disappoint. Sure, I wanted to reach out and slap the protagonist a few times, but I thought it was fascinating to watch her reactions over the course of the book. I was also intrigued by some of the concepts and plot points that were introduced later in the book, and I am really looking forward to finding out how it all ties together in subsequent books. I've already picked up "Pretties" and can't wait to read it!