Oh young-adult fiction, how I love thee. Uglies is book number one in a four-part series by Scott Westerfield. It centers on Tally Youngblood, a 16-year old living in a futuristic and superficial society. In this society, on your 16th birthday you are subjected to a complete body overhaul which makes you into a Pretty. Cities are segregated into sections; where you live depends on whether or not you've had the surgery and how old you are. The story begins with Tally just a few months from her 16th birthday and anxiously awaiting the surgery that will rejoin her with her best friend Peris. Peris is a couple of months older than Tally, and has already been living with the other new Pretties in New Pretty Town. Tally is just biding her time until she'll be with her friend again when she meets Shay. Shay is unlike anyone that Tally has ever met before. Shay actually believes that there's nothing wrong with being who she is. She challenges everything that Tally has grown up believing about becoming pretty. Tally ends up having to make a choice that will ultimately change the course of her life.
The good: Really cool concept. What will life be like in the future? I love books that approach this subject creatively. With our society so superficial already, what's to say that once the technology exists people won't have a whole-body overhaul done to make themselves into the perceived image of perfection?
The bad: I really have nothing bad to say about this book. I'm anxious to read the next two books, Pretties and Specials.
The verdict: Uglies introduces you to a whole new futuristic world that's completely intriguing. It has it's own language - bogus, bubbly, Specials, SpagBol... I could go on and on. In a word, this book was fun. Go ahead and get yourself a copy and ENJOY!
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