Tally Youngblood is only 2 months away from turning Pretty and moving across the river from Uglyville to New Pretty Town, when she meets Shay, another Ugly, after having pulled a few tricks to crash a party at New Pretty Town to see her former best friend Peris. Tally and Shay form a strong friendship over the course of the summer as they wait for their 16th birthday to draw near so that they too can be surgically altered to be Pretty. The night before their shared 16th birthday, Shay tells Tally that she doesn’t want to be Pretty and decides to run away to a secret society hidden out in the wilds, where looks don’t matter, only personality does. At this point, Tally needs to decide if she wants to be Pretty or not, and how much she values her friendship with Shay.
I first heard of this book from Jen so, I knew I could expect a thrilling story and deeper meanings than simply personality v good looks struggle that teens deal with on a day to day basis. What I didn’t expect were the intricate layers of society that Westerfeld had developed, and the philosophic discussions about humanity, individuality and evolution, neatly packaged in teen-speak. I thought Westerfeld’s writing was fantastic, I never wanted to set the book down. Tally is an amazing character, and a great role model for anyone reading this book (teen or adult).
I would definately heed Jen’s warning, if you are going to read this book, make sure you have Pretties and Specials nearby.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld Simon & Schuster, 2005 ISBN 0689865384 425 pages*********************************
Find this book at your local library
Yay, I’m so glad you liked this! Isn’t the world that Westerfeld created amazing?
I just finished it and I too wish I had Pretties in my book stack! Very fun book, although I didn’t love it as it sounded like you did.
Pingback: 2009 Recap « The Novel World
Pingback: The Hunger Games – Review « The Novel World
The writing is better than some YA fiction around but Tally Youngblood is a horrible role model for young girls. She betrays her one and only friendship for a boy she’s just met then betrays him for another boy. She’s one of those weak and selfish people who fall in love at the drop of a hat and thinks that her feelings entitle her to treat people like crap. Shay, before she was turned into a mega bitch, was a far better role model. She believed in fighting the system because she was comfortable with herself. She felt people should be accepted for who they were.
Tally only turned against it when she found a boy she liked. Pathetic!
Plus she manages to hurt and betray nearly everyone she meets. She’s toxic. If this is the role model for tomorrows youth then kill me now :-0