Uglies by Scott Westerfeld | Teen Ink

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

March 6, 2008
By Anonymous

What do you look forward to when you turn 16? Your License? A new car? A huge party? A new cell phone? Well, in the book Uglies, you'd look forward to becoming stunning, gorgeous, beautiful, perfect, and pretty. You would become a Pretty. But if you look average, which means asymmetrical features, your worst feature becomes your nickname, like Skinny, Nose, Squint, and more. You would be called an Ugly. Fortunately, when you turn 16, you get the Pretty operation, which makes you supermodel gorgeous. When you're finally a Pretty, you go to live in New Pretty Town, where your only job is to have fun in a futuristic world with hoverboards, cliques to try out for, and non-stop parties! During the operation, however, there's a side that isn't so pretty.

Ever since Tally Young blood turned from a cute little kid, a Littlie, into an Ugly, she was dying to become a Pretty, cross the river into New Pretty Town, and meet up with her friend Peris. A couple of months before her 16th birthday, Tally returns from sneaking into New Pretty Town to find Shay, and adventurous, mischievous, tricky girl who was born on the exact same day as Tally. Unlike Tally, Shay isn't so sure she wants to get the operation. No matter how many upsides Tally comes up with on why to become a Pretty, Shay can easily come up with more downsides. A few days before the operation and their 16th birthday, Shay runs away to the mysterious place called the Smoke, where everybody lives in the wild and stays an Ugly for the rest of their life. Leaving Tally a note only she and Tally can understand in case she wants to go to the Smoke, Shay meets up with David, who brings her to the Smoke. When the authorities find out, Tally is left with a hard choice: Betray Shay and reveal the Smoke, or stay a repelling Ugly forever.

I recommend this book to those big sci-fi book because the whole plot takes place about 800 years or so in the future and has a ton of technology. For those of you wondering what Shay's note to Tally said, here it is:

"Take the coaster straight past the gap
until you find one that's long and flat.
Cold is the sea and watch for breaks.
At the second make the worst mistake.
Four days later take the side you despise
and look in the flowers for firebug eyes.
Once they're found, enjoy the flight.
Then wait on the bald head until it's light."

Overall, I would say that the book Uglies is a book hardly anybody would want to miss out on. This book is a must-read. Don't let the thickness of the book turn you away! I easily give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars!



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