Uglies

Book Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfield
Number of Pages: 425
Genre: Dystopian
Books like it: Pretties, Specials, Extras
My favorite quote:
“What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”
Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:
Tally Youngblood is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait for the operation that turns everyone from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to party. But new friend Shay would rather hoverboard to "the Smoke" and be free. Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The "Special Circumstances" authority Dr Cable offers Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.


My Summary:
Well, to all of the Uglies fans out there, I am sorry for this awful review, but I just did not connect with it, and in the next few paragraphs I will tell you why. This was such an awesome idea and it could've been awesome if the author had not totally ruined it.

This book is about a girl named Tally who lives in Uglyville. Her dream, {like ours nowdays is to be rescued by a dashing knight in shining armor} is to be pretty, like all those in Prettyville. In her dystopian world, their society has brainwashed everyone into thinking they are plain old ugly. So when everyone turns 16, they get this surgery that makes them breathtakingly beautiful, "Pretties," who then get to live in Prettyville, a village full of parties and fun and laughter, a dream come true to all the Uglies.

As Tally is reaching her sixteenth birthday, and excited to finally be a Pretty, she meets a new girl named Shay. Shay does not want to be Pretty, and insists that Tally is beautiful, and that the society {aka the Specials} has brainwashed her into thinking she is ugly. She teaches Tally that breaking the rules is fun, and also how to ride a hoverboard. Tally loves her new friend and is thrilled to know that Shay has the same birthday as her so they can turn Pretty on the same day.

However, Shay has different ideas. She tells Tally about the Smoke, a place where people can escape the operation and live by their own standards and rules. She tells Tally that she is running away to the Smoke and wants Tally to come with her. However, Tally can not bear the thought of being ugly forever, so she refuses. When Shay goes missing, the Specials confront her and tell her that if she does not agree to find Shay and betray her, they will never make her Pretty. Tally has a choice to make: Betray her best friend or stay ugly forever.

I know, this book sounds amazing, right? I wish it were so. And those of you who liked Uglies, hurrah for you, and I am glad that it worked for you, but I am a book reviewer, and not every book out there is perfect. Uglies had many , many problems.

First off, my biggest problem with it was the romance. In the middle of the book, these two characters meet and about twenty pages later they are kissing! I was like, dude! WHOA! How about taking it slow? I usually am okay with romance but this one was terrible! I did not even feel like they were in love. The boy told the girl the aforementioned quote, and it was really weird. I felt like we were thrust into this romance that there was no buildup to, and the boy drove me crazy! There was absolutely no development of his character, he was just like a whisper in the wind, so bland and monotone. I didn't understand him at all.

And Tally, the main character. She had a multiple personality disorder. I felt like she was changing people over and over and OVER! Do I want to be pretty, do I want to be ugly, do I want to do this blah blah blah blah. I think she was not that well developed either. Shay was the only character that I liked, or had any personality.

I really had to push through the first hundred or so pages of this book. It was like going to a play and watching the start where they have to explain everything, and it was SO BORING! There was no action in those first hundred pages, either. There were just so many things wrong with this book and I really did not like it. Sorry to all the Ugly fans and sorry to all readers.

This blog is for telling the truth. I praise the good books and tear down the bad ones.
Maybe this book will work for you.
I hope it does.

Review: 2 stars {Although there was no foul language in this book.}