A mini-review of “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld
Today while I was waiting in my acupuncturist’s (is that a real word?) office I finished the novel “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld. True that it is what some (the publisher, bookstores) would call “teen fiction” or “young adult” but I found it engaging and recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading. Read on for my review…
Tally Youngblood is about to turn sixteen and she can hardly wait. While most teens fantasize about getting their driver’s license when they turn sixteen Tally can only think about one thing, becoming pretty. When someone becomes a “pretty” their entire life is changed. They move into New Pretty Town where the only thing to worry about is what to wear to which party. Everyone becomes a pretty at the age of sixteen and leaving Ugly Town and undergoing extensive surgery is the first step. Every part of the body, including the skin, gets modified to become pretty. Cheekbones are reshaped, big noses are filed down, tummies are tucked, ears are nipped, and new skin is grown that is scarless and without freckles or moles. Tally is the last of her friends to become pretty and she can’t wait to see them again (pretties are allowed into Ugly Town but uglies are forbidden from entering New Pretty Town), especially her special friend Peris that she just might be in love with. One night Tally meets Shay, a girl that shares Tally’s birthday, and they quickly become friends. The two girls hang out and pull pranks together while the day of becoming pretty draws near. Shay however does not want to become pretty and she tells Tally about some of her friends that had run away to avoid becoming pretty. Tally’s world turns upside down when Shay runs away and a secret branch of the government starts looking for her. They give Tally an ultimatum - find Shay or never become pretty. Not wanting to stay ugly for the rest of her life, Tally sets out on a dangerous adventure to find her friend.
Westerfeld is a master of the craft. His dystopia shows a vivid world scarred by human carelessness and corrupt officials. One would think that Scott Westerfeld used to be a teenaged girl himself, his portrayal of the protagonist lets us in on what happens inside the world of a fragile teenage mind that just wants to fit in with everyone else. He deals with the concept of image gracefully and without preaching and shows that beauty truly comes from the inside.
I can’t wait to read the other two books in this trilogy but I’ve already got another novel by Westerfeld that I’m going to read first.
Uglies