Uglies

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Book 19 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
Book 4 of 12 for the 2009 YA Challenge

Awards: SLJ Best Book; Golden Duck Award; ALA Best Book for Young Adults

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tally lives in a world where normal is ugly. At the age of 16, everyone undergoes surgery to make them pretty. The pretties live a glamorous life full of parties and fun. The uglies can only watch from the other side of the river, and wait longingly for the day they get to become pretty.

Tally Youngblood has a late birthday. She is the last of her friends to remain ugly. To pass the time, she likes to play tricks on the younger uglies. She meets Shay one night after she had illegally entered New Pretty Town to see her friend Peris. Shay teaches Tally how to ride a hoverboard and sneak out of Ugly Town to where the Rusties used to live. As their 16th birthdays approach, Shay puts Tally in a predicament that will change their lives forever.

The book ends with a whopper of a cliffhanger, so I'll definitely be picking up the next book in the series, Pretties. I thought this was a good page-turning YA book with a sci-fi hook. It is very plot-driven and I found the moral quandries very interesting. Recommended!

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