Melissa's Bookshelf

Uglies
By: Scott Westerfeld
Pages: 448
Publisher: Scholastic

  Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

   But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer 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.


          I had heard quite a bit about this series, so I decided to buy the first book and read it. To tell you the truth, I wasn't really impressed. First off, Tally's longing for beauty drove me CRAZY! I guess it could have been the world she grew up in, but I still don't like her. One character I did like was Shay. I loved how she did not want to get swept up in this "Pretties" nonsense and was looking for a way out.
          *SPOILER*  I think what I really disliked about this book was the many pages spent talking about Tally's traveling. I got really bored with it. Another thing that annoyed me was when David complimented her she kept saying that she was ugly and then asked if he thought she was prettier than Shay! What the heck Tally?!? *END OF SPOILER*
         There were things that I did like about the book, though. Westerfeld is a very good author, he painted a picture before my eyes every single page. I loved all the gadgets in the book! They were really cool! The characters were also described very well. In other words Westerfeld is a great author, he can make the words come to life, but the plot and the book in general was kind of boring.

                                   I give it a two and a half out of five hearts :)