One for the Books - Summer Reading Review ~ Uglies

One for the Books

Jul. 10, 2007

Summer Reading Review ~ Uglies

As soon as I heard the premise of Uglies by Scott Westerfield, I was intrigued. A young woman named Tally lives in a society in which every person has an operation to make them look beautiful as soon as they turn sixteen. “Uglies” is the term used for teens before they undergo the operation. Tally can’t wait to get her new body. Therefore she is totally shocked when her friend Shay actually expresses the desire to keep her own looks. Tally learns that there is a group of people who ran away in order to avoid the surgery and who now live in a settlement together. When Shay runs away to join them, Tally is given the choice of never getting her new body, or following Shay and betraying the group of people.

Why was I so interested in the plot of Uglies? Because of all the emphasis on physical beauty in our society today. I’m not saying that what happened in this book is going to happen to us someday, but I do think that the book was a warning of what can happen when physical beauty becomes more important than character.

Westerfield did a great job of keeping the plot moving. This book certainly lacked no excitement. As you can see from my previous two paragraphs, I also appreciated the theme of his book. It was a unique subject to tackle, and a very interesting one, I might add.

The only bone I had to pick was that I thought that the author undermined his message a couple times. For example, the leader of the rebel group, David, is attracted to Tally. But I thought it was odd that with Westerfield’s premise of the dangers of focusing on beauty, that David seemed to base his liking of Tally on her surface appearance. He didn’t take any time to get to know her character before trusting her with many of his secrets. So I just wished that Westerfield had put a little more emphasis on the fact that what is inside a person matters so much more than what they look like.

Aside from that, it was a very good book. I hope people sit up and listen to his warning of what can happen when we make an icon of beauty. I’m only glad that I read it when the second and third books were already out, because Uglies sure left me hanging.

Mild caution: there are a couple (maybe two or three) swear words.

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Comments

Jul. 10, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by guardedmodesty

Wow, I really want to read this book, too! The whole physical beauty aspect is really intriguing to me.

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Jul. 11, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by writer4him

Sounds very interesting--not quite my usual style, but it doesn't hurt to branch out :-D! You make me feel very bad for not having ever written a book review :-).
~writer4him

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Jul. 14, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

My niece also recommended this book. It sounds like an old Twilight Zone episode I saw years ago. Also sounds like a book I need to read. Thanks for the review.
Framed @framedandbooked.blogspot.com

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Jul. 14, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Sherry

I think I should read this one. Thanks for sharing.

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Jul. 15, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Free2bme

Wow, that sounds really interesting! I think I'll look for that at the library! Sounds very good!

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Jul. 16, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Earthling

Oh, I know, it's always harder to forgive yourself than other people. I think when we find about in someone's past, we feel really let down. It's not so much that we don't think God will love them anymore, or something like that, it's just that it's a shock that someone we respect could have something so awful in their past.

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Jul. 19, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by totustuus