UGLIES TRILOGY

UGLIES TRILOGY by Scott Westerfeld
Simon & Schuster Childrens Books. (Ages 11 and up)

Rating: 4.5 Stars



UGLIES
448 pp.
ISBN 9780857079138



PRETTIES
384 pp.
ISBN 9780857079145



SPECIALS
400 pp.
ISBN 9780857079152

  The Uglies book series, intended for young adults, was actually recommended to me by my grandma. Now, although this might make you think, “boring”, and that this series must then be some weird old classic, I assure you it isn’t. Firstly, my grandma tends to pick good and modern books, and secondly she actually found out about this series from one of her high school students.
  Something I like about all the books in this series is that the main character, Tally Youngblood, is very, very far from perfect. Most of the time I dislike or hate her, and if we had met we probably wouldn’t have become friends. For me, this means that when Tally does do something good, it feels much more real and impressive, because you understand how hard it is for her. This also means that you feel like you are there with her on her rocky journey between right and wrong all the way.
  This series tells about the experiences of Tally, who lives in a future society where everyone is split into two groups: the Uglies and the Pretties. The Uglies series includes three books which document the lives of Tally and her peers: Uglies, Pretties, and Specials. (You may note that Scott Westerfeld also added a fourth book to this “trilogy”, Extras, but I think it does not mesh well with the others and therefore do not review it here.) Until the age of sixteen everyone lives as an Ugly, waiting for the day when they can be transformed into a Pretty, and look however they want to. However, there is also a group of people who want to keep their own faces and think that changing people into Pretties on their sixteenth birthday is wrong. In this series, Tally experiences friendship, love, betrayal and having to figure out -- and choose between -- right and wrong.
  Although this series is set in a fictional, futuristic society, it seems to be a commentary on our own social values. I think that the writer is trying to make a point about the way we view beauty nowadays and almost warn us about what will happen if we don’t change. It makes me wonder if with us already having Botox and plastic surgery we’ll be living in a world like in the Uglies series a few centuries from now. With the value put on beauty already, and people already striving to look like what someone says is perfect, I wouldn’t be surprised if that did happen. I think that the books show that we need to get our priorities straight. At the moment women, at least, put beauty before everything else (jobs, doing well at school, and even their own happiness). This, of course, is wrong. I mean, where does Botox and plastic surgery and make-up really get us in life? It doesn’t make us rich or happy, and it doesn’t even give us love (well, not the real kind at least). Most of the people who get their appearances changed, probably don’t even want to, and only do so because society would look down on them otherwise. This links directly to the Uglies series where everyone is forced to completely change how they look and act, whether they want to or not, to please their leaders and peers. At the moment, we are trying to change all this so our world doesn’t end up like the way it is in Uglies. For example, new Barbies are coming out that are curvy, tall and short, with diverse hairstyles, which are supposed to better represent people in the world around us. However, they will all still have perfect features and are extremely beautiful, therefore making it still seem as though there’s something wrong with looking anything less than perfect. Although these new Barbies help address the problem of young girls getting concerned with their weight and height because of Barbies, it doesn’t help the case of too many people smothering their faces with Makeup and even reassembling their faces with Botox and plastic surgery. In my opinion, changing Barbie is only the very beginning of what we need to do to protect our world from becoming like it is in Uglies.
  My favorite book from this series was Pretties because I think that Tally has to make the hardest choice in this book. In Uglies she doesn’t really know what it’s like to be a pretty yet, and she has more reasons for holding back and escaping with the Smokies, like her best friend Shay. Also, in Specials she doesn’t even really have to make that choice, because instead she gets to become something even better and stronger. However, in Pretties she has her best friend with her, gets a new, pretty boyfriend, and overall she knows how easy and fun it is to be a mindless pretty. Anyway, I think that this makes the second book especially interesting, because you can’t tell what her choices will be, and, to be honest, I’m not so sure I would make the right choice if I were in her position.
  My favorite character has to be Tally’s best friend Shay. This is because I feel like she’s always trying to be good, and help her friend Tally, but ends up messing up instead. I also feel like she doesn’t get enough credit for everything she does, and is sometimes just viewed as a sidekick. I think if I wanted to make the series better I would focus a bit more on her.
  Tally Youngblood reminds me very much of the main characters in two other books I’ve read: Katniss Everdeen (from “The Hunger Games series) and Beatrice Prior (from the Divergent series). All three of these characters are living in a futuristic world, and start off either poor, ugly, boring, or somehow inferior to the rest of society. Then they go through a sort of build up time where they make both right and wrong choices, on their way from being frightened young girls to becoming strong leaders. Although all three characters intrigue me, I have to say that Katniss Everdeen is my favorite because I feel like even though she probably went through the hardest time of all three characters, she managed to stay strong all the way through.
  I think that you should be at least twelve to read this book or else you might not understand it and see it’s hidden metaphors, however if you are younger you will probably still enjoy it. I really enjoyed this series so I think that it definitely deserves four and a half out of five stars.

SPECIALS

SPECIALS
The Uglies Series: Book 3
by Scott Westerfeld
400 pp. Simon & Schuster Childrens Books. £6.99. (Ages 11 and up)

ISBN
9780857079152

Rating: 4 Stars

   This is the third book of the Uglies series. Tally youngblood is a teen girl who before was a ugly. Her world was turned upside down. She has done what the Specials(the people who control the city)has told her to do. After her becoming a pretty she made a mistake and now she is forced to become a special. I really like imagining things in the book. That is the only reason i read books. When Tally changed i imagined how she would look like. She also has a Skintenna (A communication thing under the skin that can communicate with other specials)now which makes the book more cool. The author says that tally has been remade into a scary human.

   Tally has been remade to a special called a cutter. A cutter is a younger and cooler type of special. The cutter group was lead by her best friend. Shay. After Tally has been remade to a special, she goes on her fist mission. They try to look for a outsider. They found one but, they have made a unexpected turn. They go into an unforgettable mess with the specials and the Smokes.

   The fact that they still had the Smoke blows me away. I thought the specials had already killed that place. But turned out it made a new one. The New Smoke. This one is much more stronger, bigger, and more caring to those runaways.

   Zane is Tally's boyfriend, but Zane died. It is very sad. I don't wan't tally to think that its her fault. I it kind of Is her fault. She is the one who made him eat that pill. I knew this part was coming anyways. Zane was already sick scince the 2nd book, the pretties.

   Tally is new now. Zane died. Smoke still lives. I recommend this book to teens. It is not appropriate for children. I rate this book 4 out of 5.

PRETTIES

PRETTIES
The Uglies Series: Book 2
by Scott Westerfeld
384 pp. Simon & Schuster Childrens Books. £6.99. (Ages 11 and up)

ISBN
9780857079145

Rating: 4 Stars
   This is the second book of the Uglies series. Tally youngblood is a teen girl who before was a ugly. Her world was turned upside down. She has done what the Specials(the people who control the city)has told her to do. Now she is a Pretty, her dream come true! Pretties is the best book i have ever read out of all the other series. It's the most interesting book i have ever read. It has the most important events. The story jumps to different events every page. So many events i cant stop reading it!
   The Cuffs is like a regular prisoner cuff, but only one side. It records everything you say and you do. I think the Cuffs might not be the best idea. Its not so futuristic. Maybe the specials can make a detector in their blood. This will make the story more interesting. They will have to control some doctor to cure them.
   The book changed from a science novel, to a love story. Now everything is about Zane and Tally. Its becoming very boring. I think the author should make it more interesting.
   Zane wants  to live with her forever. Zane is a kind, Pretty, Sharp guy.  But tally likes him not because he is Pretty, She likes him because he is a caring guy. He also helped her remember her past.
   I think David is not so fascinating anymore. Now he makes me angry. He thinks he knows everything. He thinks tally loves Zane because of his beauty. But no he is wrong.
   Overall I think the author should change the cuffs. The love story is too boring. Zane is the best character in the book. David is bad now. I should rate this book 4 stars!

UGLIES

UGLIES
The Uglies Series: Book 1
by Scott Westerfeld
448 pp. Simon & Schuster Childrens Books. £6.99. (Ages 11 and up)

ISBN
9780857079138

Rating: ? Stars

   I am going to talk about the cool teen series, The Uglies. This book is a great science fiction novel about a girl name Tally Youngblood. Tally tries to have a normal teen life but because of her friend, she cant have one. Now she needs to fix everything to have her dream wish, to be a Pretty.

   Tally Youngblood is my favorite character in the book. I like her because she has her own thoughts. She is also like me, confused in every decision she makes. She is a 15-year old girl that has her world turned upside down in a few months. Her friend, Shay, dragged her in this revealing secret. She gives the readers unexpected turns in the story.

   The language in the book is very complicated. There is some words that i cant understand, Like bogus or Bubbly. I think the author should make a glossary in the back of the book. Some people might not understand those words.

   Smoke is the place where normal people lives(not controlled) its like the headquarters of the rebels of the city. I like The Smoke, the place is very similar to our cities, towns and countries. It has the art of living in the world in the 21st century. They bake and cook just like us.

   Tally youngblood is my favorite character. The language in the book needs changing. Smoke is very similar to our city. I recommend the book to be read by Teens and young adults. If it is read by children that is younger than 10, it might not be appropriate for their age.