Uglies

Title: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication date: 2005

Book's setting: The ~Future

Random facts: First book in a series of four.

Plot summary: Some three centuries in the future all of humanity is broken into stages. When you're born you are a Little, just a cute kid. Once puberty sets in and everyone looks awkward and strange you become an Ugly. Uglies have to wait around till their 16th birthday, at which time they undergo full-body surgery to turn them into a Pretty. The purpose of all this is to make the world uniform, to stop racism and jealousy and eating disorders. It's supposed to make everything fair. Your imperfect body and face are enhanced to make the most perfect you possible. Pretties age with grace, undergoing two more surgeries as they age to help keep them fresh and attractive, and die at ripe old ages without much outward deterioration. Tally Youngblood is in the home stretch, just months before her big surgery, when she meets Shay, a girl who doesn't want to be pretty. Days before their surgeries Shay runs away from the city, defying her culture and government. Tally is sent out by Special Circumstances to find Shay and the band of rebels that she'd hiding with.

Favorite aspects: Somehow Westerfeld manages his touchy subject matter with care, despite the "YA Lit" label he seems to have adopted. The writing isn't anything spectacular but it's not distractingly bad either. The characters are where he shines, as well as his subtle references to incredibly sensitive topics like anorexia, racism, and beauty as something that can be measured. I don't really know how he made it work so well without shocking or offending me, but he did.

Least favorite aspects: I think that this would have been a better novel if Westerfeld had gone further. Although it isn't as annoyingly "teen" one one would guess by looking at the cover, there was a lot of unexplored territory that he could have dove into if Uglies had ended up under General Fiction or Science Fiction/Fantasy instead of YA Lit. Not that I LIKE my books full of sex and violence, but it avoided some issues I think should have naturally come up considering the subject matter.

Other works it reminded me of: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.

Sadie's merciless break-down: I didn't want to like this book. The concept looked kind of dumb and the cover blinded me with the ~TEEN FICTION~ glow. Despite countless recommendations from friends and trusty internet comrades I didn't want to read it. Mid-December I ran out of books to read and reserved it from the library. It must have gotten lost or something because it finally appeared in the library two months later. Too make matters worse the library sent me a large-print copy which meant I had to hold the book about two feet away from my face and turned the page every few seconds. But then something really awful happened. I liked it. It felt similar to the moment when I realized that I actually loved cheese after spending a decade mocking cheese-lovers. (Just roll with me here.) Anyway, I really liked it.
I've never been insecure about my own body, but many people I love struggle with body image which created a sort of hyper-sensitive switch in me. I hear anyone talking too decidedly about what diets and body shapes are healthiest or what sort of face is prettiest and I climb onto my soap box. I guess I thought that Uglies would rub me the wrong way because it dealt with all of that stuff I hate. Westerfeld managed to get me to genuinely sympathize with both sides of his story. I think that's rare when dealing with the question of whether or not beauty is subjective, biological, or even important.

Recommendation rate: If you like a good dystopia then definitely give it a try. If you're not fond of sci-fi in any way shape or form... don't bother.