Review: Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

I'm wracking my (very fried) brain and I can't think of where I first discovered this series, but I loved the plot idea and, although I wasn't willing to buy the series and resorted to loaning it from friends, I read all three books in rapid succession.

I got this synopsis from IMDb.com because they are turning the series into movies!!!

In the future children are "Uglies" until they turn 16. On their 16th birthday they get to become "Pretties" by surgery. Tally, a rule breaking teen befriends a girl named Shay. Shay is unsure about the surgery and runs away. When Tally's 16th birthday comes Tally must make an awful decision:she must either betray and turn in Shay on never turn "Pretty" and be "Ugly" forever Written by Selena

In 300 years, normal people are "Uglies" until they turn sixteen and have plastic surgery done to be transformed into the bubble headed "Pretties" who move to the glamorous part of town. The main character, Tally, is threatened with being denied the procedure unless she spies on a friend, Shay, who skipped the operation and joined a rebellious group, The Smoke.

Uglies focuses on Tally's relationship with Shay and with a "Smoke" boy named David. Of the three books (Uglies, Pretties, Specials), I enjoyed this one the least. I felt that it was fairly shallow and I didn't really relate to any of the characters. Perhaps this was simply because I was getting used to the "fluffy" writing, which I believe Westerfeld did on purpose. When I read Pretties, I began to appreciate the author's consistant "from the character's personality" writing that drove the book (very important since the theme of book 2 was about being a shallow "bubblehead" pretty). Book 3, Specials, was by far my favorite. I loved LOVED that Tally was turned - through brainwashing surgery - into one of the "bad guys" but we still felt for her. The book was written from her (unknowingly) skewed perspective, making the reader question who was actually right - Tally or Shay or David?

Although the adventures were fairly quick and not that engaging (aside from the finale in book 3, which I loved), the concept drew me in. I guess I'd call myself an environmentalist, and like to read anything that shows YA that we are destroying the earth by drilling for oil, warring with each other, building huge metal buildings and cutting down all the trees. This book gives a fair description of what could happen if we continue with our destructive behaviors. And for that, I have made Scott Westerfeld my "most want to meet in person" author. His backstory and ideas are ingenious.

If I had a rating system (which we need to get set up!), I would give this book:

5 out of 5 for concept ideas
4 out of 5 for engaging story
4 out of 5 for writing
3 out of 5 for character development

- Christina