Susie's 'Uglies' Review

Well if you have read Christie's synopsis of The Uglies series, then you will know what the basic premise of the stories is about. If you haven't read it, then you can scroll down to see it:

The minute I started reading The Uglies I knew I was in for a ride. I don't read a lot of Young Adult fiction or science fiction, so this was a perfect introduction for me. I felt like I was on some kind of roller coaster ride that I really didn't want to get off of. The atmospheres are beautifully written, and I felt like I could envision every scene perfectly; from the mountain of white flowers that goes up in flames, to the towering, decapitated buildings in 'the rusty ruins'. The landscapes that Tally encounters on her travels are both beautiful and treacherous, as she's discovering the vastness of the world outside of 'new pretty town'.

Out of the three books, The Uglies was my favorite. I liked the precarious situation that Tally was in, I liked her life-risking travel to 'the Smoke' where one minute everything was fine and the next minute she's in the middle of flames or falling down a cliff. It was all very exciting, and I found myself ignoring the housework and the dishes while I read it as fast as I could.
The book gave an interesting perspective on how much importance is placed on looks, and the idea of everyone having this 'makeover' surgery when they're 16 doesn't seem that strange anymore. The line "I'm Tally Youngblood. Make me pretty." goes through my head a lot since I've read it. The book really ends with a bang.

The Pretties was my least favorite of the three. I just had a hard time appreciating any of the characters as 'pretties' and the futuristic lingo got a little old after a while. I guess it wasn't a problem with the book being flawed, as much as I just didn't enjoy the atmosphere, the characters nearly as much when they are 'pretty minded'.
I think Shay was one of the more interesting characters in this book, forming her own group called 'the Cutters' who cut themselves in order to be able to stay 'bubbly'. 'Bubbly' means that they can see things more clearly even though their brains were altered when they underwent 'pretty' surgery. The people running this futuristic world want everyone to be pretty, happy, and very, very stupid...this way (they hope) everyone will get along and there will be no more wars, etc,..

Specials was nearly my favorite, it was so good. I really love seeing Tally more as a loner type, and this book kind of brought that back. It was very cool seeing her as "the bad guy" and seeing the conflict as she struggles with feelings of love and right and wrong, versus the feelings she has been programmed to see. As a special she has been designed to feel superior, and hate others inferiorities, and to obey the orders of the villain, Dr. Cable. I really actually find myself liking Dr. Cable in a really weird way.

Specials is darker, which I generally like. At the end I definitely felt good about having read all three books, and was glad I had given them my time. I would very much recommend these books to anyone.