Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

This book is perplexing...I loved it but it took me a really LLLLLOOOONNNNGGGGG time to get through and I am not sure why.  The story is original and interesting, the writing is spot on, the characters are well developed and likable but 3/4 of the way through the audio version (which is beautifully narrated) I just.lost.interest.  I picked up the book today to finish the last 25 pages.  I guess I am in a rut with all these YA books that are ending in a cliff hanger - I am ready for a stand alone read.  So my review and feelings for this book are not fair...just bad timing.


From School Library Journal


Uglies (The Uglies)Starred Review. Grade 6 Up–Tally Youngblood lives in a futuristic society that acculturates its citizens to believe that they are ugly until age 16 when they'll undergo an operation that will change them into pleasure-seeking "pretties." Anticipating this happy transformation, Tally meets Shay, another female ugly, who shares her enjoyment of hoverboarding and risky pranks. But Shay also disdains the false values and programmed conformity of the society and urges Tally to defect with her to the Smoke, a distant settlement of simple-living conscientious objectors. Tally declines, yet when Shay is found missing by the authorities, Tally is coerced by the cruel Dr. Cable to find her and her compatriots–or remain forever "ugly." Tally's adventuresome spirit helps her locate Shay and the Smoke. It also attracts the eye of David, the aptly named youthful rebel leader to whose attentions Tally warms. However, she knows she is living a lie, for she is a spy who wears an eye-activated locator pendant that threatens to blow the rebels' cover. Ethical concerns will provide a good source of discussion as honesty, justice, and free will are all oppressed in this well-conceived dystopia. Characterization, which flirts so openly with the importance of teen self-concept, is strong, and although lengthy, the novel is highly readable with a convincing plot that incorporates futuristic technologies and a disturbing commentary on our current public policies. Fortunately, the cliff-hanger ending promises a sequel.–Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT

No comments:

Post a Comment