An Ugly In A Pretty World

 Uglies

Scott Westerfeld

Review

            Uglies is a very interesting and intriguing novel that can spark ones imagination, into thinking of what is truly right for humanity. This story takes place in the future where humanity had reached a point that they had truly believed that the world was perfect. It was a very simple system that was put in place by the government at that time, when one was born, they were considered "Littlies" or just children, they lived with their parents as one would expect. Then when they turned twelve, they were considered "Uglies" and were brought to something that was similar to a boarding school. There they would learn everything that one would need to know at the time, and lived there for four years. On their sixteenth birthday, their lives would change forever. An operation was performed on them and they were turned into "Pretties" this operation was a major cosmetic overhaul on the person and would make the person stunningly beautiful. This was relatively undisputed throughout the society, but there were always a handful of people that were against this so called "Perfect World". The author Scott Westerfeld brings to light issues about society and power that are very important. This is a very difficult review to write without spoiling too much of the story, however it is safe to say that almost anyone will enjoy this book because it has plenty of suspense, plot twists, action and it brings to light important issues that should be discussed.        

          However like every book, it has some weak points. The book does little to explain much of this new society that you are thrown into, some parts may get confusing at times but overall you do know what is going on in the story. There is also some ill-placed romance in this book. There is nothing wrong with romance as romance has been part of human tradition for centuries, it just seems that the romance in this book has been placed in there just for the sake of romance, and it does not progress the plot in any way. However in retrospect, doing that is a difficult thing to do as you would have to stray from your original plot a lot to successfully incorporate romance, but I'm sure that Scott Westerfeld could have pulled it off.

          Overall this is a great book and I strongly recommend it and the rest of the series. I give it a 4.5//5!