Uglies

Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Reason for Reading: YA Reading Challenge
Rating: 3/5

I am pretty sure I've seen this book pimped, like, well everywhere, so I reserved it at the library forever again, and had forgotten about it when I got an email that the book was finally mine!

Uglies is set in a dystopian future where all ordinary people (or uglies as they're called in here) have to wait for their sixteenth birthday to undergo the operation to turn them supermodel gorgeous. Then you get to move to New Pretty Town, where all you have to do all day is party and have a great time.

Tally is just dying to turn pretty, since she's been left behind now that her best friend Peris is already Pretty. To kill some time before her operation, she makes friends with a girl named Shay, who isn't sure she wants to turn Pretty. Shay thinks she might be happier with life on the outside, but Tally can't imagine what on earth is more exciting than being pretty. But when Shay runs away before the operation, Tally is given a choice. Find her friend and turn her in, or never be Pretty at all.

I didn't hate Uglies, but I didn't love it. Maybe it loses something in comparison to my last YA read, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, which I found to be nothing short of amazing. Anyhow, this book just didn't get me real jazzed up. I found Tally kind of annoying, the plot felt familiar, the themes (normal can be beautiful) seemed a little obvious.

The pages turned quickly, though, because there was a lot of action, even if the characters felt flat at times.

I know there are a few sequels out there, and I will probably still read at least the next book, when I'm looking for something light.

Other reviews:
Rhinoa, Annie, Susan, Lightheaded