Uglies
I was surprised by how compelling how found this book, and by how much I liked the main character, Tally. It's possible that this is because I entered into this book with reduced expectations, after a decent break from YA dystopia. This isn't one of the greats of the genre, but it is a solid book (and hopefully series) with a more nuanced view of the world than you often find.
Uglies takes place in a future where everyone undergoes plastic surgery at the age of sixteen to make them "pretty". Really the goal is to make everyone look more or less the same in an effort to stamp out prejudice and create a more equitable society. But Tally doesn't know that. She just knows that she's that last of her friends to undergo the operation, being the youngest, and she can't wait to join them in adulthood.
But then she meets Shay, who shares her birthday and isn't at all sure that she wants to undergo the operation. She starts talking about a group of people who have eschewed society, living off the grid and staying "ugly" their whole life. After she runs away to join them, Tally finds herself in a tricky situation with no easy answers.
This is a book that I'm glad stars a sixteen-year-old girl. It makes Tally more relatable. I'm more forgiving of the poor choices that she makes (in the name of the almighty narrative), because she's still learning. And that learning is on display as she goes from blindly trusting her government, to questioning it.
It takes a while for her to come around to the point of view of the secret society, and even then she has real concerns that their way of life isn't necessary better or more sustainable than the world she just left behind. She understands, in a way Katniss never did, that it's not as simple as bringing down the leaders. As evil as they are, overthrowing them will just lead to chaos and more death. I appreciated her constant questioning, and I'm curious to see where it leads her. If the revolution in this book will manage to be less bloody for being more considered.
Uglies takes place in a future where everyone undergoes plastic surgery at the age of sixteen to make them "pretty". Really the goal is to make everyone look more or less the same in an effort to stamp out prejudice and create a more equitable society. But Tally doesn't know that. She just knows that she's that last of her friends to undergo the operation, being the youngest, and she can't wait to join them in adulthood.
But then she meets Shay, who shares her birthday and isn't at all sure that she wants to undergo the operation. She starts talking about a group of people who have eschewed society, living off the grid and staying "ugly" their whole life. After she runs away to join them, Tally finds herself in a tricky situation with no easy answers.
This is a book that I'm glad stars a sixteen-year-old girl. It makes Tally more relatable. I'm more forgiving of the poor choices that she makes (in the name of the almighty narrative), because she's still learning. And that learning is on display as she goes from blindly trusting her government, to questioning it.
It takes a while for her to come around to the point of view of the secret society, and even then she has real concerns that their way of life isn't necessary better or more sustainable than the world she just left behind. She understands, in a way Katniss never did, that it's not as simple as bringing down the leaders. As evil as they are, overthrowing them will just lead to chaos and more death. I appreciated her constant questioning, and I'm curious to see where it leads her. If the revolution in this book will manage to be less bloody for being more considered.
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