Book Friday – Uglies … Finally
30 April 2010
It’s been a good long time since we’ve had a traditional Book Friday on here. That’s because I’ve been reading Uglies for the last month. Crazy.
There were two reasons why it took so long.
1. So much to do, and so little energy these days.
2. I wasn’t super into it.
I don’t know that it’s the book’s fault because I was reading in ten to fifteen minute chunks, and that’s never good for getting into a story. But regardless of the reason, I was about halfway through Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies before I became engrossed.
Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. In Tally’s world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent “ugly” into a stunningly attractive “pretty.” You get moved to a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks, Tally will be there with all her other friends who have already turned.
In the meantime, Tally makes a new friend—Shay. Shay isn’t sure she wants to be pretty. She’d rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world—and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: hunt down her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all.
Here’s five things I loved about this book:
1. The sheer creativity. This is a brilliant idea with a fabulous message to go along with it.
2. How challenging Tally’s world was. I often felt just as clueless as she did about what she should choose to do.
3. The unexpected love story. It seriously came out of nowhere. (And, oddly, that’s around the time I started really digging this book. Hmm … wonder what kind of writer I am?)
4. The symbolism. Westerfeld masterfully uses a beautiful weed to symbolize the “Pretty” world. (Or at least I think that’s what it symbolized…)
5. The ending. Fabulous stuff. I didn’t see it coming at all, and about ten minutes after closing the book, I was on my computer placing a hold on a copy of Pretties at the library.
And a bonus one—this book is incredibly clean. Clean as in, whenever McKenna’s interested, she’ll be allowed to read it.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! See you back here on Monday.
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