Uglies

Bibliography

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. 2005. New York, NY: Simon Pulse ISBN 978-0-689-86538-1

Critical Analysis

Tally Youngblood is fifteen and ugly. As is every other fifteen year old in the city Tally lives in. It's not until you turn sixteen and undergo a serious, life-altering operation that you morph from being an "Ugly" to a "Pretty." Scott Westerfeld's novel Uglies manages to make an allegorical social commentary on the importance society places on beauty while telling an action-packed, futuristic story of friendship and betrayal. 

The Uglies are kept separated from the Pretties until they turn pretty themselves and get to move into New Pretty Town. All the new pretties spend their time dressed in high fashions drinking at parties or in one of the multiple "pleasure gardens" with a fellow new pretty. The behaviors of the new pretties give a not so subtle nod to the ever popularized young celebrity lifestyle. The new pretties are flippant, self-absorbed and glamorized and every Ugly anxiously awaits the day when they get to join their ranks.

Despite the futuristic, dystopian setting, Uglies provides several interesting challenges for main character Tally that teens today can relate to. Before Tally's new best friend Shay chooses to runaway to the Smokes instead of going under for the mandated pretty operation she gives Tally directions on how to find the Smokes if she wants to stay "normal" too. When the secretive Special Circumstances pretties catch wind that Shay has runaway and that Tally may know how to find her, and the band of others who did not turn pretty, she puts Tally in a challenging position- if she does not help them find the Smokes Tally will stay ugly forever. Tally is forced into some difficult positions with this ultimatum and she is not always the hero the reader wants her to be, but the journey is interesting nonetheless. 

Book Discussion Questions

1. How did society get to where it is in the novel from today?
2. Which life would you prefer and why- the life of the Pretties, Uglies or the Smokies?
3. What would you have done in Tally's shoes if you had to betray a friend or miss out on what you have looked forward to your entire life?
4. Is Peris still Tally's friend? Why or why not?
5. Will Shay be able to trust Tally again?

External Assessments

"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, School Library Journal


"With a beginning and ending that pack hefty punches, this introduction to a dystopic future promises an exciting series. Tally is almost 16 and breathlessly eager: On her birthday, like everyone else, she'll undergo extensive surgery to become a Pretty. She's only known life as an Ugly (everyone's considered hideous before surgery), whereas after she "turns," she'll have the huge eyes, perfect skin, and new bone structure that biology and evolution have determined to be objectively beautiful. New Pretties party all day long. But when friend Shay escapes to join a possibly mythical band of outsiders avoiding surgery, Tally follows-not from choice but because the secret police force her. Tally inflicts betrayal after betrayal, which dominates the theme for the midsection; by the end, the nature of this dystopia is front and center and Tally-trying to set things right-takes a stunning leap of faith. Some heavy-handedness, but the awesome ending thrills with potential." -Kirkus Reviews