Book Review: The Uglies Series (Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras) by Scott Westerfeld

Summary:
Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all.

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.
 


 
Review:
The Uglies series is set in the future.  It follows the stories of two friends, Tally and Shay.  These futuristic people call us Rusties and everything in the series is very high-tech and modern.  For example, each student's room at boarding school has a sort of computerized utility wall where whatever they ask for comes out of the wall, such as clothes, food, vitamins, etc.  The series has a lot of action and intrigue but hardly any romance at all. 

Is it rude to say that Scott Westerfeld writes like a man?  His characters are always so emotionally immature, but at the same time are able to "save the world" against the adults who should know better but don't.  If you like reading about the future, if you like computers and gadgets, you'll like The Uglies series.  If you want a love story, look elsewhere.  I've read a lot of Westerfeld's work and I think that this is his best work yet; however, there are better YA romance authors out there.
 
Just One Gripe:
Tally is so shallow!
 
My Favorite Thing About This Series:
The technology was so creative.

Appropriate for a younger audience:
Yes, in fact I don't think this is a series that adults would enjoy too much.
   
As this is more of a children's series, I am scoring it against other children's books. A five star children's book is not equivalent to a five star adult book, in my opinion.

Score:
Characters:  4/5
Plot:  5/5
Setting/Imagery:  5/5
Originality:  5/5
Ending:  4/5
Total Score: 23/25




The Uglies Series were 3.5 star books for me personally, but I am rating them against other children's lit and they deserve 4.5 stars for that genre.




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