Uglies

Title- Uglies

Author- Scott Westerfield

ISBN-0689865384

Publication Information- Simon Pulse, New York, 2005

Plot Summary- Tally can't wait for the day she turns 16. That's the day she'll become a pretty, surgically enhanced to be perfect, and allowed to party and play as much as she wants. On a daring quest into the pretty city to see her best friend, she meets Shay, another ugly who is out illegally. She and Shay realize that they will both become pretty on the same day except that Shay is not sure she wants the surgery. As the weeks until their birthday wear on, Shay and Tally become best friends and Shay confesses that she plans to run away to another city where she won't be forced to become pretty. Tally chooses to stay behind, but her association with Shay gets her in trouble with the Specials who are looking for the missing children. Tally is blackmailed; either find the city and betray her new friend or remain ugly forever. Tally chooses to find the city, but doesn't count on falling for David and liking her life there. When the Specials come and take away Shay and David's family, Tally must help get them back, but doing so will reveal that she was the traitor that set them up.

Critical Evaluation- This is an interesting novel. Dystopian fiction is among my favorite genres to begin with, so this is a perfect fit. Although we get very little of the government that controls this world or even the structure of the world itself, it is clearly a place where children are brainwashed at an early age to believe in a modified form of eugenics. The novel relies entirely on the characters and their interactions, which works well in this case. Tally and Shay could be sisters given the speed with which they become friends. These two characters are incredibly well written. They could be any of my female students today. The conflict of personal perfection is one that many children deal with on a daily basis and the quest to be pretty is all too real. Opposing that, the desire to be free and natural, is equally problematic with teens today. Very little matters more to them then the ability to do as they choose. Thus, the dilemma the kids face is as real in this world as in the broken world in which the characters live.

Reader's Annotation- Is it better to be perfect or real? Tally must choose between her friends and physical perfection in a world that cannot tolerate both.

Author Information

Curricular Ties- English, Social Studies

Genre – Science Fiction, Dystopia

Book talking ideas Does society's preoccupation with beauty pose problems for its success? Is being Pretty worth losing one's critical thinking abilities?

Challenge issues- Teen Rebellion

1. Re-read the text to familiarize myself with the story
   
2. Ask parents for their specific objections (they are required to file that with our school district)
   
3. Review approved books list from California Department of Education for similar materials
   
4. Review approaches from ALA
   

Interest Age- 15-18

Why I selected this piece- This series was very popular with my students in the past few years. I suspect that it will retain it's readability in years to come