A review by mamabirdgraph
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
5.0
Between cups of coffee and sleeping littlies, I decided to dive back into the world of Tally Youngblood and the Uglies Series this past weekend. The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is the OG of Dystopian YA. I first read the series back high school over ten years ago and it felt like catching up with an old friend today.
In the futuristic world of Uglies, Tally Youngblood is waiting out the last few months before she turns sixteen. At sixteen, you get an operation that turns you beautiful. But before Tally gets her operation, she meets Shay, who shows her a world outside of New Pretty Town and it makes Tally question everything.
As a mother of three, I hardly get a chance to sit down and read, but I flew through the first book of this series. I couldn’t put it down. Hoverboarding and Uglies’ tricks kept me on the edge of my seat and the book never misses a beat. The world building is incredible. I can see the Smoke and the Rusty Ruins. I want to ride a hoverboard through the river.
The futuristic world still hold up ten years later and it’s ideas on society and beauty still resonates. In our world of social, media and Snapchat filters, it easy to relate to the characters who have only known a world where everyone you see is pretty, where everyone’s lives look, oh so pretty. But like Tally, we will come to find that “all that glitters does not hovery.”
Tally Youngblood is one of my favorite characters. She is fearless. Like Katniss or Tris, she is the face of a rebellion, even if she starts off in a different position to begin with. She’s also your typical 15 year old teenager who is obsessed with looks and vanity. But she grows on you if you give her a chance! The other characters are hit-and-miss. Shay, Tally’s new best friend, is a follower who becomes an annoying bubblehead. And the love interest might fall in love too unbelievably fast for me.
Favorite Quote : “Nature, at least, didn’t need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.”
5 out of 5. It’s a fast-paced, easy read with the best world building, and characters who you grow to love. For Readers 12 & Up!
In the futuristic world of Uglies, Tally Youngblood is waiting out the last few months before she turns sixteen. At sixteen, you get an operation that turns you beautiful. But before Tally gets her operation, she meets Shay, who shows her a world outside of New Pretty Town and it makes Tally question everything.
As a mother of three, I hardly get a chance to sit down and read, but I flew through the first book of this series. I couldn’t put it down. Hoverboarding and Uglies’ tricks kept me on the edge of my seat and the book never misses a beat. The world building is incredible. I can see the Smoke and the Rusty Ruins. I want to ride a hoverboard through the river.
The futuristic world still hold up ten years later and it’s ideas on society and beauty still resonates. In our world of social, media and Snapchat filters, it easy to relate to the characters who have only known a world where everyone you see is pretty, where everyone’s lives look, oh so pretty. But like Tally, we will come to find that “all that glitters does not hovery.”
Tally Youngblood is one of my favorite characters. She is fearless. Like Katniss or Tris, she is the face of a rebellion, even if she starts off in a different position to begin with. She’s also your typical 15 year old teenager who is obsessed with looks and vanity. But she grows on you if you give her a chance! The other characters are hit-and-miss. Shay, Tally’s new best friend, is a follower who becomes an annoying bubblehead. And the love interest might fall in love too unbelievably fast for me.
Favorite Quote : “Nature, at least, didn’t need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.”
5 out of 5. It’s a fast-paced, easy read with the best world building, and characters who you grow to love. For Readers 12 & Up!