Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is one of those books that you just can’t put down, and when you do, you can’t stop thinking about it. Set some 300 years in the future, Uglies depicts a world where everyone is born “ugly”, but upon your 16^th birthday everybody is given an operation that makes them beautiful. Tally Youngblood, the star of our story longs to be “Pretty”, especially since her best friend Peris has gone off to New Pretty Town 3 months ahead of her. Feeling alone in Uglyville, Tally befriends Shay and the two are inseparable for the remainder of their time as Uglies. But when Shay decides she doesn’t want to become Pretty, Tally’s plans – and world – are thrown into chaos.

It may sound far fetched, but this future word that Westerfeld has created is so well crafted that by the time you’ve finished the book it’s almost hard to believe it’s not real. I keep expecting hoverboards to zipping along outside. Surprisingly, the fact that this future human race refers to us as “The Rusties” – the stupid humans who overpopulated the world and almost destroyed it – helps make the story more believable. Westerfeld’s take on the future is absolutely fascinating, and is definitely captivating enough that even someone who hasn’t read the book will be able to enjoy discussing the ideas.

Filled with an interesting variety of likeable characters, set among lush and vivid scenery, and packed with adventure, Uglies is an absolutely fantastic start to this series! There are surprises at every turn along the way, ensuring that Uglies is never predictable or slow. With all this and a great cliffhanger ending, I was online purchasing Pretties, the next book in the series as soon as I’d read the last word of Uglies. I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys YA fiction and fascinating ideas.