This is the bookclub pick for May. It is a youth fiction set in the future about a girl named Tally who is eagerly anticipating turning "pretty" on her sixteenth birthday. "Uglies" undergo an operation that turns them into beautiful people who party and play and get whatever they want. Becoming pretty eliminates fighting between the have's and the have not's and creates a peaceful community---or so they are taught in school. Tally is devastated when her operation is delayed, and will do anything to make things right, until she discovers a secret that makes her question everything she's been taught. This is definitely a young adult fiction, and was an easy read, but I enjoyed it. I thought it was fun to read about some of the future technologies and conveniences the pretties enjoyed, although the hoverboard chases were not nearly as exciting to me as they were to the author. I thought there were some thought-provoking themes in the book about the nature of choice, and wise use of authority and technology. This book is the first in a trilogy, and I enjoyed it enough that I plan to read the next two.
2 comments:
I just finished it last night and have to agree that I have to read the next book. If you end up with a copy of "Pretties" can you throw it my way after your done?
I'm glad you liked Uglies. At first I thought the whole beauty-ditz thing was a little stereotypical, but eventually I decided that the books were the right sort of thought provoking for teenagers and even me. You might also be interested to know that the author ended up expanding his trilogy to four books. I didn't really like the way Specials ended--I thought it was overly didactic--but I did really like Extras.
Post a Comment