"Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies is considered to be an older YA series. With the publication date of 2005, this was one of the first dystopian YA series. In fact, Uglies was published 8 months before Twilight, which as we now know will spark such a reading frenzy among young adults that the YA book market will completely reshape itself.

I had heard mixed opinions about the Uglies trilogy. Some claimed it was full of tropes and did not live up to expectations. Personally, I think Uglies (at least the first book) is a solid dystopian series. The premise of the book is that all humans upon reaching the age of 16 undergo an operation which makes them pretty. 12 to 16 year-olds are considered to be uglies and live in dormitories on the outskirts of town. Their lives are basically centered around anxiously awaiting the operation.

Our main character Tally will soon turn 16 and cannot wait to turn pretty. A couple of months before the eagerly anticipated date, she meets another ugly Shay who tells her that there are people in the world who do not want to turn pretty and instead live out their lives with the appearance they got from birth. Even though this sounds pretty simplistic, Westerfeld explains why and how humanity came to this point.

Overall, I gave this novel 4 out of 5 stars and will continue with the series. I liked the way the novel was structured. I also enjoyed the fact that the main character struggles with moral decisions. She is someone who I would call a gray character. Even though her intentions always remain good, she does make major mistakes and is forced to make difficult choices. I definitely recommend this novel and hope the sequels will not disappoint.