Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

27 reviews

vanessamariebooks's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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dmrains's review

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Rereading this as an adult with my high school students, I noticed a lot of tropes I've come to really dislike among YA novels
"special girl" Tally instead of writing Shay as a more important character
fridging Shay by having her have the surgery against her will really did her dirty

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jess_tries2read's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a nostlagic re-read for me. The book is set in a post-apocalyptic eutopia. All residents of cities grow up with their parents, move to boarding schools at age 12, then undergo a compulsory operation to become pretty at age 16.

Tally is a 15 year old whose operation is imminent. Everything changes for her when she meets Shay, a teen who is thinking of running away. During Tally's adventure she learns more devious consequences of the pretty surgery. 

There is a bit of pre-dot com bust, pre-market crash, pre-2016 and pre-COVID innocence to this story. Sci-fi is a great way to make commentary on humanity. This book is more in the vein of 1984 and brave new world, where free will is valued and government oppression is warned against. I just don't know if the current public has the same concerns as when this book was written ('06).

Because like... if daddy government paid all my bills and no one in my family ever had to worry about disease or poverty... plus they throw in free lip fillers... sign me up? Sorry, Tally, I'd choose oppression. 

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grhuberg's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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daisdu's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reread. Definitely don't love it as much as I did in middle school, but it still holds up for me. As an adult, David really comes off as a groomer, but I don't think that makes the story worse, in fact I think it improves the story a bit. The premise of the world is really interesting and I really love the moral dilemma at it's core. I think Tally and Shae read as extremely believably 16, which can definitely make them annoying at times.

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allidone's review against another edition

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slow-paced

1.0


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eslsilver's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25


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sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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schrammanda's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25


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loddaline's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think, it is a very nice Dystopian Novel for YA readers, who at this age probably especially struggle with their appearance. It is a good way to reflect on the differences we as humans have and that every person looks unique. 
However, I felt like it was a bit dumbed down for the recommended reading age being 12-17. Some of the characters' actions or the overall plot were pretty predictable. 

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