Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

27 reviews

vanessamariebooks's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent

dmrains's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Body shaming, and Death of parent

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Bullying, Animal death, Ableism, Classism, Death, Deportation, Dysphoria, Grief, Mental illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Racism, Torture, and Car accident

My students were really upset that

Tally & Shay didn't ride off into the sunset as a cute lesbian couple

jess_tries2read's review

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror and Death of parent

grhuberg's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, and Eating disorder

daisdu's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Death of parent

allidone's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Bullying

Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent

Minor: Medical trauma, Animal death, Mental illness, and Confinement

eslsilver's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Death of parent and Fatphobia

sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Body shaming, Medical content, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

schrammanda's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming and Dysphoria

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Toxic friendship

loddaline's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Minor: Death and Death of parent