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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
A fun expansion on the original story. I liked seeing it from her perspective. Didn't love the art style though, and it was very surface level. I don't feel like it added anything to the original story.
Fun, but its just a taste of this marvelous story. If you aren't up for reading the whole book, listen to the audio.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really interesting to see Shay's side of the story. You really see what a strong character (stronger than Tally) she is. The manga style is lots of fun. I can't wait for the next one :)
3.5 stars....I love the Uglies series and this was a fun side story to read. :)
This review appears on my blog, Starting the Next Chapter.
I hope you will bear with me. This is my first graphic novel review, so I'm still trying to figure out how I want to approach this. Since this is my first review of this sort and giving too many details will wind up spoiling Uglies, why don't we go with a simple paragraph review?
Uglies: Shay's Story is, at its heart, a prequel for Uglies. If you have ever read Uglies and want to know more about why Shay is the way she is, then Uglies: Shay's Story is just the novel for you. At 208 pages, it is a quick, fun read with great illustrations. Not all is spotless, however. When you read Uglies, you are made to understand that the Pretties are enhanced beyond imagining. However, when I viewed the panels in Shay's Story, I really didn't see much difference between the Uglies and the Pretties. Not one character had a even hint of normalcy when it came to their appearances. I wouldn't have known the Pretties from the Uglies had it not been for the details the illustrator added to their eyes. I enjoyed the storyline very much, but would have loved to see more differences between the two types of characters. It would have added more detail to the panels and would have left me feeling less distracted.
I hope you will bear with me. This is my first graphic novel review, so I'm still trying to figure out how I want to approach this. Since this is my first review of this sort and giving too many details will wind up spoiling Uglies, why don't we go with a simple paragraph review?
Uglies: Shay's Story is, at its heart, a prequel for Uglies. If you have ever read Uglies and want to know more about why Shay is the way she is, then Uglies: Shay's Story is just the novel for you. At 208 pages, it is a quick, fun read with great illustrations. Not all is spotless, however. When you read Uglies, you are made to understand that the Pretties are enhanced beyond imagining. However, when I viewed the panels in Shay's Story, I really didn't see much difference between the Uglies and the Pretties. Not one character had a even hint of normalcy when it came to their appearances. I wouldn't have known the Pretties from the Uglies had it not been for the details the illustrator added to their eyes. I enjoyed the storyline very much, but would have loved to see more differences between the two types of characters. It would have added more detail to the panels and would have left me feeling less distracted.
I'm a huge fan of the Uglies series, so when I found out that there would be a graphic adaptation, I was intrigued. Thankfully, this new version is not attempting to rehash the plot of Uglies. Rather, it is fleshing it out by telling Shay's story (as the title obviously implies). It's an interesting enough read, but I ultimately didn't feel that it captured the excitement of the original. Shay is a great character, but I'm not really feeling like this does her many favors. In other words, this isn't exactly a revelatory perspective. It is nice to see Shay's backstory and it was fun to see Tally through her eyes. The artwork is vaguely manga-inspired, which honestly makes all the characters look way too pretty (even if they're still "ugly").
This is definitely geared towards those who are already familiar with the Uglies story. Much would be lost without the original series' world-building and character development.
This is definitely geared towards those who are already familiar with the Uglies story. Much would be lost without the original series' world-building and character development.
I love graphic novels! They are so wonderful and can often reveal more about the stories we love that we missed in the original novels, like in this one. Instead of following Tilly, it follows Shay. Beautifully illustrated and wonderfully written.
I think if the story had been fresher in my mind this would have made more impact. I did like the shift in perspective from Tally to Shay although I think the characters could have been developed a bit more. There's something of an expectation here that you've read the series, which is okay, but I had kinda hoped the GN would have gone a bit further than the novel.
A very interesting look at the other side of the Uglies story, very good for backstory and character redevelopment. Art is pretty, although a bit "generic anime" if that is a statement that makes sense.