Reviews - Uglies: Shay's Story

Uglies: Shay's Story by Scott Westerfeld, Devin Grayson, Steven Cummings

186 reviews for:

Terrible, on soooo many different levels. I was so confused when I began reading, but it took so little time to flip through that I finished the book before I realized I could stop and put it down. Is that a good thing? :P The more this series goes on, the less I like it. It's hard to muster the enthusiasm I had for the original book when each addition to the world is of increasingly poor quality. This is probably the most sad thing I can say about a book/series, because the potential for greatness was there and not seized.

readingsiren's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed being able to have a visual of the characters I had read about so long ago. it was pleasant

charlottejones952's review against another edition

2.0

I picked this up at the library and it is a graphic novel version of side-character Shay’s story of what happened during Uglies, the first book in the Uglies series. I read the first two and a half books in that series and to be honest I wasn’t a huge fan but I really enjoyed the first book so wanted to revisit that from a different perspective.

On the whole the artwork was quite typical of manga and was drawn in a traditional Japanese style. I did like that some additional sketchbook pages were included at the end of the book with notes on why certain things were changed with regards to the look of the characters.

Although I liked this graphic novel version of the book, it was a very quick read and didn’t really add anything to Shay’s side of the story that you don’t already find out in the novels.

Overall this was a quick read and if you really like the Uglies series, I would recommend it but it was nothing special to me and I’m still not a huge fan of the series.

shanella's review against another edition

4.0

Uglies: Shay’s Story is just that – Shay’s point of view of the events that happened in Uglies. Because it’s a graphic novel and because Uglies is out there in the world, we don’t really see a retelling of what happened in Uglies as much as we see what’s happening to Shay when Tally isn’t with her.

For those unfamiliar with the Uglies series, Tally and Shay live in a society where all citizens undergo a surgery to turn pretty at the age of sixteen. When Tally and Shay first met, Tally was excited to be made a Pretty while Shay was less enthusiastic. In Shay’s Story we find out more about Shay before Tally and we also find out how she knew about The Smoke and David.

Uglies: Shay’s Story isn’t a prequel, but more a parallel story to Uglies. Since it’s in manga form, the story is told quickly through illustrations, and dialogue. Having read the Uglies series, I think that readers who read this will be spoilt for the ending of the Uglies book, However, I see this as a good thing, because enough was omitted to allow the reader enjoyment if they choose to read it after this one.

If you’re not sure about the Uglies series, Shay’s story is a good place to start. I’d also recommend it for manga lovers.

notajapanesecarcompany's review against another edition

So great! I loved the Uglies series and I personally loved Shay more than Tally the whole time. This was a great, quick, read that showed a more in depth view of Shay's character. I can't wait for the sequel.

kkaste's review against another edition

4.0

Shay is a character I didn't like while reading the Uglies novels. She was always whiny and keeping Tally from getting what she needed to do. She was the reasons Special Circumstances target Tally to. This novel brought some sympathy to the character of Shay. The novel showed her side of the story. The story was good and followed the information given was new enough and not just a retread of the original "Uglies." I enjoyed this graphic novel.