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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I don't know why, but this read I liked this book more than I did either of the times I read it before. Somewhere between the last time I tried to read it and now I reached a place where Tally's story resonates with me in a way it never did before.
Wow. I had forgotten how much I liked Uglies when I read it the first time. While it's maturity level seemed to decrease from that reading to this (more like I grew up, but the feeling is the same), I still found myself enjoying the read, breezing through it in next to no time at all.
There are so many incredibly deep arguments being made in Uglies regarding disability; and I'm not entirely sure Westerfeld is aware of all of them. I started this reread because I'm thinking to use the Uglies series for my honors thesis, on disability representation in science fiction, after stumbling on a quote by disability activist Rosemarie Garland-Thomson that reads: “…our unmodified bodies are presented as unnatural and abnormal while the surgically altered bodies are portrayed as normal and natural [speaking on corrective/reconstructive surgery]" ("Integrating disability, transforming feminist theory" pg. 12). I couldn't think of a series that discussed the issue of corrective/reconstructive surgery better than this one does! And I'm finding so much great material. Aside from being fun, this book really is deep.
There are so many incredibly deep arguments being made in Uglies regarding disability; and I'm not entirely sure Westerfeld is aware of all of them. I started this reread because I'm thinking to use the Uglies series for my honors thesis, on disability representation in science fiction, after stumbling on a quote by disability activist Rosemarie Garland-Thomson that reads: “…our unmodified bodies are presented as unnatural and abnormal while the surgically altered bodies are portrayed as normal and natural [speaking on corrective/reconstructive surgery]" ("Integrating disability, transforming feminist theory" pg. 12). I couldn't think of a series that discussed the issue of corrective/reconstructive surgery better than this one does! And I'm finding so much great material. Aside from being fun, this book really is deep.
a super special thank you goes to Destiny over at Howling Libraries for sending me this. I am forever grateful and thankful to you and your friendship!
I love this book. Just absolutely love it. This was another book I read in high school and I devoured the series like crazy. Lucky for me, I don’t remember must about it so it was like reading it for the first time. I stayed up far too late reading this book and paid the price for it quite a few evenings.
Tally is one of my favorite MCs. I appreciated everything about her because she reminded me of a regular teenager. She is very concerned about how she looks. Her entire self esteem is based on her looks, which is common in this world because when you turn 16, you have an operation to turn pretty.
All Tally's life, she has been conditioned to think she is ugly. Reminds me of society today. Teens, especially girls, are conditioned to think we are ugly unless we have big bobs, skinny waists, etc. It's so sad and reading how much stock Tally put into herself and her looks broke my heart. Every single one of us is beautiful. Never forget that.
This is a pretty classic dystopian. Government is supposedly alright but is actually shady. What keeps it from becoming stale is the concept of the pretty/uglies. It's a concept I haven't seen since and I read quite a bit of dystopian.
Overall, just check this series out. I don't want to spoil anymore of it for you guys. I want all of you to experience this series that is so near and dear to my heart. There is a new book that is a part of this world (that I need to get my hands on). If you enjoy a good classic dystopian, this is the book for you.
I love this book. Just absolutely love it. This was another book I read in high school and I devoured the series like crazy. Lucky for me, I don’t remember must about it so it was like reading it for the first time. I stayed up far too late reading this book and paid the price for it quite a few evenings.
Tally is one of my favorite MCs. I appreciated everything about her because she reminded me of a regular teenager. She is very concerned about how she looks. Her entire self esteem is based on her looks, which is common in this world because when you turn 16, you have an operation to turn pretty.
All Tally's life, she has been conditioned to think she is ugly. Reminds me of society today. Teens, especially girls, are conditioned to think we are ugly unless we have big bobs, skinny waists, etc. It's so sad and reading how much stock Tally put into herself and her looks broke my heart. Every single one of us is beautiful. Never forget that.
This is a pretty classic dystopian. Government is supposedly alright but is actually shady. What keeps it from becoming stale is the concept of the pretty/uglies. It's a concept I haven't seen since and I read quite a bit of dystopian.
Overall, just check this series out. I don't want to spoil anymore of it for you guys. I want all of you to experience this series that is so near and dear to my heart. There is a new book that is a part of this world (that I need to get my hands on). If you enjoy a good classic dystopian, this is the book for you.
I don't quite know how to rate this book.
On one hand, I really enjoyed the world and the things that happen in the book, but Tally barely had any personality or agency of her own except when the plot needed her to.
At the start of the book, that's fine, because she's a teenager going with only what's she's ever known, but when she gets out of the City, and into The Smoke, she just... goes with it. She doesn't question anything, her emotions feel forced like they were just put there for the sake of having feelings.
Even at the end, she just accepts that this thing she's doing will work. I guess that's how a lot of teenagers act - I know I had a very one track mind at times - but it's just... she had really shallow emotions, there was no proper depth there.
THAT SAID
I enjoyed the way the story developed, how it moved - it didn't stall or drag in places. I liked reading about how the Smoke worked, how it came to be, about the city and how it worked and how the Pretties really ended up acting like cotton headed party animals.
(I'm running out of time and I have more to say about this so I will come back to this review at a later time)
On to the next one?
On one hand, I really enjoyed the world and the things that happen in the book, but Tally barely had any personality or agency of her own except when the plot needed her to.
At the start of the book, that's fine, because she's a teenager going with only what's she's ever known, but when she gets out of the City, and into The Smoke, she just... goes with it. She doesn't question anything, her emotions feel forced like they were just put there for the sake of having feelings.
Even at the end, she just accepts that this thing she's doing will work. I guess that's how a lot of teenagers act - I know I had a very one track mind at times - but it's just... she had really shallow emotions, there was no proper depth there.
THAT SAID
I enjoyed the way the story developed, how it moved - it didn't stall or drag in places. I liked reading about how the Smoke worked, how it came to be, about the city and how it worked and how the Pretties really ended up acting like cotton headed party animals.
(I'm running out of time and I have more to say about this so I will come back to this review at a later time)
On to the next one?
This book has been on my tbr for nearly three years and I'd heard such mixed things about it and the series that I just wasn't sure. It started off slow but picked up and was really interesting to read. I loved the whole idea of ugly/pretty and the world Scott created.
This is my favorite YA Dystopian, hands down! If you haven't read it yet, you should.
This books, I didn't thin, was anything too special. It just didn't hit that point where I became extremely intrigued. I must say though, I did quite enjoy the relationship between Tally and David.
I had trouble getting into the story for the first chapter, but after that it picked up nicely. In the future, about 300 years from now, everyone is given cosmetic surgery at 16 to make them a pretty. Everyone one looks similar, with annoying things like race and subjective beauty smoothed out into a pleasant, small range of looks. But while this keeps society running smoothly, it also leeches the pretties of their individuality. Tally, counting down the days to when she can become a pretty, is suddenly faced with the choice of remaining ugly.