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A review by thebooknerdscorner
Uglier by Kelly Vincent
4.0
Nic works to come into their newfound identity in a new setting away from home in this follow up to Vincent's "Ugly."
Nic is finally getting out of their toxic hometown to attend the boarding school of their dreams. Yes, it may be based around STEM, not art, but at least they can finally escape the bullies that plagued their life. Upon arriving in Oklahoma City, Nic meets several allies almost immediately: their spunky art teacher, a poetic girl who loves to read, and an attractive boy that they can't help but crush on. Unfortunately, with all the good comes newfound bullies, too. But no matter, the new and improved Nic is here to conquer and they are ready to find a place where they truly belong.
I must say, I enjoyed this one more than the first one. I feel that there is more at stake, the characters are more interesting, the art aspects are explored in more detail, and there is an even more diverse discussion of LGBTQIA+ themes. They are more things that worked really well in this book and it is a tad less repetitive than the first.
One of my favorite things about this book has to be the friend group that Nic surrounds themself with. Jenna, Jacob, and Mack are all nerds and it is fun to see Nic find their type of people. I am totally a part of the nerd club, so it was very fun to follow these four on all their ups and downs. The fact that they are all different parts of the LGBTQIA+ community is also really fun to see and leads to great learning experiences for the reader. However, I will not discuss this in more detail, because it reveals much of the plot. I must say, this book is packed with even more info on the LGBTQIA+ community than "Ugly" and would be a great resource for questioning teens.
This book had a book club element, which made me very nostalgic for the book club that I did with my friends this year prior. I really miss reading with people and I might need to start group readalongs up again. I love the friends discussions on certain books, though they could be a bit spoilery at times. I'm pretty good at zoning this kind of thing out, so I was mostly unfazed by this. I love how Vincent advertises diverse reads and how the characters (especially Jenna) stand up against reading "the norm" and gives diverse fiction the attention that it deserves.
I feel that Nic's self-discovery journey is really pushed to the max in this one. Between obtaining their first boyfriend, officially coming out as nonbinary, and embracing their identity, they really come a long way as a character. They still have many hurdles to tackle, but I am very proud of them in the long run.
The thing that really jarred me with this one was the time jumps. All of a sudden, it would be a month later and the only distinction of this was the break in the page. I really wish that this series would have been written as diary entries. I feel it would have really elevated the series and would have kept me from being confused how much time had past between the days that start out each section break. This is a minor thing, but I think it would have made my reading experience quite a bit more enjoyable.
Overall, I enjoyed reading "Uglier." I like the new additions to the cast, the exploration of more LGBTQIA+ themes, and the complicated road to self-discovery that this book presents. I'm excited to read the next one and see where Nic's journey takes them next!
Nic is finally getting out of their toxic hometown to attend the boarding school of their dreams. Yes, it may be based around STEM, not art, but at least they can finally escape the bullies that plagued their life. Upon arriving in Oklahoma City, Nic meets several allies almost immediately: their spunky art teacher, a poetic girl who loves to read, and an attractive boy that they can't help but crush on. Unfortunately, with all the good comes newfound bullies, too. But no matter, the new and improved Nic is here to conquer and they are ready to find a place where they truly belong.
I must say, I enjoyed this one more than the first one. I feel that there is more at stake, the characters are more interesting, the art aspects are explored in more detail, and there is an even more diverse discussion of LGBTQIA+ themes. They are more things that worked really well in this book and it is a tad less repetitive than the first.
One of my favorite things about this book has to be the friend group that Nic surrounds themself with. Jenna, Jacob, and Mack are all nerds and it is fun to see Nic find their type of people. I am totally a part of the nerd club, so it was very fun to follow these four on all their ups and downs. The fact that they are all different parts of the LGBTQIA+ community is also really fun to see and leads to great learning experiences for the reader. However, I will not discuss this in more detail, because it reveals much of the plot. I must say, this book is packed with even more info on the LGBTQIA+ community than "Ugly" and would be a great resource for questioning teens.
This book had a book club element, which made me very nostalgic for the book club that I did with my friends this year prior. I really miss reading with people and I might need to start group readalongs up again. I love the friends discussions on certain books, though they could be a bit spoilery at times. I'm pretty good at zoning this kind of thing out, so I was mostly unfazed by this. I love how Vincent advertises diverse reads and how the characters (especially Jenna) stand up against reading "the norm" and gives diverse fiction the attention that it deserves.
I feel that Nic's self-discovery journey is really pushed to the max in this one. Between obtaining their first boyfriend, officially coming out as nonbinary, and embracing their identity, they really come a long way as a character. They still have many hurdles to tackle, but I am very proud of them in the long run.
The thing that really jarred me with this one was the time jumps. All of a sudden, it would be a month later and the only distinction of this was the break in the page. I really wish that this series would have been written as diary entries. I feel it would have really elevated the series and would have kept me from being confused how much time had past between the days that start out each section break. This is a minor thing, but I think it would have made my reading experience quite a bit more enjoyable.
Overall, I enjoyed reading "Uglier." I like the new additions to the cast, the exploration of more LGBTQIA+ themes, and the complicated road to self-discovery that this book presents. I'm excited to read the next one and see where Nic's journey takes them next!