New York : Simon Pulse, 2005.
1st Simon Pulse ed.
425 p. ; 18 cm.
Uglies is the first of the trilogy by Scott Westerfeld exploring a utopian/dystopian future where everyone is surgically made beautiful when they turn 16. In the tradition of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, all is not perfect in the perfect world of those who are turned into "pretties" and set to live out a life of fun, beauty and light-hearted distraction.
The main character, Tally, discovers that there are those who opt out of becoming "pretty" and live in a hidden settlement called the Smoke. Tally's interest in the Smoke brings her to the attention of the ultra authoritarian Specials who run her society, and leads Tally into some serious ethical dilemmas.
There is a lot of substance to Westerfeld's Uglies. The book holds an uncomfortable mirror up to our current social situation with its obsessions with appearance, shallow pursuits, conformity, and social controls. The plotting of Uglies is deft and draws one in quickly so that you really want to know what's going to happen.
Another positive aspect to Westerfeld's Uglies is that there is something for both male and female readers in this novel - relationships, romance, thrills, danger, violence, excitement and a creatively imagined future world. Lastly, my experience in a high school library is that the book is popular and circulates frequently - as do the follow up books to the trilogy: Pretties and Specials - and there's nothing ugly about that!
No comments:
Post a Comment