Uglies
28/09/10 18:09
I first heard about the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld when I was at a barbeque early this summer. The host's daughter had it on her book list for ninth grade. I'm an advocate for womens' health and openly against the media representations of women who are either 'gorgeous' because they've been overly air-brushed to have impossibly flawless skin, toned muscles while simultaneously looking twenty pounds under weight, or 'fat' because they look like regular-sized women on the street. So of course, a book about a world where, at sixteen years old, everyone undergoes major plastic surgery to look 'biologically beautiful' and a main character whose friend runs away to avoid the surgery, I was intrigued.
Who doesn't want to be accepted and considered 'biologically beautiful,' with glittering eyes, flawless skin, a symmetrical face and perfect body? The world of the book depends on the innocent looks of its citizens to prevent personal aggression, political disputes and war. The main character, Tally, expresses several times how difficult it is to refuse the wishes of a 'Pretty,' someone who has undergone the surgery. But she also talks about how difficult it is to recognize her friends post surgery and how all the Pretties look the same. Yet she still wants the surgery; counting down the days until she can be a pretty. After Tally's friend Shay runs away, Tally is given the choice to find her friend or stay 'ugly' forever.
Tally goes in search of Shay and along the way, discovers that she is beautiful without the surgery. Now this book is the first in a trilogy and it was written as such, which means it ends as a lead-in to the next book. As much as I dislike trilogies (simply on the grounds that I almost never make it through all three books before I get tired of the writing style), I feel compelled to read the next book. Uglies was well written and I enjoyed the romp. It is certainly a young adult novel and Tally and Shay are written as a typical teenager; making poor decisions, acting irrationally and emotionally. As an adult reading this book, it was rather frustrating, but I chalk that up to Westerfeld's skill as a writer and understanding of teens.
Westerfeld tackled a big issue in writing these books. Would you undergo major plastic surgery to look beautiful, to have the perfect body? What if it fundamentally changed who you are?
Who doesn't want to be accepted and considered 'biologically beautiful,' with glittering eyes, flawless skin, a symmetrical face and perfect body? The world of the book depends on the innocent looks of its citizens to prevent personal aggression, political disputes and war. The main character, Tally, expresses several times how difficult it is to refuse the wishes of a 'Pretty,' someone who has undergone the surgery. But she also talks about how difficult it is to recognize her friends post surgery and how all the Pretties look the same. Yet she still wants the surgery; counting down the days until she can be a pretty. After Tally's friend Shay runs away, Tally is given the choice to find her friend or stay 'ugly' forever.
Tally goes in search of Shay and along the way, discovers that she is beautiful without the surgery. Now this book is the first in a trilogy and it was written as such, which means it ends as a lead-in to the next book. As much as I dislike trilogies (simply on the grounds that I almost never make it through all three books before I get tired of the writing style), I feel compelled to read the next book. Uglies was well written and I enjoyed the romp. It is certainly a young adult novel and Tally and Shay are written as a typical teenager; making poor decisions, acting irrationally and emotionally. As an adult reading this book, it was rather frustrating, but I chalk that up to Westerfeld's skill as a writer and understanding of teens.
Westerfeld tackled a big issue in writing these books. Would you undergo major plastic surgery to look beautiful, to have the perfect body? What if it fundamentally changed who you are?