Hi Jared,
I had intended to read one of Mr. Westerfeld’s adult novels but discovered it was the third book in the series. Naturally I couldn’t bring myself to jump that far into a new series. Thus I’ve settled for Uglies, one of his more well known series.
Title: Uglies
Series: Uglies; Book 1
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction
Audience: Teen
ROTS Setting: CU, Near-Future, Dystopian
Synopsis: Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. In just a few weeks she’ll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she’ll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun. But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world– and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally’s choice will change her world forever…
Recommendation: This series is recommended for tween girls.
It was surprisingly good. The characters weren’t painful to read and the world had an originality to it that is sorely lacking in the dystopian genre. Even the plot wasn’t that bad.
But I mostly read it for the sake of reading it. To put it simply, I wasn’t hooked. Nothing about this book hooked me in any way. Nothing detracted from it, but it still came down to the fact that I have zero feelings for this book. Not happy, sad, disappointed, love, hate, or even strong ambivalence.
I think this book is perfect for a tween girl. It’s simple enough to make it accessible for the age and has the classic tropes and cliches of a dystopian.
In summary, it’s a decent novel but I have no interest in continuing with the series.
Robert
Reading Over The Shoulder 