Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Bibliographic Information:

Westerfeld, S. (2005). Uglies. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN# 0689865384

Plot Summary:
In this futuristic view of a city on planet earth, when you hit puberty and become ugly you go live in a dormitory type apartment with other Uglies. On your sixteenth birthday you get an operation to be physically perfect, to become a Pretty. That is all Tally wants and has waited for a long time. She will finally be able to join her friend Peris who turned sixteen before she will. Then Tally meets Shay who doesn’t want to be pretty and talks about joining a community of Uglies outside the city. Shay and Tally find the old ruins outside the city and wait for Shay’s mysterious friend, David, but he doesn’t show. Shay runs away leaving cryptic instructions for Tally to follow. But Tally still wants to be pretty and goes to her scheduled appointment. Unfortunately, she isn’t given the surgery when she arrives, but instead is interrogated by a scary-looking Special (a special government employee.) Tally is given no choice – if she wants to be pretty, she must find this secret city of runaways and turn them into the authorities. In finding the secret city, Tally learns more than she bargained for, inadvertently causing havoc and setting Tally up to regain her friends’ trust.

Critical Evaluation:
Westerfeld has created an interesting utopia, making everyone equally attractive so that one can’t be biased based on looks. However, he has added a caveat that Tally learns toward the end of the story – there is a price for everything. This is one of those books that will keep you reading late into the night because you won’t want to put it down. This is the first book in the trilogy so don’t expect a lot of resolutions to the problems. It does bring up the question of how one’s appearance plays such a big part of our society from Barbie dolls to reality shows where contestants undergo multiple surgeries in order to look better. Tally grows as a character as she experiences more. She becomes more independent, not doing something because she was brought up that way or because a friend told her to, but doing something because she truly believes in it. This is a good lesson for teens reading the book: Learn and decide for yourself. However, making decisions has consequences even when we feel that we have made the right decision. Tally learns this and teens of today also need to understand this lesson. Doing what you think is right is not always easy.

Reader's Annotation:
Somewhere in earth’s future, Tally is an ugly anxiously awaiting her sixteenth birthday when she will have the operation to become a Pretty (a virtual supermodel) after which she will join her male friend Peris and literally party all day and all night, but Shay, another ugly, talks to her of a place outside of their city where one is valued for who they are, not what they look like. Shay runs away to this place, but Tally wanting to be pretty goes to her appointment only to be sidetracked by a Special who gives Tally no choice – if she wants to be pretty, she must run away, find this community of Uglies and turn them into the authorities.

Information about the author:
Besides the Uglies trilogy, Westerfeld has written another trilogy: Midnighters and three stand alone novels: So Yesterday, Peeps, and The Last Days. He has also ghost written numerous books and written music for “artsy downtown New York dancers.”
While he was born in Texas, he spends his time in New York City and Sydney, Australia. He has two older sisters and is married.


Genre: Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts; ethics

Booktalking Ideas:
• Would you rather be pretty, but vapid or average looking, but smart? Why?
• What do you think of a society where everyone is supermodel gorgeous? Can you stand out or will you always blend into the crowd?
• Why would a government want to keep its people docile and/or unaware?
• What is an ultimatum? How do you feel when you are given one?
• Have you ever betrayed someone? On purpose or an accident? How did it make you feel?

Reading Level/Interest Level:
The widest range according to the reviews is ages 12 – adult.

Challenge Issues:
Body image; government control

If the book is challenged:
• Listen calmly to the complainant.
• Ask if s/he has read the entire novel.
• Show positive reviews of the novel.
• Show the selection policy.
If the complainant still has issues with the book:
• Request that the complainant read the entire book if this has not already occurred.
• Have the complainant fill out a reconsideration form.
• Set up a reconsideration meeting.
o Provide the reconsideration meeting members with:
 Positive reviews
 Selection policy
 Reconsideration policy

Selection Process:
I did a search on Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database with the following criteria: Award winner, reviews available, and age range from 15 – 18.

Eight positive reviews

Awards/ Best Books Lists:
• Appears on 13 Best Books Lists
• Appears on 24 state and provincial reading lists
• Has received ten awards

A curriculum guide from Multnomah County Library is available at http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-uglies.html

Reading/Interest level, selection process information, reviews, and Awards/Best Books Lists were accessed using the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database at http://clcd.odyssi.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~PAsFbb:6 accessed through SJSU and not available to everyone.