Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Hmm, it was a weird book. Very Young Adult (teenager level). Everybody gets to be super model gorgeous, what is wrong with that? Uh, I can think of lots of things but the book spends the whole time trying to convince us that beauty is everything...or maybe not? Then the book leaves us all hanging in the end. Why? Well, there is a second book called Pretties. Oh, I guess I will have to read that one now so I can maybe find the answer to this question.

I think the book reminds me of The Giver and The White Mountains but with a horrible shallow spin on the whole Utopia thing. It doesn't make any sense that the main character and the group she is rebelling with never get caught even though the society has high tech spy agency and future advances in biology working against them. It is a bit "dumbed down" so your average cheerleader would be able to read this book. AND I can't believe the main girl just doesn't tell the truth! She lies and keeps getting deeper and deeper and then digs a pit so deep she ends the book doing something really stupid but of course made to look like the ultimate sacrifice or penitence for her lying. She is such a heroine.

Overall I found it entertaining and enthralling enough to read it straight through only stopping to right a talk and sleep and eat sometimes eat. Now to get my hands on the second and third books!

Healing Book

5 comments:

hairyshoefairy said...

I think it feels more complete when you put all three together. I was so frustrated with her lying, too. I think there are a few more after the trilogy. Same continuing society, but different characters. I haven't read any of those, though. I also agree it reminded me of The Giver and books like that.

le said...

They are enthralling, but then you get to the end of the trilogy and you think was it really worth my time to read it.

ae said...

I got to frustrated with the whole "dumbing down" of the writing and premise and haven't read the rest, but maybe I will go ahead and finish out the series.

kim said...

I just read the first one for book club last month and was interested enough that I do want to finish, but I honestly, the pretties are so disturbing to me that I think its going to be tough to read the second one. I hate that their entire life revolves around the next party. I know its just an exaggeration of what many high school and college kids live, but it seems so awful and makes me feel kind of sick!

JD B said...

We read the first book for book club few months ago, and i just finished the second and third. I was bugged by the lack of control over ones life and no sense of agency or freedom in a world of freedoms. The third one was better than I thought it would be, except I didn't like the last page and a half. i would have been happy if it just left those pages off. And although i loved it, i was disappointed to see that there is an addition to the trilogy, 'Extras' or something. i have a love hate relationship. I don't want to read that one, but I know I have no freedom to do otherwise. (just kidding) --Danna