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Uglies
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Uglies: Book 1

Uglies (2005) (edit title/settings)

by Scott Westerfeld (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job... read more

Summary edit see section history

Tally Youngblood, a fifteen year old "ugly", sneaks across the river to find her best friend Peris, a "pretty" living in New Pretty Town. After meeting Peris, and finding that he does not want to see her until she turns sixteen and is made pretty, she escapes with the help of another ugly,... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Tally Youngblood, a fifteen year old "ugly", sneaks across the river to find her best friend Peris, a "pretty" living in New Pretty Town. After meeting Peris, and finding that he does not want to see her until she turns sixteen and is made pretty, she escapes with the help of another ugly, called Shay.

After discovering that they share a birthday, Tally and Shay become close friends. Shay teaches Tally to hoverboard, and takes her out of the city to the nearby Rusty Ruins. Gradually, Tally realizes that Shay does not want to become a pretty, which culminates in Shay running away from the city shortly before her birthday, leaving Tally a cryptic note of instructions on how to follow her.

Although Tally is sad by Shay's disappearance, she still plans on becoming a pretty. However, on the day of her operation, she is taken to meet Dr Cable, head of Special Circumstances, a group of "cruel pretties" who ensure the city's security. They inform her that she will not be allowed to become pretty unless she follows after Shay and lets the Specials track her to the Smoke - a group of runaway Uglies. Reluctantly, Tally agrees, and sets off on a long journey across the wilderness. After many days of travelling, during which Tally faces several life-threatening situations, she makes it to the Smoke.

In the Smoke, Tally is initially horrified by the primitive way of life, but gradually begins to see the benefits of freedom, and learns to enjoy the rough lifestyle. She does not activate the tracking beacon Dr Cable gave her, although she keeps it while deliberating whether to stay or return to the City. Tally begins to fall in love with David, the son of the founders of the Smoke who was born outside the cities. Meeting David's parents, she learns that a part of the pretty operation creates brain lesions, which force all pretties to be happy and compliant. Between this, and her feelings for David, she decides to destroy the tracking beacon.

Unfortunately, Tally accidentally activates the tracker when she tries to destroy it, and the Smoke is invaded by Special Circumstances who take all the uglies back to their home cities. Tally only just escapes, and with David, who was outside the Smoke when the attack began, she makes her way back to the city to free her friends and David's parents. In a daring raid on Special Circumstances headquarters, they rescue the Smokies from Tally's city. However, they are horrified to discover that Shay has already been made pretty, and that David's father Az was killed in an experimental procedure to make him forget the lesions.

David's mother, Maddy, explains that she has fabricated a cure for the lesions, but refuses to use them on Shay without her consent. Realizing the only sensible course of action, Tally confesses to her betrayal of the Smoke, shocking the other Smokies. She then gives full consent to taking the cure, and surrenders to the city to become pretty.

Uglies is a 2005 science fiction novel by Scott Westerfeld. It is set in a future post-scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery upon reaching age 16. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society's enforced conformity, after her new found friends Shay and David show her the downsides to becoming a "pretty". Written for young adults, Uglies deals with adolescent themes of change, both emotional and physical, and dealing with the revelation that "some of what you’re taught isn’t true, your parents are flawed human beings and the world isn’t constructed for your benefit."<1> The book is the first installment in what was originally a trilogy, The Uglies series which includes Pretties and Specials and Extras.

Characters edit see section history

  • Tally Youngblood: Main Character. She is about to turn 16 and have the operation to turn pretty.
  • Peris: Peris is a childhood friend of Tally Youngblood who turns Pretty before her.
  • Shay: Shay is Tally's best friend and doesn't let anyone control her. She is a very independent troublemaker. Loves to use her hoverboard. Her Ugly nickname is "Skinny". Is considering the possibility that she will not have the surgery to become a Pretty.
  • Sol and Ellie Youngblood: Tally's parents, whom she addresses using their first names. They are middle Pretties.
  • David: Was born in the Smoke. Son of the founders of Smoke. Fancies Tally but not Shay.
  • Maddy and Az: David's parents and the founders of the Smoke. Both are doctors.
  • Dr. Cable: The leader of Special Circumstances. She is blackmailing Tally to turn in the Smokies in order to receive her Pretty operation.
  • Jenks and Tonks: The two rangers who find Tally in their helicopter, and deliver her to a secure location to be picked up by members of the Smoke.
  • Tally Youngblood: The main character in the book. She is an ugly who loves playing tricks, until one of her tricks changes her life forever...
  • Peris: Peris is Tally's best friend who is a couple months older than her.
  • Ryde: A member of The Smoke, and an Ugly.
Show all 11 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Nature, at least, didn't need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.”
    Tally Youngblood
  • “What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”
    David
  • “Never bored on a hoverboard.”
    Shay
  • “I can't imagine anything worse than being required to have fun.”
    Shay
  • “All that glitters is not hovery”
    Shay
  • “Shay sometimes talked in a mysterious way, like she was quoting the lyrics to a band no one else listened to.”
    Tally Youngblood
  • “The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.”
    a metaphor by Tally Youngblood
  • “Maybe the reason war and all that other stuff went away is that there are no more controversies, no disagreements, no people demanding change. Just masses of smiling pretties, and a few people left to run things.”
    David
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • Nature, at least, didn’t need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.
    Highlighted by 123 Kindle customers
  • “Doing what you’re supposed to do is always boring. I can’t imagine anything worse than being required to have fun.”
    Highlighted by 78 Kindle customers
  • There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.
    Highlighted by 67 Kindle customers
  • If only people were smarter, evolved enough to treat everyone the same even if they looked different. Looked ugly.
    Highlighted by 66 Kindle customers
  • Beauty is that Medusa’s head Which men go armed to seek and sever. It is most deadly when most dead, And dead will stare and sting forever.
    Highlighted by 56 Kindle customers
  • Out here, you find out that the city fools you about how things really work.”
    Highlighted by 55 Kindle customers
  • him…“Becoming pretty doesn’t just change the way you look,” she said. “No,” David said. “It changes the way you think.”
    Highlighted by 51 Kindle customers
  • Without large, perfectly shaped eyes, their faces couldn’t make you feel that way. But the moonlight and the setting, or maybe just the words he was saying, had somehow turned David into a pretty. Just for a moment.
    Highlighted by 45 Kindle customers
  • Tally sat back, shaking her head, coughing once more. The flowers were so beautiful, so delicate and unthreatening, but they choked everything around them.
    Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers
  • Is it not good to make society full of beautiful people?
    Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers
Show all 18 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

The general setting of "Uglies" is that of a futuristic society.
  • Uglyville: At the age of 12, you move to Uglyville, because you are considered Ugly. These dorms are closely monitored and very depressing.
  • New Pretty Town: At the age of 16, after the operation, they move to New Pretty Town, a high-tech, fun-filled town where they throw parties every night.
  • The Smoke: Founded by Maddy and Az, several uglies travel here to escape turning pretty. This is a wilderness camp, where no one is forced to become pretty.
  • Special Circumstances: This is where the Specials live and keep their offices, which are used to "protect" the city from outside danger.
  • Garbo Mansion: One of the many mansions in New Pretty Town.
  • The Rusty Ruins: The ruins of a city that remains after the Rusties (the earlier civilization that did not survive) abandoned.

Organizations edit see section history

  • Smokies: People who live in the Smoke. They are somewhat like wilderness people since they live outside in tents. All of them are Ugly, and have no desire to become pretty.
  • Specials: Special Circumstances. Their faces are a beautiful, but frightening. They are super-human, and protect the city from outside danger. Most people believe they don't exist.
  • New Pretties: They just recently became pretty. They live in New Pretty Town. (16-29)
  • Uglies: The people that live in Uglyville and haven't yet gotten the procedure to turn them into a pretty. That will only happen when you are 16. (12-15)
  • Littlies: The children that are 11 and younger and are still in a way cute, not pretty. Soon will be Uglies then when 16, they will become Pretty.
  • Middle Pretties: They are the Pretties who are middle age. They are the working class. They have a minor operation to make them look older. (30-49)
  • Late Pretties: These are the oldest of them all. Despite thier old age, they look still fresh and new due to all the medicine they take. They also take life extending treatments. They may life until the age of 200. (50-end of life)
  • Wardens: The Middle Pretties that watch over the city. They run the city interface.

First Sentence edit see section history

The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.

Table of Contents edit see section history

I. Part one: Turning pretty
1. New Pretty Town
2. Best Friends Forever
3. Shay
4. Wipe Out
5. Facing the Future
6. Pretty Boring
7. Rapids
8. The Rusty Ruins
9. Waiting For David
10. Fight
11. Last Trick
12. Operation
13. Special Circumstances
14. Ugly For Life
15. Peris
16. Infiltrator

II. Part two: The Smoke
17. Leaving
18. Spagbol
19. The Worst Mistake
20. The Side You Despise
21. Firestorm
22. Bug Eyes
23. Lies
24. The Model
25. Work
26. David
27. Heartthrob
28. Suspicion
29. Bravery
30. The Secret
31. Pretty Minds
32. Burning Bridges

III. Part three: Into The Fire
33. Invasion
34. The Rabbit Pen
35. In Case Of Damage
36. Run
37. Amazing
38. Ruin
39. Maddy and Az
40. The Oil Plague
41. Familiar Sights
42. Accomplices
43. Over the Edge
44. Inside
45. Rescue
46. Getaway
47. Night Alone
48. Hippocratic Oath
49. Confessions
50. Down The River

Glossary edit see section history

  • Uglies: The Uglies are those people who are under 16 who have not had the operation to make them "Pretty." Uglies look like what everyday people look like, but because they are seen as so ugly to the Pretties, they must live in a separate town called Uglyville.
  • Pretties: The Pretties are those who have had the operation to make them "pretty." The Pretties are exceedingly good looking and their main job is to party and have a good time.
  • Bubbly: basically means a postitive feeling, like giddiness or happiness. Is the "Pretty" word for good.
  • Bogus: The "Pretty" word for anything bad, or anything they don't like.
  • Specials: The people who keep peace among pretties.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • conformity: If everyone does something, should you do it, too? Should you accept and believe everything you are told? What happens when you step out of the expectations of society and the majority?
  • body image: How much do looks matter? How much pressure are we under to meet the standards set out by society? Who defines beauty?
  • self-worth: Where does self worth come from? What role does society play in determining our worth? How can we develop a sense of self-worth?
  • peer pressure: How much do our friends influence us?
  • individuality: Is there a value to being different?

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 4 in Uglies. (standard series)

Followed by Pretties.

This is book 138 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Siddhartha, and followed by The Runaway Jury.

This is book 2 of 15 in 2007-2008 Iowa Teen Award. (authoritative list)

Preceded by Eragon, and followed by So B. It.

This is book 120 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)

Preceded by The Picture of Dorian Gray, and followed by Number the Stars.

This book is in Random Synapses: 100 Book Challenge (2011). (community list)
This is book 116 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)

Preceded by Harry Potter Boxed Set (Books 1-7), and followed by The Giving Tree.

This is book 129 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)

Preceded by The God of Small Things, and followed by Number the Stars.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Scott Westerfeld (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: February 8, 2005
ISBN: 0-689-86538-4
Page Count: 425

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

This book (the series actually) is good especially for young girls who are so caught up in the way they look. My daughter suffered with an eating disorder. She was hospitalized for it. Because the media pushes being skinny, unrealistically skinny, kids go to extreme measures to look the way the media tells them they should. The books address this issue in that it is a time when select people can change their looks to order...but at how great a price?

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Pretties
  • Specials
  • Extras
  • Feed
  • The House of the Scorpion
  • Unwind
  • The Hunger Games
  • The Giver
  • The Declaration
  • The Goodness Gene
  • Double Helix
  • The Adoration of Jenna Fox
  • Eva
  • Z for Zachariah
  • Turnabout
  • The Sky Inside
  • Delirium

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • Pretties
  • Specials
  • Extras

We’re hiding the errata, books that influenced this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.

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