Summer Reading

Since I am still rocking (f)unemployment and am possibly faced with a not-so-distant future of drastically downsizing my available reading time, I have been reading like a fiend. Most recently, I finished a book by Scott Westerfeld, Uglies, which is the first in a 3-book series. As you may have noticed, I added a bit to my blog seen to the right that shows you my most recent reads which I track on Goodreads.com. Here is the review I posted on Goodreads for Uglies.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Quick summary: The story of Tally who lives in Uglyville, for now. In this world, when you turn 16 you are given an operation that makes you pretty. Wide "doe" eyes, perfect teeth and hair, and of course, bone shaving. Everything you need to make you beautiful. The citizens of the city are all taught that the old way of life and thinking were the destruction of the world and this was all because there was too much competition based on appearance. The solution: make everyone pretty. Prior to the operation and after a lengthy "littlie" period, everyone is referred to as ugly. They even have nicknames for each other to highlight their worst features. But what if there was an alternative to becoming like everyone else. And, what if becoming pretty had other, more subversive effects than just wanting to be the same as everyone else.

I felt that this story was a little slow in the start, but was encouraged by some friends who also enjoyed the book to keep going. However, I was intrigued that the hero had already "drunk the Kool-Aid" and so badly wanted what you know as the reader you shouldn't want. I found myself getting bored with Tally and Shay in Uglyville, even with all the "tricking." I was happy when Shay finally left for the Smoke because I was irritated that she was so set against changing Tally's mind about becoming pretty. I was eventually very into the story as Tally takes on both the protagonist and partially antagonist role. There was a good bit of action the story as well which moved the second and third parts more quickly than the first

Biggest minus? Cliffhanger! I really dislike them, even if you know you are writing a series. There was clearly a place in the book when Westerfeld could have ended the book, leaving plenty of room for more plot to come, but not leaving the reader hanging in the breeze. Boo to cliffhangers. However, I am quite invested in Tally and her allies so I will eventually finish the series.



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