Uglies
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| Uglies | |
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| Author | Scott Westerfeld |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Uglies series |
| Genre(s) | Young adult Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Simon Pulse |
| Publication date | February 8, 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 426 |
| ISBN | 0-689-86538-4 |
| Followed by | Pretties |
Uglies is a 2005 science fiction novel by Scott Westerfeld. 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.
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 has been extended with the publication of a fourth novel, Extras.
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[edit] Plot summary
Plot is loosely based on a Twilight Zone episode (The Number Twelve Looks Just Like You), from the original series, in which youths turning sixteen get to choose a "beautiful body".[citation needed] The main character's new friend is reluctant and wants to stay the way she is.
The story takes place in a post-scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is turned "stunningly attractive and blisfuly carefree" — a "Pretty" — by comprehensive cosmetic surgery at age 16.[2] Living in a world of diminished resources and high technology, a reduced population has retreated into a relatively few metropolises after an unremembered global catastrophe, leaving behind the "Rusty Ruins" of decaying cities in the abandoned stretches of countryside. Society is structured into a rigid caste system of Littlies (children), Uglies (young teenagers), New Pretties (adolescents and young adults), Middle Pretties (adults) and Crumblies (retired adults). The city-state governments administer the cosmetic surgery to foster conformity, purging humanity of ruinous competition and jealousy. Until the operation, Uglies attend school away from their parents, living in dormitories in Uglyville. Once "turned" to Pretties, they leave Uglyville and move to New Pretty Town to begin living privileged lives centered on leisure and entertainment.
Tally Youngblood, a girl approaching her sixteenth birthday, is looking forward to becoming a Pretty and reuniting with her older friend Peris, who turned Pretty before her. While waiting for her birthday to arrive, Tally befriends another Ugly girl, Shay, who shares her birthday. Shay, however, has had contact with counter-culture rebels who live outside government control in a hidden refuge called the Smoke. She has no interest in becoming a Pretty and escapes to the distant Smoke just prior to her birthday. Tally refuses to go and Shay leaves without her; Shay leaves Tally a note of cryptic clues to the Smoke's location, should Tally change her mind. Tally promises never to reveal the Smoke's whereabouts.
Tally's excitement about becoming a Pretty disappears when her operation is preempted with an ultimatum from the city's secret police organization, Special Circumstances. A "Special", Dr. Cable, tells Tally that she cannot become a Pretty until she reveals Shay's and the Smoke's location. Forced by Special Circumstances to find and infiltrate the Smoke using Shay's directions, Tally changes her mind about becoming a Pretty shortly after arrival and meeting its charismatic leader, David,with whom she starts dating. She learns from his formerly Pretty parents, Maddy and Az, that the Pretty operation does more than just change appearances: more significantly, it makes people docile and more compliant with authority by creating lesions in the brain. Special Circumstances, however, tracks her down, destroys the Smoke, and captures everyone except Tally and David.
Tally and David mount a successful rescue operation on the Special Circumstances headquarters, returning with their friends to an abandoned "Rusty Ruins" city. Maddy discovers a cure for the "lazy vanity"[3] created by the surgical brainwashing done to Pretties, but needs a willing subject to test its efficacy and safeness. Tally volunteers to return to the city to undergo the Pretty operation, and then be the test subject. The story closes as Tally turns herself in to the city authorities, saying, "Make me pretty."
[edit] Themes
Uglies "plays on adolescent changes, both physical and emotional."[4] Among themes of justice, loyalty, and freedom, Uglies also questions how much power we should allow authority and what the loss of individuality costs.
[edit] Reception
The School Library Journal called Uglies a "complicated and thought-provoking fable"[4] that gives the reader a "thrilling, provocative look at a high-tech world" and "much to think about as they devour a well-paced novel."[2]
[edit] Adaptations
20th Century Fox and producer John Davis (Eragon) bought the film rights to the novel in 2006. Davis and his co-producer wife Jordan were "plugged into the tale by their daughter, who read the book in school." No release date is available.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Hynes, James. "Looks Aren’t Everything", Sunday Book Review, The New York Times, 2007-11-11. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
- ^ a b "Uglies" (October 2005). School Library Journal 51 (Supplement): 65. Reed Business Information.
- ^ Hubert, Jennifer (2005-09-15). "Westertield, Scott: Pretties". Booklist 102 (2): 60. American Library Association.
- ^ a b Levy Mandell, Phyllis; Francisca Coldsmith (March 2007). "Uglies". School Library Journal 53 (3): 84. Reed Business Information.
- ^ Fleming, Michael. "'Uglies' sitting pretty: Teen tale gets bigscreen makeover at Fox", Variety, 2006-06-25. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
