Uglies

Written by Scott Westerfeld

Narrated by Brianne Tju

Now a major motion picture streaming on Netflix!

The first installment of Scott Westerfeld’s New York Times bestselling and award-winning Uglies series—a global phenomenon that started the dystopian trend.

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. In just a few weeks she’ll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty. And as a pretty, she’ll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.

But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world—and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally’s choice will change her world forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Sep 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9781668108536

Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld is the author of ten books for young adults, including Peeps, The Last Days, and the Midnighters trilogy. He was born in Texas in 1963, is married to the Hugo-nominated writer Justine Larbalestier, and splits his time between New York and Sydney. His latest book is Extras, the fourth in the bestselling Uglies series.

Reviews for Uglies

[Valbelane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read it in my adolescence and at that time I liked it a lot.

It made me understand that not everything is superficial, appearance and how you look.

There are many points that perhaps if I read it again I might find different now in adulthood.

I'll give it another read and we'll see how it goes. (Translated from Spanish)

[Oniria · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm sorry. Not all books are good. It was interesting, but it wasn't what I expected. It's complicated to write a regular review but honestly. I fell in love with the book halfway through. And still, I don't give it a higher rating. (Translated from Spanish)

[Pamela Murphy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My discontent with this book started practically from the first page. For me, it was very tedious to see how the protagonist forgot everything that happened in the first book, and above all, to see new characters take relevance, somewhat sidelining those from the previous book. The entire first part of this second book seemed incredibly slow to me, and the plot that the writer presented earlier becomes somewhat implausible with the appearance of new characters and situations that in my opinion are unnecessary. I believe this was a great idea that the author wasted by not knowing how to give it proper continuity; it’s as if the ideas were coming to his head and he simply put them on paper without stopping to shape them, resulting in a mediocre second book, which is disappointing because I was really hooked on the plot presented in the first book. Another point to highlight is that the love triangle presented never fully clicked for me; in fact, Tally's relationship with both male characters felt extremely forced, like a kind of senseless insta-love. Something that is repeated throughout this second book is undoubtedly the pointlessness—thousands of twists to reach a point in the story that doesn’t even spark minimal interest, plus it's impossible not to notice countless loose ends throughout the story that the writer never bothers to explain to us. In conclusion, a rather disappointing second part. That is my opinion, but as I always say, read the book and judge for yourselves.
MY RATING: 3.5⭐ (Translated from Spanish)

[veroausten · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Second book of the saga "The Uglies" absolutely "sparkling." In the previous book, we left off with a rebellious and guilty Tally for having betrayed the Smoke and with a potential cure for the brain injuries caused by the operation (to control society). She volunteers to become Perfect and try it out, but the problem is that the conditioning works too well, and in New Pretty Town she has forgotten everything amidst parties and hangovers. Until she receives a letter from her past self (when she was imperfect) to her current self, and things begin to change. After a lot of adventures, Tally will once again end up where she never wanted to be. (Translated from Spanish)