Uglies is often clumped together with other YA dystopia such as The Giver, Hunger Games, and Divergent, but a few things set it apart. The protagonist, Tally Youngblood, wants to be a part of the “dystopia” and fully engage with society as it exists in her reality. What looks initially like a sort-of-bad future turns out much darker. And there are secrets buried under secrets that keep the pages of Uglies turning from beginning to end.
“The early summer sky was the color of cat vomit.” -Uglies opening line.
The book challenges our expectations of beautiful from the very first sentence. From there, the premise is clear cut: in the world of Uglies, everyone goes through the first of a series of operations at 16. This first operation makes you pretty based on an (above) average, scientifically agreed upon, set of standards. However, the operation goes far beyond implants and nosejobs. A Pretty Surgery takes your entire body apart, making you the perfect height by grinding down or extending your bones and changing the shape of your eyes. It peels off your skin and replaces it, resulting in what feels like a nasty sunburn.
Tally can’t wait to become a pretty, until she makes friends with another Ugly named Shay who reveals that a community of rebels exists outside the city limits. In this splinter city, no one ever goes under the knife…
