Book Review | Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Uglies

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Series: Book 1 in a 4 book series
Publisher: Simon and Shuster
Format: Paperback

Source: Bought
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
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Blurb:

Tally can't wait to turn sixteen and become pretty. Sixteen is the magic number that brings a transformation from repellent Ugly into a stunningly attractive Pretty, and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks, Tally will be there.
But Tally's new friend, Shay, isn't sure she wants to be Pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. 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 the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Plot: ★★.5

Uglies follows Tally Youngblood, an Ugly living in Uglyville, waiting for her turn to go under the knife and become a Pretty when she turns 16. About a month before her birthday, Tally meets Shay, who is hesitant to become pretty. Tally is left questioning everything she’s ever known about her life and the world she lives in.

I felt like I would have enjoyed this so much more if I read this 5 years ago. This was one of the first young adult dystopian novels out there and I feel like when I say it’s unoriginal, it’s really not, it’s just that I read it after reading heaps of newer dystopian novels. I found the storyline to be really predictable and it didn’t grip me whatsoever unfortunately. However, the last 50-100 pages really did pick up and grab my attention and I’m unsure whether or not I want to continue on with the series because I’m a bit curious to see where the author takes the story.

Characters: ★★

I didn’t feel an attachment to any of the characters and I felt like they were really one-dimensional and lacked any sort of depth. I feel like they were really generic and I knew nothing about their lives before the novel. I honestly just felt nothing for them and felt as though their reactions to things were really unrealistic and odd.

Writing: ★★★

The writing wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t spectacular either, in my opinion. In a way it almost felt juvenile, and I can’t even explain why. For some reason it just didn’t flow well for me.

Romance/Feels: ★
There was a really weird romance in this book that didn’t really make sense to me at all and I feel like things happened that were supposed to provoke lots of feelings, but because I didn’t feel an attachment to any of the characters, I felt nothing.

Ending: ★★★.5
The ending is really this books only redeeming quality for me. It started to pick up the pace and I was actually intrigued as to what was going to happen.

Overall Enjoyment: ★★★
Eh. It was alright and I’m still not sure whether to continue on with the series or not.

Rereadability: I won’t be rereading this one!

Final Rating: 2.5 stars!