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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Book: Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld


There’s no way I’m ever going to review everything I read (trust me, it’s not all review worthy, nor could I always give it a worthy review) so I’ll just stick to the ones that really stood out for me.



I’ll start with the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld:
1. Uglies
2. Pretties
3. Specials
4. Extras – I still need to read this one, it’s on my wishlist!

I picked this series out of the Teen Virtual bookbox that we have going on BookObsessed mostly because everyone else was very excited about it, at the time, I’d never heard of it before, it sounded mildly interesting, so I thought I’d give it a try. I share some tastes with the people who seemed interested in it, so that was enough for me to give them a chance. I’m very glad I did, they were a pleasant surprise!

The setting of the story is a futuristic earth, after life as we know it today has been destroyed through our own mistakes (people from our time period now are referred to as Rusties) and a new human culture has arisen where at a certain age, everyone undergoes an operation that makes them “pretty”. The person’s entire body is remade into the ideal. Everyone will be equal, and thus everyone will be happy, Utopia. The downside of this is that no one thinks for themselves and everyone spends their time in pleasurable pursuits, which is just how the powers-that-be want it. As expected, this condition is not sustainable, there were always be individuals who break the mold, and think for themselves, and I think that, above all else is the central point of the series. Body image is another major theme, enhancement surgeries are as common as changing clothes or putting on accessorizing jewelry. Friendship, love and loyalty are challenges to any teen, and the characters struggle with those in this series as well.

Overall, this was a fun, fast paced, but not lightly themed Sci-Fi series that I would highly recommend! It brings to mind elements from Brave New World, but I enjoyed it a lot more! I am definitely interested in trying out others by this author.

4 comments:

  1. I saw you'd stopped by (without saying hello!!!!) and returned the favor.

    Except... I'm saying hello.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sowwy, I'm stealthy like that! ;)

    I was at work, and shouldn't have even been here! Not enough hours in the day to stay caught up on everything I'd like to. :P Someday...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I finally have this book but now I have to find the time to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. They actually went pretty fast, but I hear ya! So much to read, and so little time! Gotta figure out how to get paid for reading! ;)

    ReplyDelete

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