Uglies, Pretties, Specials

Yay for more young adult literature! I've been focusing on my list of 100 (reviews of Brideshead Rivisited and The Sound and the Fury coming soon), that a much needed young adult lit break was in order.  I not only honestly enjoy reading many books delegated to the "YA" section of the library, but I can whip through them pretty fast- it feels good to accomplish something with finality!

I picked up the first book in the Uglies trilogy when I was visiting with my cousin Beth while I was in Jackson for India's wedding.  Beth's roommate had the books, so I just started reading Uglies one night.  It's a futuristic novel, sort of a 1984 or Brave New World for younger crowds.  I'm not normally a fan of science fiction/fantasy/futuristic 'warnings', but I thought the concepts presented in the story were quite interesting.

The series takes place approximately three hundred years in the future, after the demise of present-day civilization.  The people living in this new civilization refer to the 20th and 21st as the 'Rusty era', a time which was characterized by violence and war, people plagued with diseases and sicknesses, obsession of power and money, and hatred toward anything different than oneself.  Eventually, the Rusty civilization destroyed itself (through biological warfare) and a new civilization emerged.

This new civilization creates a new method of classifying and separating people into specific groups.  Children reside with their parents in Crumblyville until a certain age and are then sent to live in Uglyville, which is essentially a form of boarding school.  Once a child turns sixteen years old, he or she has an operation which makes them physically beautiful (flawless skin, large eyes, perfect symmetry, etc).  These 'new pretties' then move to the New Pretty Town, just across the river from Uglyville.  The theory is that the operation is the great equalizer; not everyone is made to be identical, but they are made to the same standard.  Therefore, new pretties would have no reason to be jealous of one another, no reason to need to try to make a difference in the world.  They just be.  And they get to lead a fun-filled life- parties, pleasure, and absolutely no responsbility.  They don't have a care in the world.

But despite appearances, there are those who don't want to be made pretty; rumors abound about a group of people living in the wild, avoiding the authorities of both Uglyville and New Pretty Town, and living on their own- without the operation and without all of the technology.  The trilogy follows Tally Youngblood as she yearns for her sixteenth birthday; she wants to join her best friend in New Pretty Town, and she is counting down the days to her operation.  But a few days before she is to be made pretty, she meets a new friend who changes everything.  It's an story full of adventure, betrayal, forgiveness, and ultimately, a coming-of-age tale for the world.  If you think about the series, the author worked some pretty deep and important themes into the books; through the characters, he is able to offer a brutally honest assessment of our society, our values, and our direction. I enjoyed the series; it takes a while to grow accustomed to the writing style, but I'm just chalking that up to the fact that I'm not a teenage anymore.  

Bonus: Isaac thinks the covers of the books are hilarious.  While I was finishing up Uglies, he decided to play photographer and stage a photo of me reading.  See his work below: