Uglies
Scott Westerfeld, 2005
Science fiction Young adultFantasyContemporary fiction
A future city gives everyone beauty surgery at sixteen—and Tally starts asking what gets removed along with the flaws.
Feels like curiosity, unease and defiance. About identity, society and freedom.
A page from the book
Every civilisation leans on one thing. What happens when it is taken away?
Maybe they didn’t want you to realize that every civilization has its weakness. There’s always one thing we depend on. And if someone takes it away all that’s left is some story in a history class. Scott Westerfeld.Uglies appeared in 2005, three years before The Hunger Games, and helped turn YA dystopia into a shelf of its own.
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Questions readers ask
- What is Uglies like?
- Feels like curiosity, unease and defiance. About identity, society and freedom.
- What should I read after Uglies?
- If you liked Uglies, try The Will of the Many (James Islington), One of Us Is Lying (Karen M. McManus) and Prodigy (Marie Lu).
A taste of the feed
Every fair system needs an impartial judge, and every judge is a person.
A fair system only works if there’s an unbiased means of assessing merit. When there is no pride or selfishness involved.” He gives a soft snort, shaking his head. “Which means that fair systems cannot exist where people are involved.
The Will of the Many · James Islington
What a parent’s ambition feels like from inside the child.
My hand hurts within minutes. It’s pathetic, I guess, but I can’t remember the last time I wrote anything longhand. Plus I’m using my right hand, which never feels natural no matter how many years I’ve done it. My father insisted I learn to write right-handed in second grade after he first saw me pitch. Your left arm’s gold, he told me. Don’t waste it on crap that don’t matter. Which is anything but pitching as far as he’s concerned.
One of Us Is Lying · Karen M. McManus
When the primal needs of survival turn against your own humanity.
But being hungry was worse. Being hungry meant that he could smell things he didn’t want to smell—salt on skin; the overripe, sweet smell of blood exuding from the pores of strangers. It made him feel hungry and twisted up and utterly wrong. Hunching over, he jammed his fists into the pockets of his jacket and tried to breathe through his mouth.
City of Fallen Angels · Cassandra Clare
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