The Uglies Trilogy

Summary: In this series (of which Uglies is the first book, Pretties is the second, and Specials is the third), Tally lives in a society where physical beauty is everything. In this society, everyone gets a surgery at age sixteen to make them beautiful, and then they are allowed to cross the river and live in a city full of “pretties.” Tally is excited for her sixteenth birthday and her surgery, but then she meets Shay, who shows her that the world of the pretties may not be such a great place after all.

We've now crossed over to YA territory. The series is about Tally Youngblood who lives in a society that makes everybody pretty on their 16th birthdays. Before that, teens are called uglies, and children littlies. Tally meets a girl named Shayla who tells her that there is a secret society of people who opted not to be made pretty, and that there might be some sinister stuff happening underneath all the symmetrical features and glittering parties on the Pretty side of the river.

There is a lot of adventure here – girls, at least before the change, are shown as intelligent and capable and athletic, able to figure out complex puzzles. Some of the messages lack subtlety, even for young adults, but the questions and issues raised are good ones. Is being gorgeous the most important thing? How pretty is pretty enough? Why are girls taught to look up to vapid girls with not a thought in their pointy heads? Would you betray someone to escape a life of being considered less-than-perfect?

The first book, Uglies, is the best one in my opinion, but it ends in a way that justifies a sequel. The sequel gives us a chance to go into the world of the Pretties, which I think most girls, even level-headed ones, would want to read about. We get an idea of just how deep the control is, but that even the Pretty people might not be all that happy, might understand there's something more. The Specials, while still well-written and gripping, seems a little like the author wanted Tally to try on all the hats. (The Specials are a secret group that exists to police the populace.)

In the words of Gaston in Beauty and The Beast: It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas, and thinking...