4/25/2010
Per. 4-5
Dear Friends,
I recently finished reading the book The Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld. I would rate this book a full ten out of ten. I loved this book because it was so easy to relate to Tally Youngblood, the main character, even though her world, and our world are so different. In Tally's world, everyone is 'Ugly' until age sixteen. At sixteen years-old, the Operation will take place. The Operation morphs your features, changing nearly every aspect of how you look. After the Operation, you become a 'Pretty', but only a few know what will really happen during the Operation...
This book reminds me so much of The Giver by Lois Lowry.The government controls so many things in your life, even the things they don't realize are being controlled. In both these books, the main characters, Jonas and Tally, discover something that they have been missing out on their entire lives. This book also reminds me of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. It reminds me of Twilght, but only in one way. The way the author combines romance, action, and suspense, so they blend together perfectly. The Giver, Twilight, and The Uglies are all great books.
A quote that really struck me in this book (and another reason why it reminds me of the Giver) was: 'Perhaps the logical conclusion for everyone looking the same, is everyone thinking the same.' This quote really shows how much the government controls the citizens of Uglyville and New Pretty Town. I think their reason for being so controlling over how the citizens think is so they can keep their 'perfect' utopia without anyone revolting against them. If people thought differently, expressed their opinions, and looked different, then their utopia would come crashing down. Another thing about this quote that was interesting was how they make people look similar to make them think the same, but they also use another method to make everyone think the same. Brain lesions. During the Operation, doctors change how uglies think by giving them lesions. In the Giver, the workers know what they are doing people, (e.g. Releasing) but in the Uglies, doctors don't even know they are giving their patients the lesions. This quote mainly shows how much their government wanted to be in control of everything and still keep it a secret.
The futuristic setting in this society makes this book a lot more interesting. Learning about the technology they have in Uglyville and New Pretty Town is sometimes hard to follow, but it's super cool! They have hover boards, bungee jackets, and even hover cars! While I was reading this book, I stopped several times just to think, "What if we had this technology?". Technology/ Sci-fi genres are some of my least favorite to read but i enjoyed this book a lot, so even if it's not your favorite type of book either, try it out!(:
Sincerely,
Caity Borne(:
