Carlee Hallman (Children's Literature)
In this sci-fi allegory, normal-looking people are called “uglies.” Tally looks forward to her 16th birthday, after which she can have the operation which will make her a “pretty.” Her boyfriend had the operation a short time before which allows him to live in another city where only pretties can live and where pretties party from morning till night. Then Tally meets a girlfriend who is looking for another life-style. As Tally follows this friend to an outpost of rugged outdoor living, she begins to see things differently and learns a disturbing truth about the “pretty” operation. A new boyfriend adds interest. Which lifestyle Tally will choose and which side she will betray, is not completely clear at the end of the book which leads to a sequel. Surprising plot twists and dangerous circumstances keep the reader guessing. 2005, Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, $6.99. Ages 12 to 16.

Deborah Taylor (Children's Literature)
Tally is about to turn sixteen--the most important birthday in her life. It is at age sixteen that residents of Uglyville cross over into New Pretty Town and their unattractive physical attributes are replaced to make them drop-dead gorgeous. Just before she is about to have her operations, Tally meets Shay, another Uglie about to reach the magic age of sixteen. However Shay is different; she is not convinced that being ugly is all that bad. Shay ultimately decides to run away and join a group of renegades who are resisting the authorities, leaving Tally to await her operations. Unfortunately, the authorities suspect Tally of assisting Shay’s defection and refuse her operation until she betrays her friend. Author Scott Westerfeld has created a thought-provoking science fiction novel that begs to be discussed. 2005, Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster, $6.99. Ages 14 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2006)
Given the opportunity, who wouldn’t choose to be pretty? In this future society, surgery at age sixteen makes everyone attractive, eliminating privilege and bias based on physical appearance. Fifteen-year-old Tally can’t wait for her upcoming transformation, and the accompanying move to New Pretty Town where she can join a recently pretty-fied friend and indulge in nonstop partying. When Shay, another “Ugly,” tries to convince Tally to bypass the surgery and join up with the radical few— “Crims”—who live an alternative lifestyle in a wilderness community, she’s initially horrified at the idea. It slowly gains appeal, especially after Tally begins to question the governmental motives behind the enforced surgeries. When she uncovers the shocking conspiracy about surgical effects, which go far deeper than outward appearance, Tally is determined to continue life as an Ugly. But after unwittingly betraying her new friends, Tally vows to make amends in the only possible way: turning herself in, having the surgery, and testing the effects of an illegal new drug designed to reverse the surgery’s more sinister effects. The cliffhanger ending of Uglies is picked up in Pretties, book two of the intended trilogy, in which newly-beautiful Tally remembers nothing of her recent life as a fugitive Ugly. A small spark of discomfort with the shallow and decadent Pretty lifestyle gradually gains momentum, and triggers Tally to fight to regain her personality and drive. Hoping to re-establish her credibility with the Crims, Tally takes dangerous risks. An unexpected plot twist leaves Tally having to reevaluate, once again, all that she believed true. Loads of action, a little romance, and provocative questions about the value of individual differences and the emphasis on beauty in today’s culture all combine in this irresistible teen series. CCBC Category: Fiction for Young Adults. 2005, Simon Pulse, 425 pages, $6.99. Ages 13-16.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 4))
With a beginning and ending that pack hefty punches, this introduction to a dystopic future promises an exciting series. Tally is almost 16 and breathlessly eager: On her birthday, like everyone else, she'll undergo extensive surgery to become a Pretty. She's only known life as an Ugly (everyone's considered hideous before surgery), whereas after she "turns," she'll have the huge eyes, perfect skin, and new bone structure that biology and evolution have determined to be objectively beautiful. New Pretties party all day long. But when friend Shay escapes to join a possibly mythical band of outsiders avoiding surgery, Tally follows-not from choice but because the secret police force her. Tally inflicts betrayal after betrayal, which dominates the theme for the midsection; by the end, the nature of this dystopia is front and center and Tally-trying to set things right-takes a stunning leap of faith. Some heavy-handedness, but the awesome ending thrills with potential. 2005, Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster, 448p. Category: Science fiction. Ages 13 up. Starred Review. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Samantha Musher (KLIATT Review, March 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 2))
Tally is a perfectly normal girl. She goofs off with her Uglyville friends and longs for her 16th birthday, when she'll have the operation that will make her pretty--perfectly beautiful, like all adults in her society. Then she can move to New Pretty Town and party all the time. But her new friend Shay isn't so sure about the operation. Shay would rather keep her own ugly face. So she runs away to Smoke, a legendary settlement outside the city, where there are no pretties and everyone has to work the land to survive. The city authorities want to find and destroy Smoke, so they give Tally a choice: follow Shay, find Smoke, and give away its location to them...or never turn pretty at all. This book, the first in a trilogy, asks engaging questions about the meaning of beauty, individuality, and betrayal. Highly recommended for SF fans or anyone who likes a good, thoughtful adventure. Category: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror. KLIATT Codes: JSA*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2005, Simon & Schuster, Pulse, 426p., $6.99. Ages 12 to adult.

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 6))
Tally is an ugly, waiting eagerly for her sixteenth birthday, when surgery will make her into a Pretty and she can join her old friend Peris in the life of the beautiful in New Pretty Town. In the meantime, she revels in hoverboarding and pulling tricks with her rebellious friend, Shay, who doesn’t share Tally’s anticipation for joining the Pretty world. When Shay runs away to join dissidents outside the city, Tally is blackmailed by the city’s Special Circumstances unit into following Shay and uncovering the location of the antiestablishment rebels, a task that becomes more difficult when Tally’s sympathies begin to skew toward the rebels, especially their charismatic leader, David. While some of the details of the novelistic world are unclear (why did society come up with age-connected tiers of prettiness, and are the Special Circumstances people deliberately formed to look frightening?) and some elements seem driven by didacticism, there’s an innate fascination to the concept of equality through universal beauty. Westerfeld has backed up his created culture with sufficient anthropological grounding for credibility (“The big eyes and lips said: I’m young and vulnerable, I can’t hurt you, and you want to protect me. And the rest said: I’m healthy, I won’t make you sick”), and the usual pleasures are present in the classic combat between the dark authoritarian underside of apparent utopia and the outsiders whose greater understanding threatens the protected world. The book plays to full effect Tally’s shifting loyalties and her later secret guilt (the rebels don’t know that she is the one who, unwittingly, brought the authorities down upon them), and it keeps the stakes high by meting out hard fates to likable characters. Readers’ curiosity will be further piqued by the open ending, and that plus the morality of Tally’s world will be sure to engender plenty of discussion and enjoyment for fans of futuristic fiction. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Simon Pulse, 448p, $6.99. Grades 6-10.

Merideth Jenson-Benjamin (VOYA, June 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 2))
In a future utopia, everyone is made beautiful on her sixteenth birthday. Tally dreams of being a "Pretty," and waiting for the surgery is difficult until she meets fellow "Ugly" Shay. The girls share a love of pranks but argue about becoming pretty. When Shay runs away to avoid the surgery, she leaves directions for Tally to follow. Shay's defection is noticed, and Tally is given a choice: Lead the authorities to the Smoke, a community of Uglies, or remain Ugly forever. Tally leaves to find Shay, who she fears is in trouble. Upon arriving in the Smoke, she is surprised by the primitive lifestyle, but comes to understand the runaways with the help of David, a charismatic young man who reveals a horrible secret about the Pretties. Tally decides to remain in the Smoke, but her actions trigger a series of catastrophic events. This book is quite long and has little payoff. Westerfield sets up an intriguing premise, but the story loses momentum describing Shay and Tally's lives as Uglies, Tally's wilderness trek, and the society in the Smoke, making the narrative frustratingly heavy with detail. There are few surprises, as all major plot points are telegraphed long before they actually happen. Westerfield creates compelling characters and gives them credible reasons for their actions. The book cuts off at a key point, indicating a sequel. Fans of Lois Lowry's The Giver (Houghton, 1993/VOYA August 1993) or Sonia Levitin's The Cure (Silver Whistle/Harcourt, 1999/VOYA June 1999) might enjoy this title, but its length and slow pace will frustrate casual readers. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P J S (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Simon Pulse/S & S, 448p., $6.99 pb. Ages 12 to 18.