Tally Youngb
lood has only a few days remaining before her 16th birthday and the operation that will make her become pretty. Living in the darkness of Uglyville, she is not welcome in gleaming, torch-lit New Pretty Town across the river until she has the operation. Her good friend Peris is there, living in the Garbo Mansion with other new pretties, and much of her fun is to sneak across the river and visit him. Though the river is patrolled well to prevent the uglies from crossing, Tally knows of a secret way. Bolstering her confidence is the idea that new pretties are so inanely self-absorbed and “having so much fun to notice little things out of place” (8)Tally will get the same basic beautification package as everyone else in this dystopic science fiction novel set in a distant, post-industrial future. That idea pleases her, but then she meets Shay, who happens to have the same birthday as she does. Adept with a hoverboard (a flying skateboard relying on solar power and metal?) and not at all interested in becoming a pretty and letting the river confine her experience, Shay begins educating Tally on the need to be herself and not to become a pretty simply because that’s what everyone else does. She also pushes Tally beyond her limited experience of sneaking across the river and jealously admiring the pretties.
Through Shay, Westerfield plants the concept of something different in Tally. When she talks with Tally and later takes her to the abandoned town, readers are able to see social commentary on a number of levels. Shay does not want to be pretty and seems to prefer a time when people looked different from each other, even if there were different forms of discrimination. Later, the setting changes to contrast the clean, crisp and manmade New Pretty Town with the shattered buildings and rusted cars left behind long ago by the Rusties. Instead of blindly accepting what society presents, Shay longs for something more and is able to create questions for Tally.
When Shay points to the distant Smoke and tells of mysterious characters there led by the elusive David, Tally is hooked. If New Pretty Town symbolizes conformity, the ruins of the roller coaster represent the pages of history. The Smoke means rejecting all that she has been taught. At this early stage of the novel, Tally understands there is something beyond her experience. The only question is if she will turn her back on being pretty and go look for it. Will she have the nerve to explore a completely new way of being?
Dr. Cable, the middle pretty face of the government, answers the question for Tally. Once Shay disappears, the doctor is the evil antagonist who blackmails Tally into cooperating to find her friend. Tally must balance the difficult choice of being ugly forever if she does not cooperate with Dr. Cable with betraying her friend and allowing Special Circumstances the opportunity to destroy the Smoke and its inhabitants. Tally chooses betrayal. In the “victory” for Dr. Cable and the society she represents, Westerfield reminds readers that there is little room for individual thinking and that any rebellion must be stamped out, even if it is distant and isolated.
Tally’s dual personality drives the remainder of the story. She journeys to the Smoke, meets David, and learns the secret of the surgery to make people pretty from David’s parents, escaped plastic surgeons who performed many early operations and conducted research on them. In addition to being a love interest, David and those living in the Smoke complete Tally’s education. Where Westerfield described New Pretty Town as full of manmade people and buildings, the people in the Smoke must find and grow their own food and manufacture their own clothes. Tally learns about another part of life, another way of being and, betrayal or not, begins to understand it and become repulsed by the life she left.
At this point of the novel, the plot and characterization become predictable. Tally regrets what she has done and attempts to tell David a number of times of her betrayal. He seems to be so blinded by their budding love that he cannot listen, and whenever she tries to say something, she gets interrupted. Shay, naturally, gets jealous of Tally. Also, with paranoia rife in the Smoke, an outlaw society, how is it that people such as Croy and even David can suspect that Tally is not all she seems and still not do anything about it? How does Tally get so close to David so quickly? Finally, what about that remarkable luck she has in getting to the Smoke in the first place? Enough was made of the tracking device given to her earlier in the novel that her setting it off and bringing in the Special Circumstances thugs should surprise no one.
Once Tally has contributed to the demise of the Smoke, readers know that she will make things right by revealing her duplicity to David and emerging as a stronger character. Predictability aside, her eyes are open to new possibilities, and she sees that in order to change and stay true to herself, she must be willing to take action. Although her story does not end with a resolution, it “is highly readable with a convincing plot that incorporates futuristic technologies and a disturbing commentary on our current public policies” (Hunter). Through Tally, Westerfield reminds all readers of the need to think as individuals, be true to themselves, and keep their eyes open to the possibilities around them.
Reference List
Hunter, Susan W. 2005. Review of Uglies by Scott Westerfield. School Library Journal 51(3): 221. Library, Information Science & Technology (LISTA) database through TWU Library. Accessed 28 October 2011.
Review Excerpts
As in his So Yesterday, Westerfeld introduces thought-provoking issues, but readers may lose track of the plot while sorting the many messages about how the "Rusties" nearly destroyed the planet. (Publishers Weekly, March 21, 2005)
Teens will sink their teeth into the provocative questions about invasive technology, image-obsessed society, and the ethical quandaries of a mole-turned-ally. These elements, along with the obvious connections to reality programs such as Miami Slice, will surely cause this ingenious series debut to cement Westerfeld's reputation for high-concept YA fiction that has wide appeal. (Booklist, March 15, 2005)
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. (Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2005)
Awards & Recognition
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2006
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2005
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