Series Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2005-2007
Pages: 1,596
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Synopsis for Book 1, Uglies:

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. In just a few weeks she'll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.
But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world-- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever...

In short: It's a shame I didn't read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld a decade ago when the dystopian story elements wouldn't have seemed so derivative.

It's unfortunate that I waited so long to read this series, long after the dystopian craze has come and gone. Uglies has all the story elements that you want in a dystopian read: an intriguing yet disturbing world, a heroine that is engaging and has a long character arc, and some valid social commentary. And it had all these elements in place and published even before The Hunger Games blew up. But reading the Uglies series on the other side of the dystopian craze really did it no favours, unfortunately.

What I am sure would have seemed like a wholly original premise and storyline to me had I read Uglies in 2006 seemed anything but original reading it now ten years later. Instead I was almost bored at times because we've seen these same sorts of elements before SO many times, and I would say we've seen them done BETTER at this point. And things that wouldn't have annoyed me about Uglies ten years ago - like all the futuristic slang speak - annoyed the heck out of me now.

This is not the fault of Uglies or of Scott Westerfeld, I realize. The fault lies purely with me for waiting so long to read what I am sure would have been a favourite of mine ten years ago. Though I was bored and annoyed at times with the repetition of the dystopian story elements, I can at least appreciate that the Uglies series set the trend before the curve began. And I am glad to finally be able to remove this series from my TBR list where it has been sitting for the past decade. But I think I may need a longer break before I delve into another dystopian again!

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