The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Current Mitunes - "The Bend and Snap" from Legally Blonde The Musical (I hope the irony is appreciated)

The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Post Apocalyptic/ Dystopian YA (12 & up according to Amazon.com)

Release Date: February 8th, 2005

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 448

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.


But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. 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 the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.


A friend of mine recommended I read this after expressing my enjoyment of The Hunger Games Trilogy. When I started reading it, I must admit I found it rather slow. I can't really put my finger on what I didn't like, it just felt slow. The story didn't really start to take shape until a quarter of the way into the novel, when Shay leaves and Tally is faced with the ultimatum of turning her friend in or never seeing the 'pretty' face she has dreamed of having for so long.

At first I feared the book lent itself to becoming too preachy. As one can imagine a lot of the book delves into this idea of uniformity by means of making everyone basically look the same in an ideological 'pretty' form; with perfect symmetry of the body and face. It had a 'damn society' sort of feel. However, as the plot unfolded, the preachiness faded and the story became more about Tally's struggle, not only to find her friend by means of a cryptic message, but also her feelings on when she finally found her in this camp known as the Smoke. (A secret society that lends itself to feeling like 'The Others' on the island in Lost.)

At completion of the book I can say that I did enjoy it, especially for a dystopian novel that has an extra oomph to its tale. It's anti-establishment, anti-war and pro-individuality all wrapped in one. Not sure if I am going to continue with the series just yet, but you never know. I may feel the need to find out what happens to Tally and her band of rebels sometime in the future.

Gregor The Overlander by Suzanne Collins

Current MiTunes - "Valerie" from Dario Marianelli's V for Vendetta

Gregor The Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Genre: Middle grade/ Fantasy
Release Date: August 1, 2004
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 308


When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it -- until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.


I received this book as a Christmas present (SCORE!), which I'm assuming was given to me due to my love of the Hunger Games Trilogy. 

Though the plot wasn't as intriguing as the Hunger Games, I enjoyed it. It's a sweet, simple story about a boy living in New York City who stumbles down a vent in his basement laundry room. When he discovers that his missing father is a captive of a race of villainous rats he and his baby sister set out , accompanied by several critters, to fulfill a prophecy before war destroys the Underland.

This novel was an enjoyable and quick read. The story is reminiscent of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which is intentional. Collins' idea was inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic with the twist being that Underland is somewhat more realistic to what one may expect to find hidden underneath a massive city like New York. (ie; rats, cockroaches and bats) Honestly the critters used in the story didn't really bother me, yes they talked, but Collins gave them each a distinctive voice which I enjoyed and appreciated.

Gregor is a great hero for boys. He is sensitive without being too difficult to empathize with. (He doesn't moan on about his missing father to the point where you no longer care, which I appreciated) What I also enjoyed is that he doesn't want to be a hero. In fact, he would prefer to get home, but discovering his father is alive brings out the burning desire to be reunited with him. His baby sister was cute and added a fun quality to this type of quest tale.

Over all I would definitely recommend this for someone looking for a great book for middle grade boys to read. There is nothing overly gruesome or graphic, even though it is a tale of war, and there are some very entertaining passages as well.