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This arc of Scott Westerfeld's UGLIES trilogy follows the high-tech adventures of Tally Youngblood. As an ugly, then a pretty, and finally a special, Tally works to take down a society created to function with perfect-looking people who never have a chance to think for themselves.
Scott Westerfeld's teen novels include the Uglies series, the Midnighters trilogy, The Last Days, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and the sequel to Peeps. Scott was born in Texas, and alternates summers between Sydney, Australia, and New York City.
Uglies/Pretties/Specials
by Scott Westerfeld
About the Books
Living in a future where sixteen-year-olds are surgically transformed from "uglies" to "pretties," Tally Youngblood struggles with a choice: to become beautiful and content forever, or to leave the world she knows and keep her own face. Tally's decisions bring her to both locations as well as others she'd never dreamed of, but they also get her in and out of trouble, and force her to grow and change and learn. Westerfeld's books have won many nominations and awards as well as a huge fan following of teens everywhere. Uglies was named a 2006 Best Book for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association.
Discussion Topics
On your sixteenth birthday, how would you feel about being forced to have the surgery to become pretty? Would you feel like Tally — looking forward to being beautiful and bubbly — or like Shay — wanting to escape the surgery and stay ugly, but remain herself? If your best friend asked you to not have the surgery, what do think you would have chosen to do?
What elements of the Smoke remind you of a camping trip you've taken or one you've seen on TV or in a movie? What advice would you give the Smokies about living in the wild?
Tally has three important guys in her life: Peris, David and Zane. How does her relationship with each of the three effect her decisions at different points in the story? Which of the three do you think made the greatest impact on Tally?
Compare Tally's society with our society today. What are the similarities between Dr. Cable's controls and our owngovernment? Just as Tally and her friends were brought up learning about the failure of the Rusties' society, what lessons can be learned from the future portrayed in the series?
The author created new worlds, new technology and new language for the books. Which location — New Pretty Town, the Smoke, or Diego — would you want to make your home? Which of Tally's futuristic possessions — a hoverboard, a sneak suit, SpagBol — would you like to own? What were your favorite slang words in the series?
What do you think was the pivotal point in each of the three books? What would you change about them?
What are Tally's strongest assets and her tragic flaws? What about Shay? David? Zane?
Is Dr.Cable a protagonist or an antagonist? At what points in the series does she seem more good than evil or more evil than good? Does she have the best interests of the people of Pretty Town at heart or is she simply trying to gain power and prestige?
If the Uglies series was made into a movie, who would you cast to play the part of Tally? Shay? David? Zane? Peris? Dr. Cable? Where in the world do you think it should be filmed? Who would be the best director for this project?
Who was your favorite character in the series? How did you feel about how they ended up at the end of Specials? Which character do you think is the most like you or your friends?
Imagine that David decided to live in the city of Diego. What challenges would he face there, having grown up in the wild? What would a day in the life of David in Diego be like? Do you think he'd get used to his new life, or decide to return to his old one?
Where do you see Tally two years after the end of Specials? How about Shay? Peris? What do you think Pretty Town and Diego would be like two years later?
Activities
Design your own hoverboard. First make a blueprint including what kinds of gadgets you would include in its secret compartments, then make a prototype using cardboard, paper towel rolls, markers, etc.
Act out a scene from one of the books. Assign parts to each participant and choose your favorite scene — maybe Tally's first trip to New Pretty Town to visit Peris, the invasion of the Smoke by Special Circumstances, or the destruction of the Armory.
Put a pretty spin on a sport (think about the suspended ice skating rink in Pretties) and come up with your own bubbly rules and regulations.
Put yourself in Dr. Cable's shoes. Take turns telling the Specials story from her point of view and include what you think her motives were behind her actions in the previous two books.
Design your own Smoke fashions, Diego surge or sneak suits. What materials found in the wild could you use to fit in at the Smoke? In Diego, would you have a snake for a pinky? How would you use your sneak suit in your everyday life?
Debate the benefits of Pretty Town versus the Smoke versus Diego. Form three teams — one pro-Diego, one pro-Smoke and one pro-Pretty Town — and discuss the positives and negatives of each.
Look at the covers of Uglies, Pretties and Specials. Then re-draw your own version of each of the covers highlighting your favorite scene from each book.
Scott Westerfeld's teen novels include the Uglies series, the Midnighters trilogy, The Last Days, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and the sequel to Peeps. Scott was born in Texas, and alternates summers between Sydney, Australia, and New York City.
Uglies/Pretties/Specials
by Scott Westerfeld
About the Books
Living in a future where sixteen-year-olds are surgically transformed from "uglies" to "pretties," Tally Youngblood struggles with a choice: to become beautiful and content forever, or to leave the world she knows and keep her own face. Tally's decisions bring her to both locations as well as others she'd never dreamed of, but they also get her in and out of trouble, and force her to grow and change and learn. Westerfeld's books have won many nominations and awards as well as a huge fan following of teens everywhere. Uglies was named a 2006 Best Book for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association.
Discussion Topics
On your sixteenth birthday, how would you feel about being forced to have the surgery to become pretty? Would you feel like Tally — looking forward to being beautiful and bubbly — or like Shay — wanting to escape the surgery and stay ugly, but remain herself? If your best friend asked you to not have the surgery, what do think you would have chosen to do?
What elements of the Smoke remind you of a camping trip you've taken or one you've seen on TV or in a movie? What advice would you give the Smokies about living in the wild?
Tally has three important guys in her life: Peris, David and Zane. How does her relationship with each of the three effect her decisions at different points in the story? Which of the three do you think made the greatest impact on Tally?
Compare Tally's society with our society today. What are the similarities between Dr. Cable's controls and our owngovernment? Just as Tally and her friends were brought up learning about the failure of the Rusties' society, what lessons can be learned from the future portrayed in the series?
The author created new worlds, new technology and new language for the books. Which location — New Pretty Town, the Smoke, or Diego — would you want to make your home? Which of Tally's futuristic possessions — a hoverboard, a sneak suit, SpagBol — would you like to own? What were your favorite slang words in the series?
What do you think was the pivotal point in each of the three books? What would you change about them?
What are Tally's strongest assets and her tragic flaws? What about Shay? David? Zane?
Is Dr.Cable a protagonist or an antagonist? At what points in the series does she seem more good than evil or more evil than good? Does she have the best interests of the people of Pretty Town at heart or is she simply trying to gain power and prestige?
If the Uglies series was made into a movie, who would you cast to play the part of Tally? Shay? David? Zane? Peris? Dr. Cable? Where in the world do you think it should be filmed? Who would be the best director for this project?
Who was your favorite character in the series? How did you feel about how they ended up at the end of Specials? Which character do you think is the most like you or your friends?
Imagine that David decided to live in the city of Diego. What challenges would he face there, having grown up in the wild? What would a day in the life of David in Diego be like? Do you think he'd get used to his new life, or decide to return to his old one?
Where do you see Tally two years after the end of Specials? How about Shay? Peris? What do you think Pretty Town and Diego would be like two years later?
Activities
Design your own hoverboard. First make a blueprint including what kinds of gadgets you would include in its secret compartments, then make a prototype using cardboard, paper towel rolls, markers, etc.
Act out a scene from one of the books. Assign parts to each participant and choose your favorite scene — maybe Tally's first trip to New Pretty Town to visit Peris, the invasion of the Smoke by Special Circumstances, or the destruction of the Armory.
Put a pretty spin on a sport (think about the suspended ice skating rink in Pretties) and come up with your own bubbly rules and regulations.
Put yourself in Dr. Cable's shoes. Take turns telling the Specials story from her point of view and include what you think her motives were behind her actions in the previous two books.
Design your own Smoke fashions, Diego surge or sneak suits. What materials found in the wild could you use to fit in at the Smoke? In Diego, would you have a snake for a pinky? How would you use your sneak suit in your everyday life?
Debate the benefits of Pretty Town versus the Smoke versus Diego. Form three teams — one pro-Diego, one pro-Smoke and one pro-Pretty Town — and discuss the positives and negatives of each.
Look at the covers of Uglies, Pretties and Specials. Then re-draw your own version of each of the covers highlighting your favorite scene from each book.
Nikki_08
Posted December 12, 2008
I Also Recommend:
All three books were just amazing!<BR/>You see Tally going thorugh all the stages of her life (Uglie, Pretty, and Special) and usually people are only uglie and pretty<BR/>and its so adventurous and exlirating<BR/>you get to feel that future-ness of the book.<BR/>Theres hoverboards, walls talking, walls shooting things out, and so much more!<BR/>I <3 these books and i would read them over and over again (:
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The series is well written, and a good sci-fi, yet closly realilistic story. The series is related to how the world we live in now is completely transformed into a futuristic and bubbly world, where people are programmed and categorized depending on age. The series is a quick read that has a good backbone to it. I would recommend this series.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 12, 2008
Scott Westerfeld completely changed my view and opinion of the world we live in through his outstanding series: Uglies. It takes an extremely creative mind to be able to come up with such an interesting futuristic society. Not only did he have to create new politic, economic, and social systems. He created new perspectives, labels, and language. Some of which have been added to my own personal diction and slang. Each of his books features a different version of Tally and each Tally gives a different point of view of the future. In Uglies, Tally was a victim of an unwanted responsibility. In Pretties, Tally was a rebel to the constraints of society. In Specials, Tally was an authority whose only goal was to keep society under constraints. And just when I thought I had seen all the possible perspectives and personas Tally had to offer, Westerfeld surprised me once again with the cold, short-tempered, Tally in Specials. This series also reinforces the idea of yin and yang because with all the benefits Tally¿s society gives, such as high end technology and less violence, it also takes away from the basic rights of humanity: such as freedom and the right of choice. It also shows how de-sensitized our society is to war and violence by portraying it as ¿brain-missing¿. All in all, Westerfeld¿s series, Uglies, is a lesson to be learned hidden behind the façade of a good read.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 21, 2009
This seris couldn't make me stop. Being transformed into pretties I loved it! A must read for teens!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 3, 2009
OMG this is the bestest series EVER i just LOVE it!
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.These books are soooo good! They're very very thought-provoking and it really makes you think about our world. I read pages from these books every night because that was when I found enough time to read them. I finished them in about 1-2 months. I extremely recommend them, and you won't regret reading them.
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Shrekypoo
Posted December 28, 2008
I Also Recommend:
Scott I one of the best writers i know! I stay up late in the night reading these books, and around 12am I have to force my slef to put the book down! I absolutely love this book and i totally recamend this book for younger teens and adults. You can see Tally going thourgh a outrageous life step by step! Play tricks, running away, getting into trouble with Special Circumstances as an Ugly. Taking dangerous pills, getting a cure, running to find the Smoke, sticking her hand in a Hot Air furnace to get a tracker off as a Pretty. Burning down the Armory, burning down a whole city, losing Zane-la, and cutting her self as a Special. Tally finds out life isn't going to get any easier as it is... it's only going to get harder. Tally has betray so many places, so many people... Shay, David, Cory, Maddy, Az...Now she has to fix it. But how will she do it? Go find out...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 5, 2008
Best series I have ever read!! That's saying something because I am always reading something!! I luv the action and conflict in these books, by the end of the first book I was in luv with david!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 22, 2008
uglies was the greatest book i have ever read in my life. i have never been a big fan of reading until now when i got to the end i was so dissapointed and now im dying for the next 4 books. im asking for all 4 of the books for my birthday!!!!
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 11, 2008
i read these books to my 5th grade class they loved it and now i am buying them for my daughter.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 13, 2008
In a world where when you turn 16 you get an operation that turns you into a pretty and if you can prove yourself special you get turned into a special. For Tally she goes through each stage in each book and in these books there are surprises and shockers. While going through these stages in her life she meets Shay and David as an ugly and later David as a pretty. Her world and life will never be the same again. Love the way Westerefeld writes and you can imagine herself with the characters and know them by each book. love this series and read for yourself to see what these three are all about.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 10, 2008
I loved this book.It really can teach you something about the era we live in.This book is very uplifting it showed me a couple of things while was reading it .I recommend it to any body who loves to read. this is a great story.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 16, 2008
These books are amazing. They're about a fictional utopia city, and in all three the journey of a girl named Tally continues inside and out of the utopia. In my opinion, it's impossible to read only one, because each book has a cliff-hanger ending. So getting this box set is probably not a bad idea. I love these books and would recommend them to any teens just looking for something good to read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 29, 2008
Uglies: This is the first book in the series. I think this book does a good job drawing you into the real life of the utopian community scott w. is trying to portray. Pretties: The second book, just as good as the first. I think this book was also really exciting, and a real page turner, it is showing you that even a perfect society has flaws.Specials:3rd book. really good i finished it in two days, a definate must read. It is very exciting and keeps you wanting to stay up just to read it. .. i havent got a hold of the specials yet, but i am sooo excited to read it i am positve it will be as good as the others. 3
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 8, 2008
These books are so outstanding. They really made me think about how our planet would be if we lived in a Pretty era. While reading these books I tried to put my self in Tally's shoes and see if i would make the same decisions as her. Tally is an inspiration to me. These books are so absolutely fun to read and totally bubbly-making.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 17, 2008
I LOVE THESE BOOKS! they are absolutely my favorite books!Once i started one i could not stop. i had to stay up really late one night to finish uglies.I definately recomend this book for someone who likes adventure books with a good plot. Scott Westerfield is a magnificent author and deserves the best book award!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 12, 2008
These are my favorite books ever. They have so many different genres in one.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 2, 2007
My friend recommended this series to me, and I was skeptical but I have to say, this is the best series I have ever read! Tally is an amazing character and it's just a perfect series full of action, humor, romance and probably alot of other things I can't think of right now.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The Uglies Series (Uglies, Pretties, and Specials) is a wonderful, adventure and futurist series that makes you long to be a part of their world, but also cringe at the thought of even witnessing the dirty secrets that lay beyond the cover. An ensnaring book that pulls you head first into the story!
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.SMR
Posted August 25, 2009
I Also Recommend:
These books were amazing. I could not put them down. I am in my 20's and still loved them. They really made you think about what could be. I love the terms, Rusties, uglies, pretties... It was great. If you read one you will be hooked, because the endings are cliff hangers!
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Overview
This arc of Scott Westerfeld's UGLIES trilogy follows the high-tech adventures of Tally Youngblood. As an ugly, then a pretty, and finally a special, Tally works to take down a society created to function with perfect-looking people who never have a chance to think for themselves.