The Uglies - Scott Westerfeld

I saw several of my students this past year reading this series (The Uglies, The Pretties and The Specials), when I found this book used I decided to pick it up. I find it good to read some of the books that my students are choosing to read for fun - as a way for me to understand what they are interested in as well as potential fodder for conversations.

I can't think of a book off had to compare this to, but I am sure that as a younger teenager I read many books along the general theme - kids rebelling against society, some element of absent parents and the making on their own in the wild.

I thought it was an interesting twist on the theme - the idea of seemingly removing strife from society by making everyone pretty as well as the question of what makes someone pretty - not a bad theme for an adolescent.

If I get a chance I will pick up the other books in this series. I plan on putting this one on my book cart in my classroom.