Uglies #3

I actually finished the book "Uglies" in about three days, so I have moved onto "Pretties", the second book in the series that is also by Scott Westerfeld and came out in 2005. Because the books are both in the same series, I am going to count them as one book and blog about both.

In "Pretties," Tally, the main character, is finally turned pretty. We learned in "Uglies" that when someone gets the operation that turns people pretty, brain lesions that cloud thinking come along with it. Tally and her friends try out a cure, created by an ex-doctor that is part of the rebellion against pretty society, that hopefully erases the problematic brain scars. This book is so easy to read, maybe too easy. I found it in the Teen section at the book store, which usually has books centered towards younger teenagers, so the books are usually not that good. The plot is enticing but lacks depth, I think. The author should be emphasizing his story's plausibility for the future of our society. I think his books condemns our fixation on beauty and how that obsession can lead to a society where beauty is the only thing that matters, but it is kind of hard to tell. Instead of driving this point home, the author doesn't really mention it at all. Although he frequently refers to the "Rusties," a nickname for our current society, and how we nearly destroyed Earth with all of our pollutants, he never explains how society become the way it is in the book; how our obsession with beauty today sparked the creation of a society where beauty is the sole desire. It would have been a great opportunity to directly condemn our current society. I think it is because this books is aimed towards younger people, people who may not care so much about the societal implications of the book, and only want the juicy storyline. I wish this book was written as a more adult book; the whole story line is a great idea and is very imaginative, but I wish it had more implications about our present-day society.