lit. letter 11

Uglies

 Author: Scott Westerfeld

               I seriously hate stories with unsatisfying endings. Uglies was going great with its perfect actions, scenes, plots and characters. If only the ending was perfect as the story was, I truly think it would have been super popular. 
               The story was basically about kids who were taught to think that they’re ugly until they turn sixteen and use surgery to become beautiful. The main character, Tally, was one of the ones who dreamt of becoming a gorgeous person by the surgery. However, when one of her friends runs away, Tally is given a choice of becoming pretty by turning her friend in or staying ugly for the rest of her life. Desperately, she chooses the first choice, and travels as a spy to find her friend and turn her in. 
              When she locates her friend though, she learns a lot about living a real life. She was one of the few who actually got to know the real truth behind becoming a pretty; not only do the surgeons turn you pretty physically, but also mentally. The doctors transfer lesions, abnormal, cancerous cells, into one’s brain, causing brain damage. Tally’s lifetime dream becomes a nightmare. However, when one of her friends is forcefully turned into a pretty, that’s when a cure to the lesions is found. Since the pretties were not willing to test the medicine on themselves, Tally decides to take the risk of going through the surgery to become a pretty to be used as an experiment for the medicine. And the story ends there.
              I was so curious about what would’ve truly occurred later on, but the story sadly concluded at the part where the readers climax was in the sky. I must say, however, Tally was a rare, brave person. I’m not sure if I would have her nerves at the time.

             I really liked the part where Tally went through some magazines discovering famous people and models while she thought of them as ‘ugly’! This part can be good for any one who thinks that models are one of the best things that happened to the world. The way she described them as anorexics and bulimics in her definition would convince quite a number of people of the real lives of models.
            It was funny the way she thought of them as ugly though. Most people would worship any celebrity no matter how ugly. I actually kind of thought she was influenced not only by the pretty people in the “New Pretty Town”, but perhaps also the stereotypes shown in media.
               I was a bit confused about the time of the story. Though everything seemed advanced because of the hover-boards and the use of plastic surgeries, the way Tally’s character was blank about objects such as ‘Barbie’ or ‘roller coaster’ and the fact that she didn’t know how to write seemed as though she was illiterate. Or perhaps, all the kids under sixteen weren’t educated as on purpose. It was actually sad the way they were brainwashed into thinking that children under sixteen are ugly.

               As the book was good to read anyway, I would’ve given it an A, but as its ending was so unappealing, I’m settling with a B+.

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