Uglies by Scott Westerfeld was a fluke. It was a book that I had picked up largely based on the title alone. In an era where we outwardlytry so hard to not judge people for almost anything, a title like Uglies really jumps out at you. The first time I saw the book the title actually kind of made me mad. I didn’t check GoodReads for a rating, I didn’t look to see what my fellow bloggers had to say about it. I requested it from Paperbackswap and a few days after it arrived I started to read it.

Uglies starts out very slow. It took a little while for me to get into it. The first hundred or so pages lag hardcore. Once Uglies hits its pacing then I started to tear through the book. Tally goes through a lot in these 400 pages. Tally misses her friend and just wants to get on with her life. The last three months she has to wait seems to take forever for both Tally and the reader! Tally is the last of her group to turn pretty. It’s not until she meets Shay that her life finally starts to get a little interesting. Tally just didn’t realize how interesting it would get.

I think that the best part about this book is that we get to watch Tally grow as a person. In the beginning of the book all Tally wants is what her immediate future should hold. She doesn’t think of anything past New Pretty Town. It’s all she’s ever known and it’s not until Shay that she even begins to think about a life that isn’t what she’s been told. As the reader we discover along with Tally what lays outside those safe zones. Tally discovers a way of life that just a few short months ago, she never would have considered for herself.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t overly attached to any of the characters which is really unusual for me. The story line more than made up for it. I was also glad to see a main character who didn’t buckle and blame everything on someone else. Tally stood up and took responsibility. She is a kick ass heroine and while I may not love her, I do have to respect the hell out of her.