“In a world of extreme beauty, anyone normal is ugly.”

Bought “Uglies” and “Pretties” on Saturday for AUD$9.95 each. Finished reading “Uglies” Sunday night.

You know the book’s basic premise from my earlier post about it: which is that a dystopian future has deemed it logical and beneficial that everyone is “pretty” such that a completely egalitarian society can be achieved; and that the system mandates compulsory and extreme plastic surgery at the age of 16.

The themes running through the story:

  • environmental destruction
  • prejudices based on physical appearances
  • good intentions gone wrong
  • the suppression of the individual for the good of society
  • the promise of material and social comfort in exchange for docile conformity

Themes which are very contemporary, which makes this such a great read. Looking forward to reading “Pretties” and for “Specials“, the third book of the trilogy to be available in Australia.

Added 8:13am
CW pointed me to Scott Westerfield’s blog, damn she’s quick. She’s a librarian afterall. Heh. Thanks! :)

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