Review: Uglies

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies is a book I’ve heard a lot about, leaving me curious about the series. Although I was curious, I was also wary. My sister read the first book in the series and did not enjoy it, opting not to continue, and I was fearful I would feel the same. After reading it, I understand her feelings.

The premise behind Uglies is wonderful, allowing for many interesting things to be discussed throughout. It could have been a very deep book, one that looked at so many different things, yet the book fell flat for me. It touched very few of the ideas I’d expected, never going as deep as I’d hoped, and I found myself disappointed in the end. I wanted much more from this one and am unsure about whether I will continue.

It wasn’t just the lack of depth that left me disappointed, there were other things that made this one difficult to get through. I could not connect with the main character, and the side characters also annoyed me. The pace of the story felt all over the place, with there being times when it felt like it was dragging and then times when everything happened at once.

Overall, the Uglies series has potential, but this first book has me unsure whether the potential will ever be reached.

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