Lately I’ve been reading an awful lot of dystopian fiction, and something that always astounds me is how they’re all so different. Land is about global warming and the oceans rising; 1984 is about a society with no secrets; Uglies is about a world dominated by plastic surgery. There are so many out there that it’s impossible to read the same thing in two different books. In a genre where the only limit is what the author believes could happen, the possibilities are endless-and it shows. I can pick up two books from a pile of dystopia, and never know what to expect! It can include anything and everything-which it sometimes does-and for me at least, that’s what attracts me to it so much.

Anyway.

Now that I’ve got my little tribute to the genre out of the way, I’ll get on to my review of the book. Uglies was fascinating. That’s all there is to it. Well…Obviously there’s a little more than that, but that’s the basics, and I can’t just write one sentence so I’ll expand. The idea of a world dominated by beauty actually isn’t a far off prospect. Already plastic surgery is fairly widely accepted in society and beauty is already valued highly, so really all it would take would be one person with a ‘brilliant idea’ and a whole load of other people who clearly haven’t read this equally brilliant series of books. Ulgies, Pretties and Specials combine all the best of dystopian fiction. Tracking, isolated city systems, a subject that can be pretty taboo—this series has it all! Add to this an incredible plotline and superb characters and you have what is potentially one of the best novels of any genre that I have ever had the pleasure and privilege of reading.

A conclusion

Overall I found Uglies a sensational read with a slightly chilling link to the world as we now know it, which only made it better that it already was. I recommend this to anyone and everyone as that can only be who it is aimed at.