Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

I read this book last summer for my book club, but I just got the sequel, Pretties, on Paperback Swap. So, I decided to re-read Uglies to refresh my memory. Now that I've read it again, I'm not really sure why I did. I remember liking it the first time, but thinking that it was SO SLOW. The second time around was worse. It was such a struggle for me to get through this book this time, and as much as I would like to make good use of the credit I used on the sequel, I just can't bring myself to pick it up. If I have to read the word "bubbly" ONE MORE TIME.... ;)
 
Okay, now maybe I am being a bit too hard. I do like the concept for the book. I like the quote on the front cover of the book-- "In a world of extreme beauty, everyone normal is Ugly." It sums up the thoughts of every "Pretty" in the book. Basically, if you haven't had "the operation" you may as well wear a bag on your head--it'd draw less attention than your face.  I loved the Smoke, and I loved David, but I wish they had MORE of David and the Smoke. Maybe that's the problem-- Tally spends the first half of the book getting to the Smoke and then she's back in Uglyville/Pretty Town. :( Maybe I should read the next one...someday.