Title: Uglies
Series: Uglies, book 1
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publisher: Recorded Books
Narrator: Carine Montbertrand
Duration: 12 hours, 19 minutes
Copyright: 2006
Genres: science fiction, action, young adult
Filed in: Audiobook reviews
THE GIST: World peace at last! The governments of the world have finally come together and discovered that the underlying basis for all tension and friction between human beings is nothing more than physical appearance. So, at the age of 16, everybody gets an operation. Facial structure, height, and weight are all adjusted to fit everyone within the acceptable parameters. The world has become a utopia where everything is beautiful, perfect, and conflict-free.
Tally Youngblood has been waiting all her life to turn pretty, and she assumes that her new friend, shay, has too. But Shay has other ideas. Shay likes the way she looks and doesn't want to be changed. There are rumors of a settlement, called the Smoke, somewhere out in the wild where people like Shay are gathering, and Shay wants to join them. Unable to talk Tally into coming with her, Shay runs off alone the week before her 16th birthday.
Without meaning to, Shay gets Tally in trouble by running away. The Special Circumstances agency wants Tally to follow Shay to the Smoke, using Shay's hand-written clues that only Tally can decipher. If Tally doesn't help, she doesn't turn pretty. Tally finally agrees, but when she arrives at the Smoke, her whole world begins to turn upside-down.
The Smokies reveal to Tally the true nature of the ‘pretty operation.’ As it turns out, they don’t just change your appearance, they literally change your mind. Aggressive tendencies are removed leaving the subject passive and compliant. Now Tally must decide whether to activate the beacon that will lead Special Circumstances to the Smoke, or to join the Smokies in their fight to reveal the truth to everyone.
MY THOUGHTS: First of all, I should tell you that I found "Uglies" in the teen section of the library. I had been through most of the CD audio books in the adult section that looked good to me. They still had a lot of audio books on tape, but who has a tape player these days?
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with this first audio book of the ‘Uglies’ trilogy. Scott Westerfeld has created a futuristic world that is both complete and believable. Okay, the hover-cars an voice activated elevators are almost cliché, but Westerfeld shows a certain amount of creativity with things like chewable toothbrush tablets, and roving drum machines that incite parades and parties everywhere they go through the streets of New Prettytown. Also, I think the social issues Westerfeld takes on here are important for young and old readers alike. Scott Westerfeld is a good writer, and he puts in just enough action and adventure to keep the story flowing.
NARRATOR: Carine Montbertrand is a good audio book reader. She’s no master of voices, but she does manage to create different personas for the major characters, although many of the boy characters sound similar. All-in-all, I enjoyed her narration of "Uglies."
FINAL WORD: “Uglies” is a nice bit of science fiction. More importantly, I think it has some important lessons about being happy with who you are, and not what you look like. Scott Westerfeld also touches briefly on the importance of preserving the environment. “Uglies” is a fun audio book, I think you’ll enjoy it.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
“Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld
“Pretties" by Scott Westerfeld
“Specials” by Scott Westerfeld
“Extras” by Scott Westerfeld
If you liked this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get "Uglies", The Collector's Set: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras from Amazon.com
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audio book.
Audio book review by Steven Brandt
Come back soon for more audiobook reviews from Audiobook-Heaven
Benning has a YA (young adult) book in the works. And I think you'd love his characters and the sci-fi appeal. He likes to read these books to give him the up-and-up on teen novels.
ReplyDeleteI'm the type to over-analyze so I won't go there. This sounds like a plausible tale that teens will drink right up. You know, with the age of Pretty upon us and all. :-)
Does it come close to the Maximum Ride appeal?
::curious:::
Ooooh this sounds really fun!!! I tend to really like books written for teens. They don't freak me out like adult books. The premise reminds me of that one movie, where everyone had to be perfect, and they had finger print scanners. I cna't remember the movie haha!
ReplyDeleteWell, I just downloaded this for my trip. I knew I needed a few books and looked at my recommended books blogs but I kept thinking about this one. I had an iTunes gift card and had gotten a ten dollar book, so I was able to get Uglies for half off using the rest of my gift card. I wouldn't have known about it if it weren't for your review! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHope you like it! Let me know what you think.
ReplyDeleteWell, it just ended. Just like that. Ended. So now I'm downloading 'Pretties' lol. Have to say I'm hooked. I had started it on the way to school but switched to 'Duma Key' because it was easier to find my place when I lost it. I definitely loved this, and can't wait for 'Pretties' which should be downloaded any time now ;)
ReplyDeleteYea, the books in this series don't stand alone very well. Glad you liked it, though!
ReplyDelete