Galand Nuchols: March 2011

Friday, March 4, 2011

UGLIES and PRETTIES by Westerfeld

A young teenage friend recommended the following two books as excellent reads. Both are by Scott Westerfeld.

UGLIES

The first, Uglies, starts off slow, but the plot thickens, drawing the reader into a complicated social situation. Somehow, the earth's population has been convinced that all of societies problems are a result of people's desire to be beautiful. At age of sixteen, everyone automatically undergoes an operation that converts their natural shaped face and body into a prescribed "beautiful" image. Unbeknownst to the patient, the operation also changes their brain and way of thinking.

What happens if someone does not want the operation? Who controls all these bubbly, beautiful people? Can Tally escape the "Specials", those beautiful but cold hearted enforcers who control the artificial world in which both the Uglies and Pretties live? You must read UGLIES to find out.

PRETTIES

After reading UGLIES, I rushed to the library for a copy of PRETTIES. I had to find out if Tally could break the hold the "Specials" had on everybody. I was not disappointed in Westerfeld's masterful discription of a small but determined group of individuals bucking the system. But the cost of being different is high. It takes courage, cunning, and a strong will to survive in this world where beauty is the main goal of all but a few individual thinkers.

UGLIES
Teen to adult interests
ISBN-13:978-0-689-86538-1

PRETTIES
Teen to adult interests
ISBN-13:978-0-689-86539-8

Both books can be purhasd at your favorite book store or from Amazon.

Lovely Lies

Published in 2018: Beth, a young high school student, desperately wants to look and dress like her slender friends. Tavena, a special friend, accepts Beth as she is and encourages her to live up to her own expectations. Samael, a pimp, showers Beth with flattery and flowers. After gaining Beth’s trust, he and his head prostitute, Jaklyn, lure Beth into a coffee bar, then drug and kidnapped her. For days, lies and doctored brownies keep Beth in a confused state. Can Beth shake off the effects of the drugs and escape? Will the skeptical police move fast enough to rescue her? Will her friends dare challenge Samael’s possession of their friend?

The Depth of Snow

Published in 2020: In a small West Texas town, five Callie High School students face tests of love and loyalty as jealousy and heroin shake their world. Ross, known as Bulldog to the football crowd, feels entitled to passing grades. His history teacher has other ideas. Tish, a lovely young girl, is sure her boyfriend can overcome his addiction to heroin and meth. She remains loyal to him and his mother in spite of her own mother's threats and abuse. When her boyfriend's addiction roars out of control, the entire school feels the consequences. The survivors must deal with the results of the unknown depth of snow.

The Noose

Published 2017: Eddy and Scott, both with paranormal talants, discuss Scott's visions of a hangman's noose. Is the noose for one of them or someone else? Eddy and Scott plan a vacation with fishing and a family reunion, but fate has other plans for them. Daran's guilt is forcing him to extreme measures of restitution for poor choices made in the past. Alcohol cannot drive away the accusing faces. Can Azrael, the death angel, help him change? What is the secret that Daran hides and who is he afraid of?