The future utopian society/conspiracy theme is not really a new one, though it's one I've always enjoyed. Westerfeld adds an original twist to his version. In Uglies, everyone has an operation at the age of 16 to become astonishingly beautiful, or pretty. The theory behind it is that if everyone is beautiful, then no one can be prejudiced based on looks or skin color as the Rusties (i.e. us, our present day civilization) once did. You’ll find a lot of the same interesting commentary underlying throughout the series.

Tally Youngblood is a fifteen-year-old ugly who, like most of her peers, wants nothing more than to be pretty. When her friend Shay escapes to evade the operation and join a rebellion outside the city, the authorities give Tally an ultimatum. She must find and bring back Shay or she’ll never be pretty.

Reading is easy, fast-paced and action-packed with tons of hoverboard sequences and jumping off buildings in bungee jackets. These young adult books are geared toward a teenage audience but its appeal reaches adults too. I found the entire series exhilarating and a whole lot of fun!