Here are ten questions that I wrote to generate discussions about my book Uglies. Feel free to copy, adapt, distribute, and otherwise use these questions in any way you desire. (But it would be polite if you gave me credit.)
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
4. In what ways did Tally’s trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke?
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?
ok, I’m making my onw set of questions, PLEASE ANSWER! They aren’t exactly questions, what song do you think best describes each character, characters interaction or scene…
1. Ugly Tally
2. Pretty Peris (you never actually meet him ugly)
3.Ugly Shay
4. Shay & Tally meeting/hanging out
5.Dr. Cable
6. The trip to the Smoke
7. David
8. At the Smoke
9. David and Tally romancing
10. Learning about the leissons
11. Specials coming
12. angry Shay
13. breaking into Special Circumstances
14. Pretty Shay
15. Tally gets the operation
16. Pretty Tally
17. Pretty Fausto
18. Pretty life
19. Pretty Zane
20. Tally and Zane romancing
21. Tally and Zane taking the cure
22. Shay cutting
23. Escape
24. at the smoke
25. staying with Zane
26. Special Tally
27. Special Shay
28. Shay & Tally fight
29. Tally & Zane last kiss/rejected kiss
30. war
31. Zane dies
32. Tally runs off with David
33. Tally sees Zane as week.
I’m only doing the trilogy right now… if I forgot any post them and your opinion. Pick and choose or answer them all I don’t care! I’ll post my answers later! This will be interesting…
1. Yes I have actually. Only one but she was my BEST friend so it was hard when she stopped texting or calling me.
2. To be honest….yeah. Only at first though. I wanted to know how she would feel like. How she would think and if she would remember anything else. I wanted to read about her life as the popular girl with her popular boyfriend and perfect life because today theres hardly any people like that. It stopped when she met David and got to the Smoke, because I wanted her to be there and I liked the way they all treated her. It was interesting her being there and it made me want her to stay Ugly.
3. Saly yes. If the popular girls or guys wanted something that I have and they asked me for it I always give it to them. Even if i’m using it or need it. It’s like I’m hyptonized by there beauty when they’re just averge but the prettiest at my school….
4………
5. Um..this ones tricky. Life is hard and reading that makes me want to have a life like that but….when she was pretty if she couldn’t remember anything I would be fine. But knowing there was something else.That something was oh so terribly wrong…I think I would miss having my mind and like Tally do what I can to not be a bubblehead in the end. It would be cool, however, if you could look like a bubblehead but have a brain.
6. Tally felt that she was Ugly because she grew up in a world where you was caterorgized AS ugly. The world she lived in thought of things as minor as face symertry. David had not grown up that way so to him Tally was beautiful. He noticed what was insidde Tally more than what everyone said she was. Tally though she was ugly because everybody told her she was.
7. I honestly….think Shay wouldn’t. She kind of needed all those things to happen to make her who she was. It might of been hard but it everythign happend for a reason…
8. Sure! They’re designed not to get sick and to be very healthy so..yeah. Because we’re not that healthy or that beautiful so they might also get the best medicine if they did get sick (very unlikely..).
9. To me it’s kinda even. Because they made her pretty (even though she gave herself in..) and Shay made her special, they told Tally to go find Shay. But Tally decided she would stay special and she decided to stay in the Smoke and burn the tracker (backfired..), she “rewired” her self to not be a bubblehead.
10. We are VERY dependant on oil i believe. Without it cars wouldn’t run and we wouldn’t be able to transport food and things we need.
I LOVE THE UGLIES SERIES!!!! IT IS THE BEST SERIES I’VE EVER READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU SCOTT!!! :):):)
Hahaha!! True Ugly is funny!! đ
I LOVE this serie soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i really wish there was an epilogue on Specials tho…… i was so sad when Zane died but secretly i liked David more than Zane…… it was hard to choose tho cuz i LOVE them both…..i hope that David and Tally got back togrther in the end…. i’m ‘pretty’ sure they do tho….. (sorry about that totally lame pun….) Scot Westerfeld, YOU ROCK!!!!!!
sorry fo the typos,
*together
*Scott
I didn’t read your book, yet I get the interest to have a look someday.
Am I funny?
Can someone tell me if shay, david, and Zane are round characters or are they flat?
Define round characters?
this book was not very good, i think. i was kinda board with the smoke and stuff.
the secoodn book was alot beter
1. Yes and sometimes, it sucks because I miss them. But then again, we all have to move on.
2. At first, I wanted her to have the operation because, well, she wanted the operation. I found the halo effect quite a justifiable reason for the operation to come about. After all, if it will prevent war, then, I’m not against it. But when I found out about the lesions, that was when I didn’t want her to have the operation. Having those lesions meant that they changed you or curbed your thinking and I think that is definitely wrong. What’s the point of peace if everyone couldn’t decide for themselves that this is what they want. It’s literally forcing people to have peace.
3. Umm…I guess so. Some people just look more trustworthy than others. It’s not whether they are pretty or not but it was about them having a kind or trustworthy face.
4. The wild taught her about the truth of life and how life can be hard sometimes. The wild is harsh at times and beautiful at other times. In a way, it widened her horizon. So in the wild, she learnt that it was dangerous and things aren’t easy which is also true in smoke. The wild prepared her for a life in smoke
5. No matter what I will never give up my ability to think independently because it’s my thoughts that make me, me.
6. David saw not only Tally’s physical beauty but also her inner beauty. It is her inner beauty that made her even more beautiful. Whereas Tally only saw her physical features and compared it with what was known as “beautiful” and how she lacks it.
7. Despite their love-hate relationship, Shay would still want to meet Tally because at the end of the day, they are friends and they have more in common than they realize. It’s just that they always somehow end up in opposing ends.
8. To be honest, not much really except for the fact that the pretty in the pretty society have more advanced technology so they can enhance their health and their “prettiness”.
But our society is already have this idea of what is pretty and what is ugly and people strive to achieve it – be it with plastic surgery or dieting. And the only difference is that, here, in our society, there is still people that actually love the way they naturally look and not bother with what people think.
Plus, our society don’t have lesions.
9. There are certain decisions that Tally made on her own and these decisions are when she decides to challenge the authority. When she decide to NOT go with the flow.
And then, there are decisions that she was forced to make : betray smoke & become special.
10. We are the rusties. We depend heavily on oil to produce everything. If it really disappeared one day, our world will be chaotic because we depend on it heavily. We would have to change the way we live completely. Even though, now we are trying to be more eco-friendly and use less oil, but the dependence on oil is still very high. So yea.
hi Scott, I was wondering about the Uglies movie… you had said something about it in 2010 but nothing really since then… any info????????
I heard (it’s probably nt true, but it’s what i heard) that the Uglies movie was comming in November. I don’t believe that at all.
Is it true that there will be an Uglies movie because I found this
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986270/
Please reply
thes books are awsome i love them lol đ
I DONT THINK THAIR IS GOING TO BE A MOVE
i dont think thair is a move or is going to be one but it would be cool thogh :d
the site that says thair is going to be a move is wrong i think :C
good stuff:)
This is my absolute favorite series!!! Does Shay like Fausto?? or is she still in love with David? ***********Spoiler Alert**************
Why does Dr. Cable save Tally?Is It because she saved Dr. Cable?? When Shay gets cured, does she get mad at Tally again like she did when she was Ugly, Pretty, and Special?
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
Sadly yes, though the abandonment was more about a disagreement than the distance.
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
I hoped Tally would have the Pretty operation because she seemed unhappy with her flaws despite her growth in the Smoke, she still lacked self-confidence and had spent her life looking forward to the change. I was almost glad when she did have the operation even though her beauty was so costly.
I dreaded the moment Tally would have her Special operation as I didnât want her to become something she feared and despised. Although I reveled in the literary moment that she did, I pitied her, even more so that she didnât have this operation reversed.
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
Iâm afraid so. Although beauty is skin deep, itâs easy to overlook when the person isnât typically beautiful to look at.
4. In what ways did Tallyâs trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke?
Her trip taught her that there was more to life than being pretty and popular, that the world outside New Pretty Town was beautiful and non-artificial.
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
I should say no because itâs very fickle of me not to but personally I can think of worse things than the Pretty operation.
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
He saw her strength and determination and her bond with Shay, he saw who she was not what flaws she had or believed she had.
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
Quite possibly yes. Things would have been a whole lot simpler for all if she hadnât.
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)
Our society doesnât go to the extreme of brain surgery but to some extent we get just as brain washed, in respect to what is pretty-making and what is not. At least their society had a purpose, a greater good to protect the planet, our pretty society is mostly about the fact the sex sells.
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?
She decided what mattered to her, to become a Pretty, to love Zane, to stay a Special. She developed her own freewill but her fate would have been much different if others hadnât have interfered with it, but if that had have been the case she wouldnât have become the person she was, for better or for worse.
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?
Recently there was a petrol (gasoline) strike, that resulted in people panic buying to the extent that the tanks were emptied and some people even caused fires by hoarding the petrol unsafely. This and numerous other reasons suggest we are very much a Rusty civilization and should change the way we treat the environment because if we don’t it will so not be pretty-making.
1. i totally went through that.i had a best friend when i was younger that i spent every day with because we lived down the street from each other but when i moved she got a new best friend and stopped talking to me, i thought we were going to be friends forever!!!!
2.i thought something was strange about the operation from the start and so i never wanted tally to get the serge.plus me n my friends didn’t like the personality change through the books, it was like reading from a different point of view and we like the first tally better!!!!!!
3.i never knew anyone that different in looks than everyone else but i have seen it happen to my best friend Caitlin. she’s small and cute so everyone likes to hug her and be around her but when you get to know her you realize she hates it and she doesn’t like the attention.
4. she could never fend for herself.she was pampered her whole life and never did anything for herself.if she showed up at the smoke like that she would have never lasted a day.
5. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i would never do anything that stupid.it speaks for itself.
6.media changes you. tally thought looks were everything because that’s what she was told.it’s like real life, people will do anything to look like the models that are too thin and “trendy” to live!but david saw through that.
7.yes!!!!!!tally ruined her life!
8. like i said about the media thing but in tallys world it’s a forced thing. you have no choice, even without the nanos you are a puppet.
9.she didn’t decide much she did what she thought was right and that was mostly put in her head by others.
10.we depend more on electronics that oil, i mean imagine life without your phone,computer lights and coffee machien. ya thats what i thought.
Acabei de ler os trĂŞs dessa serie, na verdade comecei a ler ontem 20/04/12, de ontem para hoje sĂł dormi umas duas horas, acordei e jĂĄ comecei a ler seu livro. Bem eu adorei os seus livros, mas o final de Zane foi horrĂvel!! Morto em uma cama de hospital? Como assim? Gostaria que vocĂŞ fizer o quarto livro da serie, nele vocĂŞ poderia falar que Zane foi tipo “sequestrado’ e nĂŁo morto! Tally e David se tornaram super herĂłis? acho justo ela termina com David afinal ele a amou antes , depois e sempre. Talvez eles devessem descobri que existe algo pior que as Circunstâncias Especiais , algo que realmente fosse acabar com o mundo deles como ocorreu com os enferrujados. Exemplo: um novo tipo de perfeitos que jĂĄ nascem com lesĂľes nos cĂŠrebros ou um grupo que andava sequestrando perfeitos inteligentes para estuda-los. SĂŁo sĂł ideias se vocĂŞ for mesmo fazer o quarto livro nĂŁo deixa, por favor, ZANE morto, ele tem que viver! Shay nĂŁo teve seu grande amor, vocĂŞ pode descrever como ficou o mundo depois da revolução final. Acredite vocĂŞ conseguiu mudar meu modo ver o mundo, obrigada. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
I just read all three of this series actually started reading yesterday 4/20/12, from yesterday to today only slept two hours, woke up and I started reading your book.
Well I loved his books, but the end of Zane was horrible! Killed in a hospital bed? How so?
I would like you to do the fourth book in the series, you could say that it was like Zane “kidnapped” and not dead! Tally and David become superheroes? Just think it ends with David after he loved her before, after and forever.
Maybe they should have found that there is something worse than the Special Circumstances, something that really was their world ending as it did with rusty. Example: a new kind of perfect that we are born with brain injury, or kidnapping a group that walked perfect smart for studying them. They are only ideas if you even make the fourth book does not leave, please ZANE dead, he has to live!
Shay did not have his great love, can you describe the world as it was after the final revolution.
Believe you could change the way I see the world, thank you.
trueUgly I loved your ideas, also love Zane, I’d like to read this book you are writing.
I am only going to answer this. I would rather be pretty than smart any day of my life. Society still judges you on your looks. Why? I don’t know.
And oh, yeah. THOSE OF YOU WITH A NORMAL BRAIN NEED TO SPELL AS SUCH! YOU ARE THE REASON SOCIETY IS GOING THROUGH DE-EVOLUTION!!!!!!! It’s sad that simple grammatical laziness will be our downfall.
Oh, yeah. Have you guys realized we’re on an AUTHOR’S site? Don’t you think Scott may be a little offended????
@fafa, RJ-Brasil- I might make a blog where I will post all of my writing. I have gotten a little off track though. It’s been over a month since I wrote anything down, and I’m working on my own novel (you know,with my own characters and such). I also tend to have trouble writing from Tally’s point of view, seeing that we are NOTHING alike. I will tell you when I start that blog and may ask for a little help đ Thanks! -Penny-la out!
i’ve gotten into a habit of pretty-talk. my friends are so irritated by it!!!!!!!!!!! but for some reason i can’t stop saying things like: bubbly,pretty-making and other pretty stuff!!!!!!!!!! it’s sort of funny though because all of my freinds but one has read the Uglies series so she gets so confused when we talk pretty.haha, that’s what she gets for not reading THE BEST SERIES EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW it was a great idea to write Bogus to bubbly!!!!!!!!!!! it really explained a lot! my friends and i even tried to use it to make real hover boards, we figured out how it would work but we didn’t have the materials( if anyone has two giant magnets that repel each other and are strong enough to carry an average human please notify me!)
hey scott-sama, i is trying to figure out some cool names for some charicters in a book i’m trying to write, i already have two names down, but what’s a cool name that’s futureish and starts with a j for a boy? he’s going to be jessamin’s bro and teela’s crush.
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
Thankfully, no I haven’t-yet.
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
I guess I wanted Tally to have the operation-the way you made it sound and all-, but once Tally met Shay I think I was on Shay’s end of the pole rather than Tally’s. As the story progressed, I think I was for sure, like Tally felt, against the operation.
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
No, or I don’t think I have. Right know, I usually have to know the person-or speak to them numerous times-even if their looks are insanely gorgeous-before trusting them.
4. In what ways did Tallyâs trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke?
The ways that prepared Tally for the Smoke on her way through the wild are: the feeling or ways of living in the wild, eating either dehydrated foods or fresh cooked meats like rabbits;birds, etc., and the basic idea of no city-produced-ANYTHING.
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
Absolutely NOT! Like David thinks and says, the true beauty is what’s inside, not out.
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
I know I kind of already answered this question, but David sees Tally differently than she saw herself, because David saw her “inside beauty” and Tally just saw a hideous sixteen-year-old girl, in desperate need of the operation.
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
No, I really don’t. Even if my friend tore my new home down, I would forgive her-well, I know that sounds bad, but-uh, that’s my friend! I don’t want to be lonely! In UGLIES and PRETTIES, Shay seems to forgive Tally really fast….
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)
Other than the operation, the pretty society is different, because-I’m not digging far into the ground for this one-the technology is better. Yeah, I know this like a hundred years into the future, but now to make a better inference: the lesions make pretties bubble-headed, so their practically like a puppy. As for our society, we have that violence thought. That does make the pretty society seem “healthier”, but its not. I’m not saying that violence or competition is healthy, but HEALTHY competition is always good- once and a while at least.
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?
In the end of UGLIES, Tally did decide, to help Maddy, to come pretty and she did betray Shay to TRY to be pretty. There’s another answer, but it was in PRETTIES, not UGLIES when Tally didn’t decide her fate (I was shocked too).
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?
My lifestyle is dependent on oil and gasoline to cook or grill, to drive a car; to fly to another state, ect. I guess we’d have to get use to microwaving and walking all the time if all the gasoline just disappeared one day.
I love the UGLIES series and authors like you who keeps their readers happy and the feeling of:ONLY THINKING ABOUT THE BOOK(twenty-four- seven may I add)! It drives me crazy sometimes, but I love it.
All I want to know is why Zane had to die at the end?!
IKR! it was all tally’s fault! all that did was enforce the idea that she made every thing bad happen! (other than end the pretties/uglies era)
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
Not in the sense that they moved away, as in switched houses, but in other ways. Like in elementary school when you had people in your class you were friends with, I had some I got close with and we hung out all the time. However, the next year, almost all of them dropped our friendship as if it didn’t even affect them.
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
No. The one thing I disliked, through all the books, was that Tally really never made the relevation that an operation doesn’t make you beautiful, or “pretty”. She showed signs in Extras that she saw the world differently and didn’t associate any surge to always be pretty, and everyone who didn’t get the operation to be ugly when she got mad that Aya called David an ugly. However, even after the mind-rain, people still labeled others uglies or pretties based on the amount of surgery they got. I guess even a supposed Utopian society isn’t completely Utopian.
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
I might have been drawn in more by that factor, but I confront people the same way; with a blank slate and the ability for them to create my opinion of them, and whether I should trust in them or not.
4. In what ways did Tallyâs trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke?
She experienced the rough and unpolished world she had been excluded from her whole life. In her city, it was like a bubble that kept her from the natural, instinctive world and isolated her with the gloss and glam of her fabricated world. The trip through the wild broke that bubble and opened up Tally’s eyes to what her short leash that her government kept around her community didn’t allow them to experience; which prepared her for the contrary lifestyle the Smokies lived.
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
I would definitely not do that. Life is about choices, and with the right choices you can acheive happiness, beauty, weath, and good health while keeping your ability to think freely. The whole purpose of living is to live and if everything you’re trying to excel for is handed to you on a silver platter; what is even the point? Where does your purpose and value lie if you cannot complete life’s tough obstacles and learn from them for yourself?
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
He saw her as he was raised to see the world. Not segregation from an operation that enhances attractiveness, but for it’s true worth. That beauty is more than just skin deep and Tally shun with pure beauty, even with an imperfect outter shell. Imperfection doesn’t mean ugly, it means unique beauty that everyone holds.
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
I don’t think she would. Whether Shay would want to admit it or not, Tally was a true friend and she’d do whatever she could for her, even if her decisions were sometimes bogus and self-absorbed at first. They cared for one another, and although opposing forces made them appear on opposite sides, in the end their friendship prevailed.
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)
The pretty society is much more controlled and outlined, which can be good, but a lot of people don’t like to be contained and not given a choice. That’s where the lesions come in and block out any free thinking or stubborn, adamant behavior. That’s a problem because taking away the ability to think, speak, or epress yourself freely is aganist the Constitution; it’s our right to have our own mind and be able to flaunt it. So, it’s just a viscious cycle on what’s just and what’s safe. No matter what, there is always a flaw in every design, a Utopian community is nearly impossible to create, unless you invade someone’s rights, as the lesions did. But one thing I believe is much better is the technology they use; our world needs to invest in more solar energy and recycling. Also, the whole “hole-in-the-wall” concept isn’t very realistic, but on the right track; mass production is competitive and wasteful. We all live in a civilized society, we say, but we act like survival of the fittiest is still in play.
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?
Fate is determined by the choices you make. Just stop and think about that for a minute; whatever happens is suppose to happen one way or another, that’s fate, and how you interpret that and act on it leads you to where your fate leaves you. Then the cycle goes on like that; fate gives you your hand of cards and you try to play it to your greatest advantage. Sometimes you flunk it and pull a wrong move or maybe you make the right decisions. Sometimes fate gives you a crappy hand or a break. Therefore, no one tells Tally what decisions she makes, only she does, a
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
Not in the sense that they moved away, as in switched houses, but in other ways. Like in elementary school when you had people in your class you were friends with, I had some I got close with and we hung out all the time. However, the next year, almost all of them dropped our friendship as if it didnât even affect them.
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
No. The one thing I disliked, through all the books, was that Tally really never made the relevation that an operation doesnât make you beautiful, or âprettyâ. She showed signs in Extras that she saw the world differently and didnât associate any surge to always be pretty, and everyone who didnât get the operation to be ugly when she got mad that Aya called David an ugly. However, even after the mind-rain, people still labeled others uglies or pretties based on the amount of surgery they got. I guess even a supposed Utopian society isnât completely Utopian.
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
I might have been drawn in more by that factor, but I confront people the same way; with a blank slate and the ability for them to create my opinion of them, and whether I should trust in them or not.
4. In what ways did Tallyâs trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke?
She experienced the rough and unpolished world she had been excluded from her whole life. In her city, it was like a bubble that kept her from the natural, instinctive world and isolated her with the gloss and glam of her fabricated world. The trip through the wild broke that bubble and opened up Tallyâs eyes to what her short leash that her government kept around her community didnât allow them to experience; which prepared her for the contrary lifestyle the Smokies lived.
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
I would definitely not do that. Life is about choices, and with the right choices you can acheive happiness, beauty, weath, and good health while keeping your ability to think freely. The whole purpose of living is to live and if everything youâre trying to excel for is handed to you on a silver platter; what is even the point? Where does your purpose and value lie if you cannot complete lifeâs tough obstacles and learn from them for yourself?
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
He saw her as he was raised to see the world. Not segregation from an operation that enhances attractiveness, but for itâs true worth. That beauty is more than just skin deep and Tally shun with pure beauty, even with an imperfect outter shell. Imperfection doesnât mean ugly, it means unique beauty that everyone holds.
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
I donât think she would. Whether Shay would want to admit it or not, Tally was a true friend and sheâd do whatever she could for her, even if her decisions were sometimes bogus and self-absorbed at first. They cared for one another, and although opposing forces made them appear on opposite sides, in the end their friendship prevailed.
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)
The pretty society is much more controlled and outlined, which can be good, but a lot of people donât like to be contained and not given a choice. Thatâs where the lesions come in and block out any free thinking or stubborn, adamant behavior. Thatâs a problem because taking away the ability to think, speak, or epress yourself freely is aganist the Constitution; itâs our right to have our own mind and be able to flaunt it. So, itâs just a viscious cycle on whatâs just and whatâs safe. No matter what, there is always a flaw in every design, a Utopian community is nearly impossible to create, unless you invade someoneâs rights, as the lesions did. But one thing I believe is much better is the technology they use; our world needs to invest in more solar energy and recycling. Also, the whole âhole-in-the-wallâ concept isnât very realistic, but on the right track; mass production is competitive and wasteful. We all live in a civilized society, we say, but we act like survival of the fittiest is still in play.
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?
Fate is determined by the choices you make. Just stop and think about that for a minute; whatever happens is suppose to happen one way or another, thatâs fate, and how you interpret that and act on it leads you to where your fate leaves you. Then the cycle goes on like that; fate gives you your hand of cards and you try to play it to your greatest advantage. Sometimes you flunk it and pull a wrong move or maybe you make the right decisions. Sometimes fate gives you a crappy hand or a break. Therefore, no one tells Tally what decisions she makes, only she does, and that determines her fate. She has almost complete decision on her fate, in a shorter explanation.
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?
Everyone’s lifestyle depends on oil and gasoline. You need to go somewhere? Jump in your car & go there. Perfect example right there. We need to lean off these resources because there isn’t really a surplus and it’s not helping our pollution problem. If it disappeared, it’s very apparent, our world would take a major detour to the gutter.
A note:
SOrry for the repeat, accidently hit submit. Oops! And I’m aware this book has been out for quite some time but I just finally read the last book, Extras, and I just don’t want it to end! Seriously, I was so sad was I neared page 399 and realized it was over. I know I’m just a random, annonymous comment that probably won’t even get a second glance but I seriously encourage you to try to get these books produced into a movie, if possible. I can honestly say this book series is 100 percent my all time favorite ever, and I would to see it go farther. I just would love to see it go much much farther cause it has the potential to intrigue and inspire so many more people, besides myself. AGain, I know the chances if this comment even being seen is unlikely, nevertheless a possibility, but I really wish it to happen. And if somehow it were to happen, I’d love to be contacted about it.
The Uglies series were seriously the most compelling, adventours, and addictive series I’ve ever read. I seriously loved the Hunger Games, which ended up being a movie, and I feel more connected and attyracted to thisc one, 10x more plus than the Hunger Games. If you read this, thank you for your time, I know it’s long.
9) I feel that Tally’s fate was mostly decided by herself although at the beginning when she had to choose between staying ugly forever or betray your best friend but becoming pretty like eveyone else. I think anyone, even I would do the 2nd choice.
IS ANYONE HERE!!!!! jezzzz
I have a question for Scott if he takes those here.
I think it’s fine that Tally was allowed to keep her physical changes at the end of Specials. But as an adult, I was disappointed that you chose to let Tally heal herself of her mental illness. I mean, this girl was “psychotic,” but she was able to “rewire” her own brain just by thinking better thoughts inspired by her dead boyfriend? I think that’s a dangerous message to send to teens who may be dealing with issues like depression or cutting – that they can heal themselves without getting help. I know it’s just a work of fiction, but there are so many great themes and lessons in these books. I feel like that’s the one place you let your audience down. Otherwise, I thought the whole series was fascinating. I can’t wait for the movie.
Sorry for my bad english. I’m not north-american ;p.
And I totally agree with Horse N. Buggy. Tally had like a psyco problem to cut herself.
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
I’ve had small cases of this, but I admit that I had a peace of guilt in the abandonation. It’s was like, healthy for both side to be separed.
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
Not really. It was a surprise for me to see that she got the operation. But it was nice to show me that, even though people can get confused some times, they still can unconfuse themselves ;p
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
Of course I did! Everybody do it, though they are not concient of it. It’s like seen a red stuff in the middle of a lot of gray stuff. Of course you will pay attention to the red stuff, because that’s the only interesting thing to see. It’s really rare to find someone who whould look to the gray things insted of the red one. It’s not that we are bad persons, it’s just that we always watch the most interesting and “easy to see” things. And people try enphasize interesting things in themselves all the time today, of course, they want to call attention to what they want to show. So it’s natural of us to “trust someone more or pay more attention to what they said because of their looks”, it is just the good looks person we see!
That’s a thing that the Uglies Serie helped me to see.
4. In what ways did Tallyâs trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke?
The nature was for Tally the new vision of the world. It was there she realised that it’s posseble a different life than the city way of life. And it was there she realised that somethings can be beautiful even though they are not conffortable.
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
Never! “I think, so am I”. Even because if you think, you become like Tally, who can enjoy the best thing of each part of the society but condemn the bad things of it. So, if you think, you can even make a better world than the Perfect Pretty world. Tally’s like an idol <3
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
I don't know… He's really not human to brake with 5000 years of evolution. One more of the perfect nice guys… I cant deny that I like it đĄ
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
Not really. As Shay said herself, she hate Tally sometimes. That's why she allways come bake to her. Everyone wants to be with them they can learn most with, I think… Or something like this.
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?)
I think the biggest difference is that our world is capitalist, while Tally's world is more feudalist (you have the monopoly of the autorities saying what is nice and what is not, and no one can do better than doing what they say it is nice. Al though the autorities self don't do the nice things). Her world is like to keep all the nice things that come with the capitalism (conffort, propaganda, marketing, ephemeral fashions, beauty, education) without the capitalism. Without the principal capitalist rule: the liberty.
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?
For me, in the first two books it was most Tally who took the decisions. Even unconciently, she wanted to go out of the city, see the Smoke, become pretty, take the pills, be free. But I don't think she wanted to become a special, though that was the only status that she keeped in the end. That's paradoxal, isn't that?
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?
My clothes are made of oil. My things are made of oil. My transport are made of oil and moved by gasoline, which is oil… It would be difficult for me to take off all this things of my body to run into the nature. Even if I could get into the nature, I don't think I could survive there for so long. You know, they don't learn us at school how to survive in a wild nature…
1: Well, yes and no. In 2end grade my really ‘good’ (how good can a friendship be if you have known eachother for a few months) friend moved to Sanfransico… If she could I think she would have talked to me… But still I dont know.
2: Yeah! I wanted her to go with Paris and be happy… And smart. So latter on…. I still wanted her pretty but smart too, thanks Specials:)
3: Yes, sadly, some people are pretty… Not my faltxD
4: EVERYTHING! It made her happy for foor other than spog-bol
5: Again, yes, no. I would take the opperation, and my come bubbly so I could think out of the nanos like Tally-wa and Zane-la!
6: He saw how stupid she was (sorrrrrry!!!) and was TRYING to get that girl is was on the inside out.
7: (I think im the only one saying this) But I think she would go back. I know there ‘BFFs’ but I still think that Shay would just do it… She still has tose backround feelings of hate torwords Tally.
8: It COULD be better than ares but with all of the parties, Crims, brain-missing people, its much diffrent.
9: I think she dident at all… Other than in Pretties, in pretties she was kind HAD to do someof that stuff (more like all) but thats where she had all controll.
10: Esaily? What? I wouldent be TYPING without it, I would be cold without it (even though I dont have heaters in my house) I wouldent be able to drive to get a computer or food! No… No computer? I DONT WANT US TO BE RUSTIES!!!!!!! We would be a little worse than the Smoke… They have experiance atleast.
~La-wa (name works perfectly right?)
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away?
I have had QUITE a few of those :/
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)
I did at first but as soon as she met David im like OMGZZZ she has to stay ‘ugly’!!!!
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks?
YES O_O đ
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?
lemme think for a minute… ummmmmm YES!!!!!!
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
She saw herself as ugly, but David saw her as BEAUTIFUL!
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would?
In my mind, no. But, considering the way Shay is, she might be drove over the edge when she gets the chance to do it, so she might.
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?
Very easily, unless computers and TV’s ran on oil. then my life would be ruined. (but i know they dont run on oil, so dont call me stupid. also, i know i skipped a couple questions. i either didnt know the answer or was too lazy to answer it or i just felt like it was just a boring question.)
Miranda-La out <3 PEACE
Scott- sama if you’re going to bring Zane-la back in a 5th book I can help!
{bex-la}
bring Zane back!!! it would be very, very happy – making if you did!!
a devoted fan.
I want Zane back too, and i think it would be pretty easy to intwine it in where he didnt Really die, he was just playing dead (like a possum, although, that’s an awful comparison to make lol)
1. Have you ever had a friend like Peris, who abandoned your friendship after they moved away? Yea, my friend jessica moved a city over, ended up getting drunk high and preggo all at once ._. sad day.
2. At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?) Yea its what she wanted and i like the idea of the pretty operation so i never really changed my mind.
3. Have you ever found yourself trusting someone more or paying more attention to what they said not because they deserved it, but just because of their looks? Not gunna lie. Yup. not always cuz they were pretty either ._. somtimes its hard to look away from uglies even thou its rude. prettys of course you wanna look. and specials { serial killers, body mods, interesting people} are interesting to look at to.
4. In what ways did Tallyâs trip through the wild prepare her for what she learned in the Smoke? It taught here that the wild isnt always nice.
5. Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich? I 100% would because if you think about it the lesions dont really take away your personality or creativity or logic it simply removes bad thoughts such as violence, bad memories, hate, ect. and everyone one else would have them to and youd never have to worry about getting murdered or raped people bullying or stealing just what youd like to wear or do that day . Not to metion youd be happy rich and beautiful, i belive it would make the world a better place i mean would really wants to be an violent jerk and dwell on bad memorys ?
6. How did David see Tally differently than she saw herself?
he saw her as beautiful while she saw her self as ugly
7. If Shay could have gone back in time and never have met Tally, do you think she would? No, thats her best friend
8. Other than the pretty operation, what are the main differences between the pretty society and our own? (Are there any ways in which the pretty society is healthier than ours?) We are angry violent, dependent on oil and focased on getting what we want, we are ever expanding and dont care what we destroy. the pretty society is far healthier with everything in check, a non depent fuel source, calm happy population, everyone equal, less crime no violence, healther people better standereds of living.
9. To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her? 50 50. dr cable and maddy pushed her along as did others but she had a mind of her own as well.
10. The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day. Id be lucky to surivive. i can hunt and walk and build a fire but i prefre not to. theres alot i just couldnt do theres alot of things that would destroy.
I love this! I’ve always wanted to be a Smokie, hence my name…
1. Yes, and it sucked. She moved to a different state and then seemed to forget I was here, waiting for her to call.
2. I never wanted Tally to get the operation! I’m naturally rebellious, so I saw right through the operation from the beginning, even before I knew about the lesions.
3. I find that I am more distrustful towards pretty people because I assume that they have it made. I trust less pretty outcasts more because they just seem to have more to lose if they lie.
4. Tally realized that nature was cruel and unforgiving, unlike cozy city life. She was completely unprepared for this, but in classic Tally-style, she refused to give up.
5. Never! I want to make my own decisions in life! I couldn’t care less about how people view the way I look. My whole outlook on life would change for the worse if I had a pretty operation, and I would never want to take that chance.
6. David grew up in the wild where he was not subjected to the pretty operation. He is one of the only people in the series who believed from the very beginning that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Tally believed the lies the society fed to her that she could never, under any circumstances, be beautiful unless she had the operation. David knew better, and that is why he’s my favorite character.
7. If she had been given the decision after Tally betrayed the Smoke and got them captured, yes, she probably would have. At any other time, I think Shay relied on Tally as her best friend too heavily to ever wish she had never met her.
8. The main difference is the problems; we seem to have constant death, crime, shortages, epidemics, etc. In the pretty world, the only problem they have is low self-esteem and the decision on what surge to get next. The rebels like the Smoke seem to have the most problems. They are forced to live in a society that they do not agree with and have little power in changing it. I think that the lack of problems in pretty world can be considered a good thing or a bad thing.
9. Tally can decide her own fate to a point. She can’t just disappear into thin air and live her life the way she wants to. She will always be in a place where pretty time exists (well, used to exist), but she is just stubborn enough to decide what she wants and what she won’t stand for.
10. Everyone seems to be very dependent on oil. However, I can’t drive, so I can survive without a car. One thing about me is that I’m always up for a challenge, not matter what it is. If it all disappeared one day, I’d go Smokie on everyone, gather up a group of non-panicked survivers, and make for the woods. We could soooo survive! Well, only if they’ve read Uglies….
Hello! Scott, I believe that you should make a movie out of this book series. That would be so amazing, and the greatest movie series!
Hi Scott! Hopefully, You will reply. But, anyways.. I have read Uglies, Pretties, and just finished Specials! Legit! And all I have to say is… Wow.. blew. My. Mind. It was a shocker when Zane died! I mean I just bawled!! And the ending, wanted me to cry again! But, I imediantly wanted to contact you some how, so found this website!!!(: Anyways.. You reallyyyy need to make this a movieee!! This would be bigger than Twilight, bigger than the Hungar Games!! I absolutely love this series! It is me all time, and favorite book series! In the world.. legit!!(: Anyway,… could you maybe make another book, of like new characters telling before the operation was invented? like, normal life, then all the technologies being discovered and how that charater life changes.. then, make a book to show what happens to Talley and David after the Special series???? And just.. please! You jsut can’t make an amazing series, then leave us hanging.. make a couple more… atleast a total of 10 for this cool series! Show more of Talley,!!! DO, something where they invent a way to bring back the dead and were they can repair them… call them, Walkers, or something.. just.. your amazing! I just can’t get over only 3 books.. my mind wonders to how they could have moree! Thank you Scott sooo much!
-Tori Nicole V.S.
Tori Nicole- There are four books, and counting if you count the Shay’s Stories. but that Walkers thing is a REALLY good idea.
1. I had a friend once how moved away when we where little and we reconnected… she turned out to be a wacko.
2. I new Tally wouldn’t get the operation but i Cinda wonted her to be with Paris
3. I never payed any attention to people how are “pritter” than I and if