GENRE: Science Fiction
HONORS: none I could find
REVIEW: At first the story sounds like a dystopian initiation, but like many future of the world novels, Westerfeld has outlined his ideas about our possible unstable future. Tally Youngblood is on the verge of turning sixteen, which is the age where she has to undergo an operation to make her a 'Pretty'. As a young 'Ugly', all she was born to dream about is being one of the beautiful. Her best friend, Shay, has different ideas about this and runs away with a cryptic note only Tally can discipher. The 'Special Circumstance', intercept the note and they threaten Tally to infiltrate Shay's counter society or risk giving up her operation. She hover boards over the Rusty's ruins (Rusty is our society hundreds of centuries in the future) where she learns about truth of being a Pretty, which has mind controlling repercussions.
OPINION: Young people who defy high school cliques and are the anti-Gossip Girl chick-lit types will be attracted to this series' themes of strong ethics and seeing the beauty inside of people. Class systems and the integrity of the government are deep seeded issues that readers are driven to contemplate. Westerfeld has creatively written an allegory for things that happen in our society in a package that appeals to a high school audience.
IDEAS: Suggested title for a book discussion.
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