Hooked on YA books 2015 discussion

I picked up Uglies by Scott Westerfield as it is one of the books that has been on my personal reading list, and my work reading list. I thought it could pair well with Lois Lowry's The Giver. The Uglies is perfect for this weeks question. Tally starts out on a quest to find her best friend Peris, but being that he has just become a Pretty and Tally is still an Ugly. When she finds Peris, he does acknowledge her, but it does seem like he is blowing her off now that he is a new Pretty and she is not--which is where the tension lies in the class difference.
Then we have some tension between Tally and Shay even though they are both Uglies, Tally clearly can't wait to be a pretty while Shay implies that she is hesitant about the surgery as it might change her from who she is. Their difference in opinion on the value of the surgery is where this relationship has tension.
I am enjoying the book so far, and I look forward to finding out how the characters and plot will develop.

I read this book several year ago and really enjoyed it. The storyline was so intriguing I felt compelled to read the sequel, Pretties. You simply must know what happens to Tally. A great book to discuss social relationships not only from the perspective of teenagers but those of society.

"Tally turned away. "It's important, Peris. It's more than a trick. I made my friend a promise that I'd keep a secret for her." (125). This whole section stands out to me for its intertextuality and most importantly Intersubjectivity and Lived Social Worlds. Tally is facing a personal dilemma about about keeping her promise or whether or not to tell. For intertextuality I connected this same situation to My Brother Sam is Dead when Tim promises his brother Sam to keep his secret about needing the family gun and going to war. I believe most people have been faced with similar situations for personal connections, which in turn makes them reflect on their multiple social worlds. On one hand if Tally tells than she is betraying her Ugly friend, but on the other hand if she does she gets to join the social world of the Pretties which she has been wanting for so long. On top of this her friendship with Peris is a whole different social world to consider for Tally, as he has been her best friend for as long as she can remember. Tally must consider the worlds of Uglies, Pretties, and friendship. I am about half way through the book and I must say I am pleasantly surprised; it is not what I was expecting it to be.

Task 5.1 - Clearly peer relationships are important to Tally. She was willing to be Ugly to protect Shay because of a promise she made her. Only when her relationship to Peris is jeopardized does she begin to re-evaluate her situation. Tally finally concludes that he relationship to Peris is more important, and ultimately her first promise to him voids the promise she made to Shay. She did not choose to go after Shay because of something her parents said, or some other official or else she would have left the first time she encountered Dr. Cable. This reaffirms my own assumptions as a teacher and what I observe with my students. Peer relationships supersede other types of relationships.

Before reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld I kind of imagined it to be like Twilight; somewhat like a soap opera about relationships and crushes. I was wrong. Yes, there is relationships involved and I know there are sequels that probably develop the romantic relationship more, but it was more than that. I think it will work well with my dystopian novel unit, and the part about the brain lesions reminded me of the book Feed. I liked how Westerfeld was able to take such a simple concept like being Ugly or Pretty to demonstrate abuse of government power, corruption, brainwashing, and lack of free will. He also did a good job of creating a cliff hanger at the end, making the reader want to know what is going to happen to Tally, Shay, and the Others. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.

I just finished Pretties and can't wait to get Specials. I, too, have read a large number of dystopian YA novels for this course(and for fun), and I think this series does an excellent job of creating interesting, believable characters in a somewhat potentially possible setting. I found the interactions between characters to be occasionally overwrought but aren't most teen romances, at least to a certain degree? I found the tension in Tally's social relationships to be in constant flux because of her shifting roles and perceptions of herself and her peer groups. In fact, most of the story centers around the tension between her desire to be herself and her need to fit in with a peer group, although which one she wants to join is always in question.
I also enjoyed the parts of the story that look back to the time before mass societal control, and the allusions to what went wrong leave just enough to the imagination.