Teen trilogy a more subtle kind of apocalypse

By Sarah Abbott
South Charleston High School

What happens when perfection isn’t good enough? Author Scott Westerfeld explores that theme in his futuristic “Uglies” trilogy.

From the time she was a child, all 15-year-old Tally has wanted is to cross the river and become beautiful. You see, in Westerfeld’s world, at age 16 all teenagers undergo an operation to give them flawless skin, full lips and wide, vulnerable eyes.

It doesn’t help that anyone who hasn’t had the operation is called an “ugly” and is given a nickname tied to his or her most obvious imperfection. Tally is “Squint,” because her eyes are too close together, and her friend Shay is called “Skinny.” In that way, they’re always reminded that they are not beautiful.

From the time they’re born, uglies are waiting for the operation. It’s their only dream. But in Tally’s case, it quickly becomes a little more complicated.

She and Shay are daredevils, and as they explore outside of the city, Shay begins to question the motives of the operation. On the night before her operation, Shay leaves for the “Smoke,” a secret colony in the wild where the people believe being made pretty has serious consequences. Shay tries to convince Tally to come with her but Tally refuses.

This starts a chain of events that fall like dominos. Throughout Westerfeld’s three books — “Uglies,” “Pretties” and “Specials” — it is revealed that the operation doesn’t simply make you beautiful and happy. It also implants a lesion in your brain that controls your actions and makes you want only what the officials tell you to want.

Pretties may be lovely, but they’re brainless — until enough people get fed up start smuggling a new cure into the city, that is. That’s when everything starts going haywire.

The books bring to light just how bad it is when we let beauty control our every desire. We become like a herd of sheep. In truth, some people would prefer not to think for themselves; it’s easier to sit back and let others make the hard choices. It’s much more difficult to turn your back on your lifelong beliefs to create a world you don’t know anything about — and that’s exactly what Tally has done by the end of the trilogy.

This series is widely acknowledged as one of the most original in circulation. Not only is it well-written by Scott Westerfeld, a younger author with a growing teen fan base, but it carries such a lingering message, one that everyone needs to learn. Beauty isn’t in the eye of the beholder but in the heart.

Throughout her journeys Tally learns this, but it isn’t easy. She experiences loss and pain, betrayal and heartbreak, to become a Tally she never would have imagined back when she was a 15-year-old ugly and her biggest concern was whether or not she would get caught sneaking out of her dormitory.

We can only hope that Westerfeld’s trilogy never becomes a reality. Humanity may not have died out in the books, but the future is still an apocalypse — of the mind, of free thought and of anything that really matters.

“Uglies” is a very good trilogy, but let’s not have it actually happen. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to be beautiful beyond words and have no physical imperfections, but most people would rather have a brain.