Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Overall what kind of a feeling did you have alter reading a few paragraphs of this work?

Uglies instantly hooked me.  I love dystopian works and this is the epitome of dystopian.  I haven't gotten too far into the book but I already feel that I am deeply involved in the plot and the characters.  We're introduced to Tally who is quick to tell us about her society in which teenagers, upon turning 16, get surgery to make them "pretty".  She's telling us about her best friend, Peris, who has just become a "pretty" and she's lamenting the fact that they have to live in different places although she can see New Pretty Town from her bedroom window.  She's miserable without her best friend and she has to wait 3 months before her 16th birthday so she can be a pretty herself.  She decides to sneak into New Pretty Town which is apparently very dangerous and she's risking her opportunity to become a pretty, which would result in her being "ugly" forever.  After successfully sneaking in via the only bridge that can't tattle on her due its age, she accidentally crashes a party in the most humiliating way possible.  On her way to find Peris she finds a pig mask on the street in order to disguise herself but the party at the building that Peris lives is, of course, black tie.  Not only does she bring attention to herself, but a group of pretties decides to follow her and taunt her.  She finally finds Peris who doesn't recognize her at first and she is overcome by his physical changes.  She thinks to herself how much she has changed in the short amount of time that he became pretty and remarks on his changed personality as well.  After being outed as a party crasher, Peris helps her escape by telling her to jump off the roof of the building using a life jacket type hover device.  After narrowly escaping the guards, she makes it back to the bridge and meets another ugly who had snuck into New Pretty Town to spy on her friends.  They decide to cross the river together back to their ugly lives and I unfortunately had to leave off here.  This book, in the 20 pages that I have read so far, is fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat through the entire first chapter.  I love books that hook me from the beginning and keep me wanting more after only reading one chapter.  I can't wait to see what happens to Tally and Shay (her new friend she met at the river) and how they traverse their ugly lives together.