Graphic Novel Review of Uglies: Shay's Perspective by Scott Westerfeld and Devin Grayson

Book Title: Uglies: Shay's Story

Author: Scott Westerfeld and Devin Grayson

Illustrator: Steven Cummings

Publish Date: March 6, 2012

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia Graphic Novel

Series Name: Uglies (Graphic Novel #1)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

Uglies told Tally Youngblood’s version of life in Uglyville and the budding rebellion against the Specials. Now comes an exciting graphic novel revealing new adventures in the Uglies world—as seen through the eyes of Shay, Tally’s rebellious best friend who’s not afraid to break the rules, no matter the cost.

A few months shy of her sixteenth birthday, Shay eagerly awaits her turn to become a Pretty—a rite-of-passage operation called “the Surge” that transforms ordinary Uglies into paragons of beauty. Yet after befriending the Crims, a group of fellow teens who refuse to take anything in society at face value, Shay starts to question the whole concept. And as the Crims explore beyond the monitored borders of Uglyville into the forbidden, ungoverned wild, Shay must choose between the perks of being Pretty and the rewards of being real.

Why I Read this Book: I saw this at my library and decided to check it out.  I have read the first three books in the Uglies book series, but this was the first graphic novel that I have read in this series.

 

Review 

I was really disappointed in this graphic novel.  It was no where near as good as the novels.  If you have not read the novel series, I do no think that you would fully understand everything that happens in this graphic novel.

There are very few world-building aspects.  There is not any character building.  There were some events that I did not fully understand.

The Uglies and the Pretties looked exactly the same in the graphic novel.  Appearances are an important part of the series and as such I did not think that this was accurate to the novel series.

Also, I do not remember there being any references to adult situations in the novel series and there were some references to this in the graphic novels.

I will continue with the series, but I hope that the others are more in depth and true to the novel series.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 16+ for sexual references and references to nudity (you cannot see anything, but you know that they are nude)

Overall Rating: 2.5/5