History Literature / Uglies

* OnlyOneName: Only Tally, Dr. Cable, and Andrew Simpson Smith get last names in the original trilogy. Most of the ''Extras'' characters get last names, but we still don't find out those of the trilogy characters who show up.

* RealityEnsues: In-Universe. In "Pretties", after a failed attempt to jumpstart her hoverboard, Tally falls asleep to her reoccurring Princess dream. In it, said-princess decides to escape her tower by floating down on a parasol. But as it turns out, the parasol proves incapable of carrying the princess through the air, much less bringing her safely to the ground.
** Throughout "Specials", the cutters think that everything they do is awesome and epic and intimidating. But gradually, [[spoiler: Tally starts to realize that through the eyes of a normal person, some of the things cutters do are crazy at best and [[ColdHam melodramatic]] at worst]].

** In ''Uglies''. David's father Az is dead as a result of Dr. Cable trying to install new lesions, and Maddy may have developed a pretty cure but they have no subject on which to test the pills. Tally decides to perform a HeroicSacrifice in offering herself as a test subject, outing herself as the traitor who destroyed the smoke, and willingly turning herself in to have the operation.

The series is are set in the future, three hundred years after a petroleum-destroying bacteria and genetically modified orchids went out of control, leaving the humans of the world to rethink their destructive ways.

** Throughout "Specials", the cutters think that everything they do is awesome and epic and intimidating. But gradually, [[spoiler: Tally starts to realize that through the eyes of a normal person, some of the things cutters do are crazy at best and melodramatic at worst]].

## ''Uglies''
## ''Pretties''
## ''Specials''
* ''Extras'' is a [[SpinOff companion book]].

''Uglies'' is the collective name given to a series of books by Creator/ScottWesterfeld: ''Uglies'', ''Pretties'', ''Specials'', and a [[SpinOff companion book]], ''Extras.'' They are set in the future, three hundred years after a petroleum-destroying bacteria and genetically modified orchids went out of control, leaving the humans of the world to rethink their destructive ways.

* TheCameo:In Extras, Aya mentions that there are a group of crumblies who claim that the government has the secret to immortality and aren’t sharing it. Considering her RapidAging in Specials and the fact that she is implied to be hundreds of years old, Dr. Cable could very well be the person who is making this claim and is leading the other crumblies to investigate it.

** Tally's parents are on the vapid side and encourage her to do what Dr. Cable says to get her pretty surgery. {{Justified}} for most of the adults in the series that come off this way due to [[spoiler:the lesions that make them into vapid Pretties.]]
** The adults that avert this -- [[spoiler:the museum guard, the ones driving the helicopter, are the ones who need their brains for the jobs they have.]]

** Maddy and Az do their best to avert this, since [[spoiler:they studied the lesions and realize what it would mean to forcibly receive said lesions]]. Even so, [[spoiler:they're hampered by Tally accidentally betraying them, Dr. Cable killing Az, and Maddy having to rebuild her research from scratch.]]

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: [[spoiler:Dr. Cable in ''Specials''.]]

* BettyAndVeronicaSwitch:[[spoiler: In the first book, we have Tally(A Betty when she joins the Smoke and is a NaiveNewcomer who turns into a Veronica once she acidently betrays it and tries to save it. This makes Tally much more edgy in the rest of the book), David(Archie throughout the first book), and Shay(Is a Veronica as a fun loving and risk taking Ugly who turns into a Betty once she turns Pretty and is made placid and ditzy.)]]

* BigBad: Dr. Cable.[[spoiler: subverted with the Extraterrestrials in Extras.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Shay eventually becomes this, though [[spoiler: in ''Specials'' after receiving the cure she becomes the inversion]]. The exact point that she does is an exercise left to the reader.
** Though Shay's character is treated with bafflingly little sympathy, considering that her original role was to save Tally from Pretty obscurity by introducing her to another culture [[spoiler:only to have Tally return the favor by (mostly unintentionally) betraying her trust, moving in on her crush, and ultimately bringing ruin upon her home.]]

** In ''Uglies''. [[spoiler:David's father Az is dead as a result of Dr. Cable trying to install new lesions, and Maddy may have developed a pretty cure]] but they have no subject on which to test the pills. [[spoiler:Tally decides to perform a HeroicSacrifice in offering herself as a test subject, outing herself as the traitor who destroyed the smoke, and willingly turning herself in to have the operation.]]
** In ''Pretties'' once again [[spoiler:Tally accidentally betrays the New Smoke, this time through Zane's false tooth. She decides to stay with him as the New Smoke members escape, taking the cure with them, and Shay turns her into a brainwashed Special.]]
** Tally [[spoiler:ends the war]] that she and Shay started, but not before [[spoiler:Zane dies and as the only Special]] in existence she has to make sure the new world doesn't destroy itself the way the old world did. [[spoiler:David]] joins her in the wilderness as she vows to keep the world safe.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The Specials except for Dr. Cable [[spoiler: are revealed to be this, when Tally gets turned into one against her will courtesy of Shay and suffers MindRape as a result of new lesions]].
* BreakTheCutie: Tally becomes progressively more broken as she's dicked about with by the various authorities.[[spoiler: Also, Shay in both "Shay's Story" and "Cutters".]]
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:Shay in the graphic novels.]]
* TheCakeIsALie: Inverted; Dr. Cable blackmails Tally to track down Shay and betray the Smoke by withholding the Pretty operation. [[spoiler:As it turns out, she wants ''every'' Ugly to receive the operation, whether or not they want it.]]
* TheCameo:[[spoiler: In Extras, Aya mentions that there are a group of crumblies who claim that the government has the secret to immortality and aren’t sharing it. Considering her RapidAging in Specials and the fact that she is implied to be hundreds of years old, Dr. Cable could very well be the person who is making this claim and is leading the other crumblies to investigate it.]]

* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Dr. Cable [[spoiler:saves Tally from the surgery that would make her normal, since Tally is the last Special in existence.]]

* RightForTheWrongReasons: Shay tells Tally that the latter needs to tell David about the new heart-shaped locket she's acquired, assuming that it's a romantic token from Tally's new partner. [[spoiler:Said locket is a medallion that is meant to track down the Smoke, and David's parents run the Ssmoke. So yes, Tally should have told David about it instead of pitching it into the fire.]]

* Tomboy and Girly Girl: Frey and Rafi respectively.

* Determinator: [[spoiler: Tally, full stop. Tally is this in every single book. Shay definitely seems to be this too. David may have shades of this when it comes to persuing Tally and Dr. Cable is a villainous version.]]

* DoggedNiceGirl: Tally implies this with Peris as a Littlie and an Ugly, when she says that he always liked “other girls.” [[spoiler: This still seems to be the case when Tally visits him in New Pretty Town for the first time, however, soon after that Tally quickly moves on.]]

* LoveTriangle: [[spoiler: Tally, Shay, and David in Uglies. Tally, David, and Zane in Pretties and Specials. In Shay’s Story we also have Zane, Shay, and David. Shay, Zane, and Helen. Tachs, Shay, and David. Even though Shay is ObliviousToLove for most of the book, this is very evident to the reader and the characters eventually make AnguishedDeclarationsOfLove in the text confirming the shipping. Then In Cutters we have Tachs, Shay, and Zane. Tally, Zane, and Helen.]]

* [[spoiler:[[FirstGirlWins First Guy Wins]]: David.]]

* GenreSavvy: Tally in Pretties and beyond. Shay at the end of Specials and beyond.
* GlorySeeker: Aya Fuse

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Dr. Cable, full stop. Throughout the entire trilogy and even after she has been defeated.

* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Most of the female cast in the series. In the original trilogy Tally and Shay are both OneOfTheBoys and are each other’s only female friends. Their only real feminine traits are that they are both a little bit boy crazy and they appreciate romance and the fact that Tally in particular is a bit obsessed with beauty. In Extras, Aya is a Tomboy except for the fact that she is obsessed with fame, celebrities and gossip. Eden Maru is a glamorous sports star. Some of the Sly Girls like Miki may qualify. Although Jai/Kai/Lai seems to be more of a Ladette.

* ActionGirl: Tally Youngblood, Shay, Aya Fuse, and Eden Maru. It's also implied that Maddy was somewhat one before David was born.

* BettyAndVeronicaSwitch:[[spoiler: In the first book, we have Tally(A Betty in the beginning who turns into a Veronica toward the end), David(Archie throughout the first book), and Shay(A Veronica in the beginning who turns into a Betty towards the end.)]]

* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Most of the female cast in the series. In the original trilogy Tally and Shay are both OneOfTheBoys and are each other’s only female friends. Their only real feminine traits are that they are both a little bit boy crazy and they appreciate romance and the fact that Tally in particular is a bit obsessed with beauty. In Extras, Aya is a Tomboy except for the fact that she is obsessed with fame, celebrities and gossip. Eden Maru is a glamorous sports star.

A quick summary of the books can be found [[Synopsis/{{Uglies}} here]].

* OncePerEpisode: Each book begins with party crashing