Uglies–by Scott Westerfield

Westerfield, Scott.  Uglies.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005.

When I was a teenager, I felt ugly; most of us do around that age, and you probably have too.  Rotten though it is, it’s normal.  We pretty much grow out of it or get over it eventually.  But it’s painful while it’s happening, right?  Wouldn’t it be perfect if we could just find a way to fix it?

Fast forward to the future: you can now get a surgery to become stunningly beautiful.  Everyone does it.  As soon as you turn 16, you get the surgery, become gorgeous, move to a new city where all your perfectly gorgeous friends live, and all you have to do is party and have fun all day.  Seriously, that’s all there is to it, no hidden tricks.  And everybody’s happy all the time, because there’s no uglyness or stupid stuff like that to stress them out.

But then your best friend decides she wants to run away and not have the surgery.  What the heck?  Who wants to stay ugly forever, on purpose?  She’s obviously an idiot, and it’s not your problem…until you get dragged to Special Circumstances and find out you won’t be allowed to turn Pretty until you find her and bring her back.  You can die ugly for all they care.

That is NOT acceptable, so you go off to find her.  Pretty simple job, really.  But what’s out there in the wilderness, anyway?  Guess you’re about to find out…

Monkey Town–by Ronald Kidd

Kidd, Ronald.  Monkey Town.  New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006.

Let’s say you’re like Frances: you pretty much spend your days hanging out around town, going to school, helping out your folks sometimes, running around after your annoying little brother, and going to church.  You know, the usual.

Now let’s say what happens in Frances’s hometown happens in yours: your favorite teacher may lose his job and go to jail, you’re suddenly getting national attention from the news media, strangers are flooding the place, the fate of everyone seems to depend on one man, and everything you believe in is turned upside down.  And the amazing thing is, this mess–the infamous Scopes trial–was all planned as a publicity stunt by the pillars of the community, including your own father!  Who can you trust?

“If evolution isn’t true, why did they put it in the textbook?” I asked.
“Some people believe it,” said Mama.
“Who?”
“Nobody around here.  Well, maybe old Mr. Davis, the printer.  He likes to be different.”
“The point is,” said Daddy,” it’s against the law to teach it, at least in Tennessee.  We’re going to use that to put Dayton on the map.”
That got Mama going again.  “By arresting an innocent young man, then bringing in outsiders to run the trial?” she asked.  “What kind of crazy idea is that?”
“It’s not crazy; it’s a stroke of genius,” said Daddy.  “During the trial people all over the country are going to read about how nice Dayton is.  Mark my words, it’ll bring new business to town.”
Mama said, “If you ask me, it’s a bunch of foolishness.”
“This is going to be the biggest thing that ever hit Dayton,” said Daddy.  “Just you wait and see.”