There is no reason that this book should be classified as Young Adult, and it seems all the good science fiction & fantasy authors are stuck in that classification. Uglies is the first I've read from Westerfeld and will definitely make my way through the rest of his works.

Uglies is the first installment of a post-apocalyptic series where plastic surgery is used once someone reaches sixteen to make everyone "pretty." Westerfled does a good job exploring the societal consequences and unraveling the ulterior motives, without delving too much into contemporary cliches.

In the back of my mind, it reminded me slightly of [a:Stephenie Meyer|941441|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1250877761p2/941441.jpg]'s [b:The Host|1656001|The Host|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1259179981s/1656001.jpg|3328799] except without the incredibly sappy writing and love triangle. Highly recommended, and hoping the rest of this series lives up to this strong opening.