Uglies

Uglies begins as Tally Youngblood, a fifteen year old "ugly", sneaks across the river to find her best friend Peris, a "pretty" living in New Pretty Town. After meeting Peris, and finding that he does not want to see her until she turns sixteen and is made pretty, she escapes with the help of another ugly, called Shay. After discovering that they share the same birthday, Tally and Shay become close friends. Shay teaches Tally to hoverboard, and takes her out of the city to the nearby Rusty Ruins. Gradually, Tally realizes that Shay does not want to become a pretty, which culminates in Shay running away from the city shortly before her birthday, leaving Tally a cryptic note of instructions on how to follow her.

Although Tally is upset by Shay's disappearance, she still plans on becoming a pretty. However, on the day of her operation, she is taken to meet Dr Cable, head of Special Circumstances, a group of "cruel pretties" who ensure the city's security. They inform her that she will not be allowed to become pretty unless she follows after Shay and lets the Specials track her to the Smoke - a group of runaway Uglies. Reluctantly, Tally agrees, and sets off on a long journey across the wilderness. After many days of travelling, during which Tally faces several life-threatening situations, she makes it to the Smoke.

In the Smoke, Tally is initially horrified by the primitive way of life, but gradually begins to see the benefits of freedom, and learns to enjoy the rough lifestyle. She does not activate the tracking beacon Dr Cable gave her, although she keeps it while deliberating whether to stay or return to the City. Tally begins to fall in love with David, the son of the founders of the Smoke who was born outside the cities. Meeting David's parents, she learns that a part of the pretty operation creates brain lesions, which force all pretties to be happy and compliant. Between this, and her feelings for David, she decides to destroy the tracking beacon.

Unfortunately, Tally accidentally activates the tracker when she tries to destroy it, and the Smoke is invaded by Special Circumstances who take all the uglies back to their home cities. Tally only just escapes, and with David, who was outside the Smoke when the attack began, she makes her way back to the city to free her friends and David's parents. In a daring raid on Special Circumstances headquarters, they rescue the Smokies from Tally's city. However, they are horrified to discover that Shay has already been made pretty, and that David's father Az was killed in an experimental procedure to make him forget the lesions.

David's mother, Maddie, explains that she has fabricated a cure for the lesions, but refuses to use them on Shay without her consent. Realising the only sensible course of action, Tally confesses to her betrayal of the Smoke, shocking the other Smokies. She then gives full consent to taking the cure, and surrenders to the city to become pretty.