Uglies

As Tally walks, she sees a boy fall from a tower only to be saved by the bungee jacket he wears, which bounces him safely to the ground. She walks straight into a mansion party and searches for Peris, enduring taunts from the pretties who spot her mask. She overhears a malicious conversation of partygoers who are angry at her. Tally flees, hiding in an elevator that will not respond to her without her interface ring. Peris steps into the elevator, and Tally is jarred by his appearance, which has been surgically altered to be perfect.

Peris refuses to look at her and tells her to wait three months until she gets the pretty surgery so they can be best friends again. He makes her promise to stop playing tricks before her surgery to ensure they can be together. Tally’s mask disintegrates, and Peris directs the elevator to the roof, which houses bungee jackets. Tally hugs him out of gratitude, and he sends her away. Tally finds the bungee jackets, but they’re guarded with a fire alarm. When two pretties approach her, she presses the alarm and dons a jacket. Just as the pretties realize her ugly identity, Tally jumps off the roof.

The bungee jacket activates, and Tally bounces down the hill with enough momentum to carry her away from the mansion. As the jacket drops her to the grass beside a garden, firefighter hovercars fly by, and some pretties notice Tally. She runs into the garden, winding her way toward the river and thinking about Peris. They made a blood pact when younger, promising to be best friends forever, but the operation erased Peris’s scar, and Tally feels as if she betrayed him by interrupting his night. Tally spots a warden searching the gardens; she’s tempted to give herself up but continues her path to the river. There, she sees a figure she thinks is the warden. She stands as still as she can before finally calling out and discovering the figure is another ugly named Shay.

Shay and Tally talk about the activity in the city. Tally confesses her role in the chaos, and Shay is impressed by her “trick.” Shay asks if Tally was visiting someone and admits her own tendency to spy on old friends as she waits for her surgery date. They prepare to leave, and Shay shows off the hoverboard she tricked into flying without minders preventing her from doing dangerous stunts or tracking her movements. When a hovercar flies over, Tally takes Shay to the old bridge so they can cross back into Uglyville.

Tally practices hoverboarding with Shay, wearing crash bracelets that catch her in the air when she falls. She and Shay have bonded over the last week, both happy to have a friend in their lives again. Tally learns they have the same birthday and is overjoyed that they can get the surgery together, but Shay seems less certain.

Tally plays with a face-changing program that lets her design “pretty” versions of herself called morphos. Shay admits she has never made one before, and Tally pressures her into doing it. When Tally takes it too seriously, the girls fight. Shay expresses frustration about being made to look like everyone else. Tally reminds her that people were once made to feel inferior all their lives because of their appearances. The girls reconcile and then go hoverboarding.

Shay announces that Tally is ready for a night ride, wanting to take her to the Rusty Ruins. Tally is shocked that Shay has done this before, sparking another conversation about the surgery. Shay points out that pretties never do anything exciting or daring and claims this is their last chance to do so. Tally agrees because she wants to maintain their friendship.

Tally sneaks out of her room and meets Shay, confessing that she promised Peris to behave until her surgery. Shay dismisses her concerns but will not force Tally to go with her. Tally keeps her promise to Shay, and the girls hoverboard over the river. Tally sees whitewater rapids for the first time, and the two girls admire the city from a distance. Shay warns Tally about the dangers of running out of magnetic grid as they hike to a nearby iron vein so they can use their hoverboards again (the boards rely on magnetics to operate). As they approach the vein, Shay explains that rivers often contain metal deposits. They resume flying and arrive at the Rusty Ruins.

Tally describes the ruins of an old city reminiscent of cities in the 21st century. Shay takes Tally to the remnants of a roller coaster. Tally enjoys most of the ride, but when Shay neglects to warn her of a break in the track, forcing Tally to rely on momentum to make it across, she lashes out. Shay apologizes, and when Tally calms down, she asks about the ruins. Shay has been before with other uglies and speculates that uglies have been coming to the ruins for a long time. Shay avoids some of Tally’s questions and then says she wants to introduce Tally to someone.

Shay guides Tally up one of the old skyscrapers and then lights a flare. They wait for a boy Shay calls David, who she claims tends to be in the area. Tally is dubious about David’s existence. She convinces Shay to go home with her, but as they reach the river, Tally thinks she sees something flashing in the ruins. She doesn’t mention it, and the girls race home.

Tally and Shay watch new uglies arrive at the Uglyville dorms. Shay wears a bungee jacket hidden beneath an oversized jersey. They both put on disguises and follow the new uglies to the library. On an upper floor, the girls stage a fight in front of the new uglies, and Tally pushes Shay off a three-story balcony. The crowd screams. Tally flees as the bungee jacket activates, and the two girls reunite in the changing rooms by a sandy beach. There, they compliment each other on the trick, and Shay tells Tally she isn’t ugly. When the girls swim, they have another argument about being “pretty” versus “ugly.” Tally claims “biology” dictates attractiveness, while Shay believes individuality is more important. Their fight culminates when Shay claims she doesn’t want the pretty surgery and Tally says Shay is afraid of growing up. Shay leaves Tally floating in the water.

A week before her pretty surgery, Tally reflects on her anxieties and her fight with Shay. Shay unexpectedly arrives at her window, and the two hug, reconciling. Shay shows Tally a bag packed with outdoor gear and dehydrated food. She tells Tally about the place where David lives, where people aren’t segregated based on their appearance and where there are no restrictive rules. Shay shares that some of her old friends ran away to this place, which is called the Smoke. She was meant to go with them but chickened out with some of the others. Shay wants Tally to go with her to the Smoke, where people live in harmony with nature. Tally rejects her offer. They go out to the dam and exchange goodbyes. Tally swears secrecy, and Shay gives her a slip of paper with a cryptic set of directions in case Tally changes her mind.

Tally waits for the car to take her to the operation, overwhelmed with the medical details of what will happen to her. A middle pretty (a pretty who is middle aged) arrives in the hospital hovercar and takes her to New Pretty Town, where Tally waits for an hour. A terrifying, beautiful man retrieves her, claiming something is wrong.

Tally is taken to buildings she has never seen before, where all the adults are dressed in silk and have cruelly beautiful faces. In an interrogation room, she meets Dr. Cable, who reveals they are at Special Circumstances. Dr. Cable asks questions about Shay, but Tally forces Dr. Cable to share some information about Special Circumstances in the process. She learns that these adults, called Specials, protect the city from outsiders, which shocks Tally. Dr. Cable warns Tally of someone who tempts uglies out of the city and into the wild. When Tally says she cannot help Dr. Cable because of her promise, Dr. Cable sends her back to Uglyville, claiming Tally won’t be pretty until she helps.