Moral Depth

I finished Uglies yesterday.  My conclusion?  A very good book in that it is well written, engaging, and contains thought provoking themes.  Where it is lacking is in character follow through.

In the end, (spoiler alert!) you find out that Tally is, after all, going to become pretty.  As I read the recaps of the rest of the books in the series, I realized that, for whatever stated reasons in the book, she ends up also becoming a special.  I don't know that it would be so bad, if it weren't for the overall feeling that despite all of the author's arguments against being focused on appearances and abilities, the main character inadvertently advertises their value.  I get that, in the end, it is more about overthrowing the government, more about the problems with pretty minds than it is about pretty bodies.  I just find it sad that the morals I began to pick up on aren't carried through.

I would have liked to see a story with moral depth, that highlights the fact that all faces are beautiful, and that you have within you incredible abilities, without the need for artificial enhancements.  I'm probably speaking too soon, because I haven't read the next books yet.  But after reading the chapter of Pretties at the end of Uglies, I'm not sure I can handle living in Tally's pretty mind.  At least not yet anyway...