Imagine a world where everybody is actually divided into groups: those who are ugly, those who are pretty, and those who are special. The uglies spend their days dreaming about their sixteenth birthday and staring at Pretty Town. The pretties are who everybody wants to be, and the specials are only called in on special circumstances. No, I'm not talking about high school; it's a book called Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
Tally Youngblood is only a couple months away from turning sixteen, and she can't wait. On the day of her birthday she'll get an operation that turns her into a pretty. Then she'll be swept off to Pretty Town where nothing matters but what she's going to wear to the next party.
But in the months before her birthday she becomes friends with Shay, an ugly who, unlike others, does not want to become pretty. Right before her birthday Shay runs away, and Tally has a choice: betray her friend or stay ugly for the rest of her life.
I loved this book! Although the setting was in the future it was easy to understand and keep up with. The book was very well written and it draws you in after the first couple chapters. There are 3 others books in the series that I would also recommend: Pretties, Specials, and Extras.