BLOG POST #16 "Ugly for Life" Page 111.

Respond to the following quote.

"Everywhere she went, eyes looked away. But it was the most visible she'd ever felt."

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BLOG POST #15 "Special Circumstances" Page 102.

Summarize the chapter highlighting the important events in chronological order. Predict what you think will happen next.

Characterization: Dr. Cable.

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BLOG POST #14B "Operation" Page 96.

Summarize the chapter highlighting the important events in chronological order. Predict what you think will happen next.

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BLOG POST #14A "Last Trick" Page 85.

Respond to the following quote, what does it mean to you?

"We don't have to look like everyone else, Tally, and act like evweryone else. We've got a choice. We can grow up any way we want."

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BLOG POST #13 "Fight" Page 76.

Two fights were presented in this chapter. Compare and Contrast both of them. List their similarities and differences. Why did each fight take place? What was the outcome of each one? (No less than a paragraph.)

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BLOG POST #12 "Waiting for David" Page 69.

What does the following quote from the chapter tell you about the city?

"That was one thing about being outside the city: it made all that nature stuff they taught in school seem a lot more useful. she remembered now how rainwater fell on the mountains and soaked into the ground..."

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BLOG POST #11 "The Rusty Ruins" Page 61.

Write a one paragraph summary of this chapter. Tell about the important events in chronological order.

• Tally and Shay slide between broken buildings, very much unlike the annual ugly school field trips to show the ruined cities of once-modern civilization. Shay assures an anxious Tally that their boards won't 'conk out' because 'whoever built this city loved to waste metal'. The 'Rusties', as they are called for their corroded town, are the target of teachers as an example of extreme stupidity. How huge the crumbled buildings, how real! And why ever did they work in their above-ground factories like bees in a hive, instead of at home? Then, Shay awakes Tally from her reverie to show her yet another Rusty legacy. The Roller Coaster. Always-adventurous Shay convinces unfaithful Tally to follow the steel twists and turns on their iron-dependant hoverboards. Tally briefly fumes with rage for Shay after she is left in the dark about the minor detail of the roller coaster's didtinct gap. Another of Shay's extravagant plans leaves the pair waiting to meet the one responsible for the Coaster's rediscovery.

Find two similes in this chapter and quote them, as well as the page number.

• "Up, down, around in circles, like hoverboarding without hovering." Uglies, Page 63.

• "Every buildung supported jagged spurs of metal sticking from its broken walls, like bones jutting from a long-dead animal." Uglies, Page 62.

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BLOG POST #10 "Rapids" Page 53.

In this chapter Tally says, "I kind of like being fooled about some things". Do you agree with Tally, or would you rather know the reality behind everything? Why"

• A blindfold. That is the equivalent of 'being fooled about some things'. And sometimes, if you leave it on for too long, your eyes start to hurt. Too much darkness. And the fabric constricts you, suddenly far too tight around your head. Then, when you remove it, you can see. It was only you, all along, who could untie the simple knot.

Find information about the origin of white-water rafting and post it here, along with the website URL.

• http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Whitewater-Rafting&id=276992

• It is interesting to note that Whitewater rafting was one of the earliest forms of transportation. It was not only used for carrying people but also for transferring goods from one place to another. However, it became quite popular as a form of leisure activity in the 1980s.

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BLOG POST #9 "Pretty Boring" Page 46.

Describe the Rusty Ruins. What are they? What happened during this time period?

• "There's plenty out there. Real trees, hundreds of years old. Mountains. And the ruins." The Rusty Ruins are "the remains of an old city, a hulking reminder of back when there'd been way too many people, and every one was incredibly stupid. And ugly." Only special hoverboards work out there, if you know how to trick them. To make them drift past the outer edge of the greenbelt, off-limits, and farther upstream where it's white water and too rough for skimmers. Then, you slink out of the city completely.

Define 'Peer Pressure'.

• A quick Dictionary.com search deemed Peer Pressure to be the "social pressure by members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted". There are two types of peer pressure: negative and positive. How odd, that the wrongness of giving in can be positive. And how sad, that there is not only the one, the positive. Peer Pressure, it seems, is balanced.

Think of a time when it happened to you or someone you know and explain the situation in a paragraph.

• As I rule out different experiences from the short decade that I have walked this Earth, I think: how can I possibly write a decent answer and not come out sounding insecure? I now place my fingers over the flat keys in anticipation, and begin to wing it:. Following protocol, my feet began to move in sequence with theirs, and I followed my friends. Always behind them. Then, at that precice moment, the sun shone down where I stood, and I began plotting the day that I'd walk beside them, in the front. :)

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BLOG POST #8 "Facing the Future" Page 39.

Reflect on the following quotes from the chapter, what does each mean to you?

"Making ourselves feel ugly is not fun."..."This whole game is just designed to make us hate ourselves."

• Ah, Shay. So defensive. And actually, so right. Now if only she can convince Tally, and the rest of Uglyville. And it's a game? Oh, I just thought it was an extensive surgical operation designed to rearrange a person's facial and bodily features. And it's not fun to look in the mirror and want to smash it for telling you the truth? Where have I been? :)

"Everyone judged everyone else based on appearance. People who were taller got better jobs...people killed one another over stuff like having different skin color." (Referring to when everyone was ugly.)

• My first thought: wow, what a concept for a fiction novel. And then I realize, oh, right, something like that actually did happen. My third thought: it's really hard to believe the latter, despite the plethora of texts confirming it. And now, as I reread the quote, I think, what ever did the potential employees put in their resumes? Headshots? :)

"It's the only way to make people equal." (Becoming Pretty.)

• Then why not remain ugly? Do the Pretties think themselves so different from each other? And once everyone has changed, what will stop employers from hiring the one with the longer hair, the different eye-color, or the darker lips? What will stop the cycle from restarting? What will make the people equal? If, of course, that's what they're striving for.

BLOG POST #7 "Wipeout" Page 33.

Think of another book, movie, or comic in which people use hover boards? If possible, post a video of this.

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• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74oUIzqhwVQ&feature=channel (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.) This is just the trailer. Be patient, it's in there. Girl Scout's Promise. :)

Why do you think the New Pretties don't come back to Uglyville to visit? Describe their physical and mental transformation into New Pretties.

• Now that the Pretties have been altered, they just don't have the same connection to their Ugly friends. They're different. But on top of that, what if they can't rekindle forgotten relationships, if they're somehow restricted? No Pretty ever crosses over the bridge to Uglyville or sends letters in that direction after the operation on their sixteenth birthday. The operation. On the Uglies' faces. Where the surgeon can obviously reach their brain. And if the doctor's scapel can't cut away their past and memories, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to rearrange their thoughts and intentions with some form of hypnosis. The doctors then could write off Uglyville's abandonment as a result of the preoccupied and adrenalin-craved New Pretties. And the Pretties themselves? Why, they don't even want to see left-behind family members, forgotten and betrayed friends. Not anymore. Now, this is all immoral, and the Pretties would be pre-tty upset if they ever found out. But who's going to tell them? Who will they believe? And who's going to find out in the first place? :)

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BLOG POST #6 "Shay" Page 23.

Write a one paragraph summary of the chapter.

• Impulsively, Tally bungee jumps from the Garbo Mansion to escape the Pretties that are occupying the site for their party. She is undoubtedly frightened and completely convinced that she'll be caught, but is glad that she at least got to see Peris. Wardens are scouring New Pretty Town for the source of the triggered alarm and confusion. Tally is now absolutely certain she'll be caught and will never be turned Pretty as punishment. As she gets to the bridge that allows her to cross New Pretty Town and slink back into Uglyville, she sees a shape in the brush. Mistaking it to be another warden, Tally stiffens and remains both quiet and still. After the long and uncomfortable pause, she softly whispers sorry as the figure's cue to emerge. Another Ugly, by the name of Shay and Tally's companion 'cross the bridge back home.

What have you learned about Shay? Is she like Tally? Make a prediction about what will happen between Tally and Shay.

• Shay, an adventurer, is like Tally in their shared confidence and bravery. Their pre-surgically enhanced features and ability to sneak in and out of New Pretty Town undecteded. Their friendship is inevitable and hopefully so are the countless trips across the bridge I've imagined for them. :)

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BLOG POST #5 "Best Friends Forever" Page 11.

Why do you thing New Pretty Town advocates bungee jumping?

• Ah, to be Pretty. Special. The feeling that you can do anything. A rush from being able to say I did that. And to just have fun. New Pretty Town is all of this, a 'cutting-edge' and cool community for those that are above normal. And what's something that normal people would never do? What's crazier than jumping off of a tall object, face-first, with nothing but a cable 'round your ankles to ensure your safety and return to solid ground? And, what would be more exhilarating than a 'hover-bouncing' rope as a fire escape? Of course they bungee jump. :)

Find Information about the history of bungee jumping and post it along with the website URL.

• http://library.thinkquest.org/CO123122/historybungee.htm

. The idea of this way of jumping comes from the ancient ritual "Gkol" performed in the Pentacost Island in the Pacific Archipelago of Vanuatu. The legend says that in the village Bunlap a man called Tamalie had a quarrel with his wife and she ran away and climbed a Banyan tree where she wrapped her ankles with liana vines. When Tamilie came up to her, the woman jumped from the tree and so did her husband not knowing what his wife had done. So he died but the woman survived. The men of Bunlap were very impressed by this performance and they began to practice such jumps in case they got in similar situations. This practice transformed into a ritual for rich yam harvest and also for proving manhood.

• www.fwi.co.uk/.../bungee_jumping.jpg

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BLOG POST #4 "Best Friends Forever" Page 11.

Characterization: Tally

• Tally, or Squint, is a rebellious Ugly and was "wearing her baggy black expedition outfit, muddy from crawling up ropes and through gardens, from falling among the vines". Tally, among other things is passionate about her friends and maintaining her friendships. As a nervous habbit, she fingers her palm and the scar that she no longer shares with Peris. And although she likes being different, Tally yearns for the surgical operation that will allow her to see Peris again, (legally) from her sixteenth birthday on. :)
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Characterization: Peris

• Peris, a Pretty, is three months older than Tally. His old ugly nickname, Nose, no longer applies. A resident of New Pretty Town, his "suit was deep black velvet, his shirt, vest, and tie all glowing white". He flaunts his new post-operation skin and the healed scar that he once shared with 'Squint'. Rudely, Peris refuses to be "best friends" with Tally until three months later when she undergoes the surgical operation that will rearrange her features and make her Pretty, like him.
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How do you feel about the friendship of Tally and Peris? Are they true best friends?

• Sometimes, people change. And then you don't know them. Should you change? Should you run back to someone who'll only accept you after a surgical operation? Should you do that for a boy, should Tally? And would the friendship even mean anything anymore? I don't think so. But maybe, Tally will forgive Peris in time. And in the meantime, she should find a friend that appreciates her as an Ugly. As herself.
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BLOG POST #3 "New Pretty Town" Page 3.

Find and quote (directly) one oxymoron from the chapter or one example of irony.

• "Upside-down."
  "As the light faded, deep blue gaps of night peered through like an upside-down ocean, bottomless and cold."
  "Tally smiled. The revelers were wearing masks."
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Why do you think Tally chose to wear a mask to the party that was deemed "White-tie"?

• Because Tally is Ugly, she is unwelcome in dazzling New Pretty Town. But, she desperately wants to see her Pretty friend, Peris.When a parade of masked Pretties begins to make its way down the street, Tally quickly seizes the opportunity to hide her pre-surgically enhanced features. :)
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Find information about the history of masks and post it. How does this relate to Tally's decision?

• http://www.life123.com/hobbies/antiques-collectibles/masks/history-of-masks.shtml
  .Masks have been used for thousands and thousands of years in cultures around the world. Early masks were probably made from local materials. Harder-to-find or more precious materials would probably have been used to embellish more important masks in ancient times, as they are now.
  .Over the centuries, masks became associated with religion. For example, ancient Egyptians considered mummy masks to be an important part of the transition to afterlife. Today, masks made by the Iroquois people are so precious to their beliefs that the Iroquois leadership is requesting the return of face masks from museums and private collections. Traditional Iroquois want to properly care for these masks according to their ancient traditions.
  .Sometimes, a culture starts to use masks for a specific reason only to have that reason change over time. For example, masks were initially used during carnival to hide people's identities. Wearing masks allowed people to cross class lines and behave in inappropriate ways without fear or shame.
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BLOG POST #2 "New Pretty Town" Page 3.

1 paragraph--Have you ever had a friend like Peris who abandoned your friendship after moving? Explain.

• No, but I've done it. Every time we move, I lose touch with my friends. Mostly as a result of sheer distance. At least, that's what I tell myself. Because, really, when I'm not lying, I know it's my fault. My fault that the daily phone calls we few and fewer between. I don't know how to explain it, but somehow, it's just hard. And I probably sound like any other shallow teen, but I just can't explain it.
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Describe the following terms.

• 1) Interface ring - a device that connects you to a computer. A burden and able to '"accidentally" forget at home'. :)
  2) Toothbrush pill - the (quick :D) alternative to brushing your teeth.
  3)Cacophony - loud, confusing and disagreeable sounds.

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