Chapter 1: New Pretty Town

Uglies Chapter 1: New Pretty Town 1) Name at least 3 details from the first chapter that show the story has a futuristic setting. 2) Who is Peris? How does talking to Peris (and other pretties) make Tally feel? 3) What does Tally note about her own appearance that makes her an ugly?

Chapter 2: Best Friends Forever 4) What is the purpose of Tally’s interface ring? 5) What are some of the features that make someone pretty? 6) How does Peris feel about Tally sneaking into New Pretty Town? 7) How does Tally escape from Garbo Mansion?

Chapter 3: Shay 8) Why did Peris have a scar that matched Tally’s? Why doesn’t he have his scar anymore? 9) What external things does the pretty operation change? 10) Tally notices that the safety warden is a middle pretty – what does this tell us about pretty society?

Chapter 4: Wipe Out 11) What is Tally’s ugly nickname? What is Shay’s nickname? What was Peris’s nickname? a. Why don’t any of them feel bad about these nicknames? 12) According to Tally, why don’t their pretty friends visit Tally & Shay?

Chapter 5: Facing the Future / Chapter 6: Pretty Boring 13) What is a morpho? Why does Tally make them? Why doesn’t Shay want to make them? 14) What is Shay’s opinion about becoming pretty? 15) To where does Shay want to make a night trip?

Chapter 7: Rapids 16) Tally notices that it’s almost like the dorms are purposely designed to allow uglies to sneak out. What might be a reason for the city to purposely allow the uglies to sneak out? 17) How come Shay and Tally’s hoverboards won’t tell on them when they go out at night? 18) Hoverboards: What makes hoverboards hover? What happens if your hoverboard leaves a safe operating area? How can the hoverboards work on the river?

Chapter 8: The Rusty Ruins / Chapter 9: Waiting for David 19) Based on the details from the story, who were the Rusties? 20) Explain the process that allowed some uglies to discover the rollercoaster. 21) Who does Shay want Tally to meet in the Ruins? Why does Tally initially doubt he’s real? 22) What does Tally mean when she thinks, “Being in the city all the time made everything fake, in a way”?

Chapter 10: Fight 23) At what age do you become an ugly? 24) What is the prank Shay and Tally play on the new uglies? Why did Tally and Shay wear disguises? 25) Why is swimming a “great trick”?

Chapter 11: Last Trick / Chapter 12: Operation 26) What is the “last trick” Shay wants to perform? 27) Shay and Tally debate over what it would mean if everyone was ugly; Shay says that would mean no one is ugly, but Tally thinks that means no one is pretty. Who is right, and why? 28) At what age does the pretty operation no longer work? 29) After reading the description of the operation, are the pretties are still human? Explain your answer. 30) What’s the name of the place where late pretties live? Why would they call it that?

Chapter 13: Special Circumstances 31) What physical characteristics does Tally notice about the Specials? 32) What does the fact that Tally has always called everyone, even adults, by their first names tell us about her society? 33) What is the purpose of the “Special Circumstances” division? 34) Why would the Special Circumstances building be “designed to make its occupants vaguely nauseated”? Chapter 14: Ugly for Life / Chapter 15: Peris 35) Who are Ellie and Sol? a. What is their advice to Tally? 36) What do “bubbly” and “bogus” mean? What might Peris’s use of these words tell us about him? 37) How does Tally rationalize breaking her promise to Shay?

Chapter 16: Infiltrator 38) Do you agree with Dr. Cable when she says, “We always have choices”? Why or why not? 39) How is Special Circumstances going to find Tally when she gets to the Smoke? 40) What finally convinces Tally to infiltrate the Smoke? Do you agree or disagree with her decision?

Chapter 17: Leaving / Chapter 18: Spagbol 41) What are some of the special features of Tally’s new hoverboard from Dr. Cable? 42) What is the long, flat “roller coaster” from Shay’s note? 43) How does Tally learn that in the wild, “[m]istakes have serious consequences”?

Chapter 19: The Worst Mistake / Chapter 20: The Side You Despise 44) How did Tally get across the second break in the tracks? 45) Why is the right side the side Tally despises?

Chapter 21: Firestorm / Chapter 22: Bug Eyes 46) Where are the rangers from? What’s their job? a. What machine do they fly, and why do they use it instead of hovercars? 47) What is a monoculture? How could it be a symbol for the novel itself? 48) Based on what Tonks tells Tally, about how far into the future is this story set?

Chapter 23: Lies 49) How is David able to find a homing device on Tally, and why don’t the Smokies think she’s a traitor when they find the device? 50) What does Tally notice about David’s shoes? What does this tell us about him? 51) Why does Shay tell Tally not to give Croy her SpagBol?

Chapter 24: The Model 52) What shocks Tally when she first reaches the Smoke, and why is it so surprising to her? 53) How are the Smokies able to use hoverboards in the Smoke? 54) What does Shay show Tally in the library? Why is Tally so surprised by this? 55) What disease does Tally seem to be talking about while looking at the magazines? 56) Why do you think Tally is so surprised at the idea of “work”? What does this tell us about her home city?

Chapter 25: Work / Chapter 26: David 57) On their way to work, Tally sees how massive the landscape is. Shay says, “That’s what you can never tell from inside. … How small the city is. How small they have to make everyone to keep them trapped there.”

How are the Uglies and Pretties “trapped” in the city? 58) What two jobs does Tally do in the Smoke (one with Shay, one with the whole group) 59) Compared to the other Smokies, what are some things that are unusual about David? 60) What job do David’s parents have? What does he tell Tally about their past that surprises her? 61) What does Tally not activate the homing device (what does she realize will be the result)?

Chapter 27: Heartthrob / Chapter 28: Suspicion 62) What does Tally get for trading her SpagBol? How much does she have to trade for each item? 63) According to Shay, what is the reason Tally is acting “weird”? 64) “It’s not such a big deal. I think everyone’s way too paranoid around here. … And all the secrecy about runaways is way overdone. And dangerous.” –Shay

How is Shay saying this to Tally an example of dramatic irony? 65) What gift does David give Tally? Why are gifts so important and unusual in the Smoke? 66) Why is Croy suspicious of Tally? 67) Why does David’s gift make Shay upset? What does it make Tally realize about Shay and David? Chapter 29: Bravery 68) Why does Tally think she is “walking poison” and a “weed”? How does she compare herself to the orchids? 69) Why does David think Tally is brave? What is unique about her as a runaway? 70) Why doesn’t David love Shay the way she loves him?

Chapter 30: The Secret / Chapter 31: Pretty Minds 71) Why is Tally surprised that David and Az look very similar? 72) What discovery did Az and Maddy make? 73) Why did Maddy and Az run away? 74) Would you choose to become incredibly good-looking if it also meant getting very minor brain damage? Why or why not?

Chapter 32: Burning Bridges / Chapter 33: Invasion 75) Why did Maddy and Az choose to go back to being uglies? 76) How do Maddy and Az know there must be a cure for the lesions? 77) Why did Tally throw her pendant into the fire? Give TWO reasons. 78) What are the physical enhancements given to the Specials by their operation? 79) What two things did the Boss keep for emergencies, and why did he keep each of them? 80) What happens to Tally at the end of chapter that proves Specials have excellent hearing?

Chapter 34: The Rabbit Pen 81) Why are the Specials scanning the captured Smokies’ eyes? 82) How has Croy’s opinion of Tally changed? 83) How does Shay react to seeing Tally when she’s brought to the rabbit pen?

Chapter 35: In Case of Damage 84) How did the Specials find the Smoke? 85) Based on their conversation, do you think Dr. Cable trusts Tally? Why or why not? 86) What does Dr. Cable ask Tally to do in this chapter? 87) How does Tally escape from the Special escorting her?

Chapter 36: Run / Chapter 37: Amazing / Chapter 38: Ruin 88) How does Tally escape from the Specials chasing her in the forest? 89) What do the other Smokies leave for Tally, and why does it make her sad? 90) Why did the Specials destroy the library? 91) What do David and Tally discover happened to the Boss? Why did this happen to him?

Chapter 39: Maddy and Az / Chapter 40: The Oil Plague 92) What flaws in Tally’s escape story does David point out? Why doesn’t David suspect Tally despite these flaws? 93) What evidence is there that Maddy and Az figured Special Circumstances would one day find the Smoke? (Hint: What does David tell Tally, and what do they find?) 94) What is the “oil plague” that David describes? How was it the end of the Rusties’ civilization? 95) When David says, “…every civilization has its weakness. … That weakness might be an idea”, what idea is he referring to?

Chapter 41: Familiar Sights 96) What slows down David and Tally’s trip to the city? 97) Why does David think Shay will forgive Tally once they save her?

Chapter 42: Accomplices / Chapter 43: Over the Edge 98) Who are the accomplices referred to in the chapter title? 99) What is the uglies’ diversion, and why is it guaranteed to draw out Special Circumstances?

Chapter 44: Inside / Chapter 45: Rescue 100) How do Tally and David infiltrate the Special Circumstances building? 101) Think about the door labels Tally reads in the Special Circumstances building. How are the rooms in the bottom level very different from the upper levels? Why would the bottom level rooms be kept deep within the building? 102) Why was Shay forced to have the operation? a. What’s her attitude about it?

Chapter 46: Getaway / Chapter 47: Night Alone 103) What are some reasons that Maddy didn’t want David to ride with Tally? Chapter 48: Hippocratic Oath 104) Why don’t the uglies believe in Special Circumstances? 105) After reading Maddy and Shay’s conversation, explain whether or not you agree with Shay’s contention that Shay has a better life after the operation. 106) Why does Maddy refuse to operate on Shay? Do you agree with her? Why or why not?

Chapter 49: Confessions / Chapter 50: Down the River 107) What does Tally volunteer for? 108) Do you agree with Maddy that Tally is to blame for Az’s death? 109) Why do you think Tally wanted Shay to write down her contract of having Maddy do it?