Just the Way you are

The book I am reading is called "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld.

On the first chapters Tally's friend, Peris just beamed a Pretty and she wanted to go to see him, to see how he looked, to see him pretty. She is still an Ugly and she couldn’t go to the Pretty Town where Peris lives. She didn’t care and she went anyways. She had to hide herself so no one sees her. She got to the mansion where was a party and there was Peris. Then some guys start chasing her even though they couldn’t see her face because she was wearing a pig mask. She entered to an elevator and behind her Peris got in and closed the door. They talk but not much and he told her that she has to leave so she doesn’t get caught. When she was leaving se saw a shadow and she thought it was a pretty that was waiting for her to give up and turn herself in. But then she notice that that shadow was another Ugly girl. Her name was Shay. They became friends and Shay teached Tally how to use a hoverboard.  One day they where at Tally’s house and she was showing Shay the morphos she had made of herself. Morphos is a thing that let you modify your face so you can play with it and see how you might be in the future when you turn Pretty. Shay hasn’t done any morpho so Tally was helping her to create one for her. Later that night they went hoverboarding out town and they got to a river that had wide water and they hoverboarded in it and they got very wet. At the end they got to the Rusty Ruins. In the ruins Shay showed Tally a roller coaster. They had a lot of fun. After that Tally was going to meet one of Shay’s that might be around but he wasn’t so she couldn’t met him. So they went back to town. The new Uglies had arrived and Tally and Shay made them a prank and then they went to the river and Shay confessed that she doesn’t want to be Pretty because she thinks that is you become Pretty you become boring and she wants to continue making tricks. But everything that Tally wants is to become a Pretty. So both of them got mad and didn’t talk to each other since then. But one night Shay showed up in Tally’s room and they forgave each other but then Shay asked Tally if she wanted to run away with her to a place where you don’t need the operation, you don’t need to be Pretty. Tally refused to leave and Shay leaves alone but gives Tally a note that only both of them could understand in witch said the location of the place she is going.

"Better dead than ugly" (50)

Tally's point of view is very different than my point of view. In my opinion I prefer to live happily and ugly than be pretty and sad or even dead. I don't think that being "ugly" or "pretty" is an important thing. Would you really prefer being dead than ugly? Why would you believe if someone say that you are ugly? It doesn't matter what others think, what matter is what you think about yourself. Just remember what Bruno Mars said, you are amazing just the way you are.

"They all look the same" (82)

In this part of the book Shay is asking Tally why she wants to be Pretty if everyone is the same. I think that Shay is right, why do you want to be like everyone else hen you can be yourself? It is better to be how you really are that to pretend to to be someone that you aren't. You should try to look like everyone else,  act like everyone else or do something that everyone else is doing instead of what you what to do just because you want to to fit in. 

I am really enjoying this book and I want to finish it as soon as possible. Until now there have happened many interesting things that make me want to keep reading. My prediction is that Shay will return to ask tally for hep and both will get in trouble but Shay will say that it was all Tally fault and she wont be able to become a Pretty never.

The Sad and Ugly Truth...

Cassia finally confessed to Ky what happened after the Matching Banquet, how his face flashed in her screen when she was going to see Xander's micro card. Some days later it was one of their lasts hiking class. But this time they were going to another hill that was different from the one they always climbed. They got in partners and thy had to go and explore the hill and look for obstacles that should be removed like fallen trees and plants. When Cassia and Ky where alone, they hid behind a fallen tree and there Cassia wrote "i love you" for Ky in the dirt. Just after she finished the officer called all the students to go back to the air train but they didn't care. they ran up the hill until they got to the top. There they where alone and they where talking about how Ky might get a new work position. Then all of a sudden they got closer and closer and they kissed. The next morning, Cassia woke up because she heard screaming again but this time they weren't the saws cutting the trees, it was a human screaming. She ran outside to see Aida Markham (Ky's mother) Lying on the floor crying because some Officers where taking Ky away. They didn't knew why they where taking him away. Cassia feels guilty because if Ky was going because the sort for a new work position or the kiss it was her fault. Ky might be send to a better job or to fight in the outer provinces. Some days later, officers can to their neighbourhood and told everyone to take their red tablets. Everyone takes the red tablet except for Cassia. the red tablet makes you forget certain things, in this case what happened to Ky. Cassia and her family are going to be relocated to Farmlands in another province. The Markham are going to be relocated too. Cassia's officer told her that everything was planed, Ky in the matching pool, Ky's pictures, the same hiking group and partners. Also the officer knew that Cassia didn't took her red tablet because she didn't wanted to forget everything that happened between her and Ky.

"Why we let you see Ky's pictures that you would be curious. Why we made sure you were assigned to the same hiking group, and then to the same pairs." (342)

This part of the book was shocking for me because the officer confessed that all that happened between Cassia and Ky was all planed and it was all a lie. They were just experimenting with them and playing with their lives. The only thing that came to my mind in that moment was Why? Why do they control other people's lives? Cassia was really in love with Ky but it was all fake.

"Even if it means death, I think I would welcome that now."

Cassia was so broken-hearted that she wouldn't minded to die that  moment. Some Officers took away the man she loved even though it wasn't her match. But, does a guy is really worth dying for? Well, I don't think so... there is so much more in life then just a guy. You can do many things and you don't need a guy to be happy. And as I always say "Fries before Guys"

I loved this book and I am looking forth to read the next book. I loved the main plot of the story and I would recommend this book to people that like romantic novels. 

Sisyphus

Xander kept Ky's artefact safe and buried it in Ky's yard to keep it safer. The next day on the hill Ky continued teaching Cassia how to write. That same day Cassia had dinner with her mom that just came back from a trip. That night Cassia and her friends went to the Game centre as they always do. Xander noticed that Ky loosed on purpose. The next day she had another test but now this time she had to do real life sorting. That night she overheard the parents talking about another trip her mom had to make. She talked with Ky about Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a man that got punished by the Gods. His punishment was that he had to roll a huge rock to the top of a hill but when he finished the rock always rolled down again and had to start all over again. Cassia could relate with this story because everyday she climbed up the hill and then went down and she repeat that every day, she wanted to get a new challenge. At the top of the hill Ky admitted that he is an aberration and that he couldn't be matched. Then Cassia asked him how does he would like to be his match if he could have one and he answered "You". Some days later Cassia was at school when she got called because she made an infraction. When she got outside, she saw and officer waiting for her. She told Cassia that she cant like Ky anymore or the next time she will be infracted for real. Early in the morning Cassia woke up because she heard screams. They weren't screams, they were saws because the officers where cutting the maple tree from every house in the neighborhood because not every tree was the same size and shape. Ky gave Cassia a poem from the man that wrote the other poem that she had before she burned. That night she dreamed with Ky but the only person she is supposed to dream with is Xander.

"It wasn't as easy as it sounds. As he was about to reach the top, the rock rolled back to the bottom and he had to start again. That happened every time. He never got the rock to the top. He went on pushing forever" (235).

When I read this part of the book I had a connection because when I went to Greece this summer my dad told me this same story about Sisyphus. Sisyphus was punished by the Gods. His punishment was to roll a big and heavy rock to the top of a hill but when he got to the top the rock rolled back down and he had to start all over again. Also this story makes me think a lot. For example one thought that came to my head was that even the simplest things can also be very difficult and almost impossible because nothing is impossible. 

"I realise that no place is completely good. No place is completely bad."

This quote is very true. not everything is completely good or completely bad. There is always a little bad in the good and a little good in every bad. A great example that shows this is the symbol of Yin-Yang. Also, always there is a good side of things but also there is a bad side. You choose which  side you want to see. If you want to look at everything the bad things and be pessimists, it is your choose but in my opinion is better to see the bright side of things and stay positive! :) 

I'm really enjoying reading this book. In fact I think it is becoming my favourite book. I have many predictions for hat is going to happen in the last chapters of the book but I think that one is that most important than the others. My prediction is that Cassia and Ky will still be in love and they will get caught and they will separate them and Cassia will become a Single and the society will assign another mach to Xander. Some days later Cassia starts to realise that she doesn't love Ky but she loves Xander and she cant be with him any more. 

Think A Lot But Don't Say Much

Cassia, Xander, Em and Ky went to a picnic and to plant some flowers to decorate a park and as a reward the got ice-cream. There was Cassia and Xander's first kiss. When the picnic ended they went to the music hall to listen to music but there Em got an anxiety attack and Xander had to give her his green tablet. You take the green tablets when you need to calm down. That night Cassia dreamed that Em was in her matching banquet and she had to take the red tablet and that killed her. On one actually knows what the red tablet does. The next day, Cassia had to perform her work in front of officers that will determine her job. When she finished that she went to research for more poems Tennyson. When she got home her mother told her that she had to go on a work trip and she didn't knew when she was getting back. Cassia was sad and she will miss her mother because she doesn't travel much. That day was Em's Matching banquet and she asked Cassia if she could borrow her compact because she didn't had any artefact. Cassia lends Em her compact. When Em was getting back to her house on the air train she saw Ky and gave the compact to him because she thought that they will see the next morning on hiking but it was canceled because of the bad weather. The next day Ky gives Cassia the artefact but it wasn't her artefact, it was Ky's but she didn't noticed it until she got to her house but before Ky tough her to write some more. First she is learning to write her name. At the end, Ky gave Cassia an napkin and told her to open it when she is in a safer place and that she destroys it when she finish looking at it. The next day it took more time for her to get at the top of the hill. When she got up she saw Ky with another girl and they where drawing in the dirt. Cassia felt very bad because she thought that writing was something special between Ky and her. That night Cassia had a date with Xander but there was an Officer with them too so that made the things awkward. The next day when she got to her neighbourhood she saw many officers and she got worried because she didn't knew what was happening. The Offices where taking all the artefacts from everyone and Cassia still had Ky's artefact. She ran into the house and grab Ky's artefact and gave it to Xander that was waiting for her in the door. Xander had a plan so the officers don't take the artefact.

Because I read things I shouldn't read and learn things I'm not meant to know and I might be falling in love with someone else. What I say is, "My father..." (195)

I can connect with Cassia because we both think a lot but never actually say anything. She is always thinking about many things but never really says anything and there are a lot of things happening in her life at that moment but she acts like everything is fine. She still lying to Xander. Little by little all of those  lies will accumulate and at the end they will explode and there is no way to stop it.

"Yellow is the perfect color for Em; it will look lovely against her creamy skin, her black hair, and dark eyes. It will make her look like sunshine, the spring kind" (141)

The author uses a very detailed descriptive language. She was able to paint a picture in my head. I cam imagine both girls in a room talking wearing their plain clothes and both thinking on how Em should look in that beautiful yellow dress.

I am really enjoying reading this book. Something new and interesting happens each time you read a new page. My prediction for the next chapters is that Cassia will learn more about Ky and what happened in his past and his family. Also I think that Ky will continue teaching Cassia how to write and then she will become an expert and we will rewrite the poems that she burned because now she regrets it.

Rules are meant to be broken

The next day Cassia and her family went to her Grandfather's Final banquet. The final banquet is when is your 80th birthday and they allow you, family and friends to eat whatever they want. They also talk and then the friends leave and the family stays to see how they inject a freezing substance to keep the body fresh until they found a way to bring back the life with some examples that the family should keep safe. The last time Cassia talked to her Grandfather he showed her a paper that was hidden in her compact. Some days later Cassia went to the theatre with her friends. She sat between Xander and Ky who is the boy that appeared in the micro card they gave Cassia with Xande's information. Cassia singed-up for hiking as a summer activity just like Ky. When she was up in the hill where no one could see her she opened her compact and pulled out the paper. It was a poem. The she heard someone coming so she hide the poem and started to run. When she got to the top of the hill there was an Officer and Ky. She got close to Ky to see what he was doing because he was drawing in the dirt. Ky confessed that he was writing. This was rare to Cassia because in her society they don't know how to write, they only know how to type with some symbols they invented to make things easier. Ky also told her that he saw her with the poem but he will keep the secret if she keep his secret too. Ky then promised to teach Cassia how to write. When she got home she saw officers in her house. She got nervous because she thought it was her fault but it wasn't. What happened was that her father lost her grandfather's samples, that was the only way to bring him back to life but now he is gone forever. The next day hiking was canceled because the bad weather. She took advantage of the situation and she went to her father's work to burn the poem because she thought that it was too much of a risk to keep it. After school Cassia went home and she told her father about the poem and how she destroy it. Her father confessed that he destroyed grandpa's samples because he asked him to. Cassia was very sad and disappointed.

"I did what I had to do; I did the right thing." (132)

In this part of the book Cassia just burned the poem that her Grandfather gave her. Now she is trying to convince herself that she did the right thing but she is feeling bad about what she did. When I read that part the only thing that I was thinking was that rules are meant to be broken and that she should do what her heart says, not what society tell her to do. Then she will regret everything she did. Another example where Cassia breaks the rules is when she asks Ky to teach her how to write.

"I should tell him about Ky's face on the screen. I should tell him about Ky in the woods, how saw the poem. I should tell Xander about the poem itself and the way I felt to let it go. Instead, I shake my head. I don't want to talk right now." (128)

Cassia should tell everything to Xander and she prefers to keep the secret for her MATCH. In my opinion she should tell Xander everything because he will eventually find out the truth sooner or later and when he finds out we will be mad and disappointed in Cassia for hiding him the truth and then there will be more trouble that there would be now. 

My prediction is that Xander will find out and he will claim to the Officials and they will forbid Cassia to see Ky again, they will not allow her to continue hiking and she will not be able to read poems even though they are from the Hundred Poems chosen by the society. She will continue go hiking and seeing Ky even though she shouldn't. Also she will regret burning the poem because that and her compact where that last things she had from he Grandfather.

Matching Ceremony

The book I'm reading is called is called "Matched" by Ally Condie. The book is about a girl named Cassia they lives in a society  where everything is controlled by the Officials. On the first chapter Cassia and other of her friends are on their way to their Matching Banquette. Cassia is wearing a beautiful green dress and has an artefact that her grandfather gave her. Her friend Xander is wearing a black suit and he has an artefact too. In this ceremony the society choses how will each one is going to spend the rest of their life's with. Generally, they matched them with people from other provinces, people they didn't know. But Cassia was a special case because she was matched to her best friend Xander. After they got matched, they gave them micro-card that contained all the information of their matches. When Cassia entered her micro card to see more information of Xander, his face popped up but then it disappeared and another faced appeared. The next day Cassia went to visit her Grandfather because it was the day before his final banquet.

"The Society doesn't make mistakes" (60)

This quote reminds me of a book I read last year that is called "The Giver". In both books they have the ideology that Society is perfect and it doesn't make mistakes therefore we should do everything the tell us to. Both books are very similar in many ways but the many similarity I found was the decisions that the authorities chose for the people for example who are they going to marry or where are they going to work. i think that these totalitarian government aren't good for the people because they don't make chooses for themselves and they will never have the chance to experience how it feel so fail but then after trying and trying to finally achieve what you want.

"I feel beautiful, in this dress: ice green, floating, full-skirted. The unaccustomed smoothness of silk against my skin makes me feel lithe and graceful." (6)

In this part the author uses imagery to describe who is Cassia's dress. When I read this part I could picture Cassia with her green silk dress sitting on the air train on her way to her Matching banquet. Also I can relate with her because each time I am wearing a dress I truly feel beautiful. She must feel a lot more beautiful than me because she has to here the same plain clothes everyday but I can choose what I want to wear. 

The first seven chapters of my book were very interesting. Since the beginning it is exciting and it has many details. Some parts make me ask many questions but mostly I wanted to know what happens next. AlsoI have some predictions for what happens next. One prediction I made was that Cassia will have to choose between her best friend and match Xander and the other face that appeared on her screen while watching the micro-card that they gave to her that contained Xander's information.