Books like Uglies & Pretties

A sleek, adrenaline-fueled ride through a glittering utopia that hides a chillingly hollow core. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Uglies & Pretties.

sleek
sinister
tense
adventurous

01
Pretties
Scott Westerfeld
A dizzying, adrenaline-soaked fight to wake up from a manufactured dream.
Shares:
- urgent
02
Specials
Scott Westerfeld
An adrenaline-soaked plunge into a hyper-engineered mind, where icy perfection battles the messy reality of being human.
Shares:
- tense
- the price of perfection
- bodily autonomy
03
Beastly
Alex Flinn
A modern, angsty spin on a classic fairy tale that trades castle walls for a New York City brownstone and explores the painful, beautiful process of learning to look past the surface.
Shares:
- earnest
04
Under the Never Sky
Veronica Rossi
A sweeping, sensory journey through a deadly wasteland where survival depends on trusting the enemy.
Shares:
- tense
- urgent
- earnest
05
Enclave
Ann Aguirre
A gritty, survival-focused dystopian journey where a loyal fighter begins to question the dangerous rules of her isolated world.
Shares:
- tense
- questioning
- earnest
- loss of innocence
06
Allegiant
Veronica Roth
A tense, emotionally devastating conclusion that forces its heroes to question everything they thought they knew about their world.
Shares:
- tense
- urgent
- earnest
07
Matched (Matched Trilogy, Book 1)
Ally Condie
A quiet, poetic awakening wrapped in a soft dystopian romance where choosing who to love becomes the ultimate act of rebellion.
Shares:
- earnest
08
Girls under pressure (Girls #2)
Jacqueline Wilson · 1998
A fiercely honest, chatty dive into the agonizing mirror-checks and intense friendships of early adolescence.
Feels:
- intimate
- angsty
- bittersweet
09
The Selection (The Selection #1)
Kiera Cass
A glittering, addictive blend of reality television drama and dystopian fairy tale romance.
Shares:
- tense
- earnest
10
Dumplin'
Julie Murphy
A big-hearted, Dolly Parton-fueled anthem about taking up space and finding the courage to be unapologetically yourself.
Feels:
- warm
- triumphant
- summery
11
North of beautiful
Justina Chen
A tender, map-making journey of a girl learning to navigate past her deepest insecurities to find a beauty entirely her own.
Shares:
- earnest
12
Monster High
Lisi Harrison
A snappy, spooky-chic dive into the ultimate high school nightmare: trying to fit in when you are literally built differently.
Feels:
- spooky-chic
- angsty
- energetic

Back to Uglies & Pretties