The first book in Scott Westerfeld's international bestselling series, Uglies!

Tally lives in a world where your sixteenth birthday brings aesthetic perfection: an operation which erases all your flaws, transforming you from an 'Ugly' into a 'Pretty'. She is on the eve of this important event, and cannot wait for her life to change. As well as guaranteeing supermodel looks, life as a Pretty seems to revolve around having a good time. But then she meets Shay, who is also fifteen - but with a very different outlook on life. Shay isn't sure she wants to be Pretty and plans to escape to a community in the forest - the Rusty Ruins - where Uglies go to escape ' turning'. Tally won't be persuaded to join her, as this would involve sacrificing everything she's ever wanted for a lot of uncertainty.

When she is taken in for questioning on her birthday, however, Tally gets sent to the Ruins anyway - against her will. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she could ever imagine: find her friend Shay and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. What she discovers in the Ruins reveals that there is nothing 'pretty' about the transformations... And the choice Tally makes will change her world forever.

This reassuring picture book explains what autism is in simple terms, helping children with siblings or classmates with autism understand what everyday life feels like from a child with autism's perspective. The superb A First Look At series consists of a number of reassuring picturebooks that give advice and promote interaction between children, parents, and teachers on a wide variety of personal, social and emotional issues. Notes for parents and teachers at the back of the book provide valuable advice for how to share this book with your child or class. Suitable for Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7), occasional prompts throughout the text give a chance to discuss the issue being raised. Written by trained psychotherapist, journalist and parent, and illustrated by an experienced children's book artist, this is a part of an acclaimed and successful, long-running series of picture-book non-fiction books for Early Years. Books in the series give advice and promote interaction between children, parents and teachers on a wide variety of personal, social and emotional issues. They are excellent tools for teachers to use during classroom discussions.

Addyson Michaels is the most popular girl in school. She has a head of perfect brown hair, crystal clear skin, and eyes the most alluring shade of amber you've ever seen. No one sees those things, though. Her celebrity status stems from the fact that she's sixteen years old, five feet and six inches tall, and weighs 245 pounds. Anyone looking for someone to tease, degrade, pull pranks on, or humiliate to better their own reputation invariably finds their way to Addy. Everyone knows her by name.

Braxton Carmen, Addy's lifelong best friend, just happens to be one of the hottest guys in her school-a point that only serves to make things worse. Brax is very protective of Addy and has very easily adapted to the "big brother" role, though he's only about a month older. Brax is at the center of every positive thing Addy has to hold on to, and over the last few months she's begun to notice a change in her feelings for him. Could it be love?

Motivated by her feelings for Braxton and appreciation for his loyalty to her all these years, Addy begins to wonder if he would enjoy the life he'd have if he weren't stuck protecting her from the cruelty of their peers. Perhaps it's time to let him go-even if he doesn't want to.