Freedom is a cancer, not a right according to many characters in “The Uglies,” a four-book series written by Scott Westerfeld.

After being blackmailed into betraying her friend, protagonist Tally Youngblood unexpectedly finds a world away from obeying the authority and realizes that the obsession with physical appearances taught to the citizens of her home was just a way for the Authority to gain control. In an epic battle for the right to their minds and their independence, Tally and her friends challenge the way of life they have always known by going against the enormity of power that the Authority holds. Filled with non-stop action, drama, romance and a philosophical outlook on what civilization should look like, this series is a must read.

 In the series, hard-to-answer questions are asked but not all answered, which is one of the many intriguing qualities that this series contains. With amazing logic that relates the reader not only to the protagonists, but the antagonists as well, these books get the reader thinking while also allowing them to enjoy a breathtaking tale of young adults fighting for their lives while participating in an inevitable war against the Authority their civilization had been taught to obey.

Although the writing style is somewhat juvenile, the story is both sophisticated and mature. Frankly, no other style would complement it any better. Facing challenges that most adults wouldn’t be able to handle, the teenage characters deal with problems in their own unique ways while still “curing” the situation.

All in all, Westerfeld tells a story that transports the reader into a world where readers participate in an extraordinary journey. This is definitely an amazing set of books that everyone should read at least once.