Shay's Story by Scott Westerfeld, Devin Grayson, and Steven Cummings

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Shay's Story
by Scott Westerfeld, Devin Grayson, and Steven Cummings

Shay is an interesting character in the Uglies series, so having a graphic novel from her perspective is such a great idea! I liked seeing Zane and the other Crims during the time before the series started. I feel like Tally, David, and many of the other characters underestimate her or ignore her a lot in the series, so it was neat having the focus be her for a change and to see more of Shay's wild side, her cleverness, and her talents. The clothing prank was a hoot, for example.

What I didn't like was David coming right out and telling Shay he knows she likes him and pretty much un-inviting her to the Smoke. Maybe I missed something when I read Uglies, but I always assumed Shay was secretly lusting and trying to flirt with David, but that he just wasn't interested and didn't ever notice her. I prefer to think of it more as him just being interested in Tally when she shows up and less of him choosing between them. I thought it was more subtle and complex in the book and more heavy-handed here. There were a couple other things that felt like they didn't fit into series canon the way I remembered it.

I've got to agree with melydia's assessment of the artwork. I read the end notes by Westerfeld, who explains that the Uglies aren't supposed to be Ugly, it's just that they have such a warped sense of what is ugly and what is pretty, that pretty to us looks Ugly. But I would have preferred that they look NORMAL. And the change between Ugly!Shay and Pretty!Shay seems to be a slightly wider mouth and slightly rounder eyes. Ugly!Zane seemed to go from blond to black hair, and that's it. And David didn't look at all like I pictured him based on how he was described in the books. It just seems like such a wasted opportunity, given all the visual elements that are important in the story.

I liked the concept art at the end (I'm a sucker for those little extras in graphic novels) as well as author and artist notes.

A neat concept for a graphic novel, but it just didn't live up to my expectations.