What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedUglies
Scott Westerfeld · Book · 2005
If you loved Uglies, start with Uglies (McG, 2024) — a film from the same story. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Uglies across media.
You loved Uglies because it explores the painful cost of conforming to society's rigid and often superficial physical expectations.
Start with the source
Adaptation
Uglies
McG · Film · 2024
Films on the same thread
The Hunger Games
Gary Ross · Film · 2012
Shares a thread with Uglies: Rebellion.
Like Uglies, this film portrays a chilling dystopian society where the government uses a televised spectacle to control its citizens, forcing a young protagonist to fight for her survival.
Fahrenheit 451
François Truffaut · Film · 1966
Explores: censorship, intellectual freedom, totalitarianism.
This classic shares the core Uglies theme of state-mandated control, depicting a world where individuality is suppressed and questioning the status quo becomes a dangerous act of personal rebellion.
Divergent
Neil Burger · Film · 2014
Shares a thread with Uglies: Rebellion.
Much like the world of Uglies, this story centers on a young woman who discovers a sinister government conspiracy hidden behind a rigid social structure that categorizes every citizen.
Slanted
Amy Wang · Film · 2026
Shares 2 threads with Uglies: Beauty Standards, Teen Sci-Fi.
This film mirrors the central preoccupation of Uglies by exploring how body dysmorphia and the pressure to meet beauty standards drive individuals toward drastic, life-altering surgical modifications for acceptance.
Series on the same thread
Freaks and Geeks
Paul Feig · Series · 1999
Explores: Social Outcasts, High School Angst, Identity Crisis.
If the social alienation Tally feels in Uglies resonated with you, this show captures that same feeling of being an outsider struggling to find an identity within high school hierarchies.
Skins
Bryan Elsley · Series · 2007
Shares 3 threads with Uglies: Friendship, Rebellion, Coming-of-Age.
This drama echoes the volatile teenage friendships and rebellious spirit found in Uglies, showing how young people navigate the messy, high-stakes process of defining themselves away from adult supervision.
Yo soy Betty, la fea
Fernando Gaitán · Series · 1999
Shares a thread with Uglies: Beauty Standards.
This series explores the internal conflict of the ugly duckling trope found in Uglies, focusing on how a brilliant woman navigates a world that values superficial appearance over true intelligence.
Pretty Little Liars
I. Marlene King · Series · 2010
Shares a thread with Uglies: Friendship.
The intense focus on secrets and the breakdown of identity within a clique mirrors the complex social pressures Tally faces when her friendships are tested by external societal forces.
Podcasts on the same thread
Ologies with Alie Ward
Alie Ward · Podcast · 2026
Explores: intellectual curiosity, scientific wonder, human obsession.
This podcast provides a fascinating real-world look at the very topics that define Uglies, such as the evolution of beauty standards and the strange scientific obsessions of human society.
Maintenance Phase
Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes · Podcast · 2026
Explores: scientific literacy, consumer protection, critical thinking.
Just as Uglies encourages readers to question the manufactured beauty of their world, this podcast helps you develop the critical thinking skills needed to debunk modern, harmful wellness myths.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Uglies based on a book?
Yes, the 2024 movie Uglies is an adaptation of the 2005 novel titled Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. The film follows the same premise where Tally must choose between finding her runaway friend or undergoing a transformation into a beauty.
What happens to Tally in Uglies?
In Uglies, Tally faces a difficult choice just before her sixteenth birthday. She must decide whether to turn in her best friend who ran away or forfeit her own transformation into a beauty, which would prevent her from ever becoming pretty.
Should I read the book Uglies before watching the movie?
Reading the 2005 book Uglies before watching the 2024 movie adaptation is a personal choice. Both versions center on Tally’s conflict regarding her sixteenth birthday, where the path to becoming a beauty requires her to betray her best friend.
Is the movie Uglies the same as the book?
The 2024 movie Uglies is an adaptation of the 2005 novel Uglies. Both versions explore the same central plot involving Tally, her sixteenth birthday, and the ultimatum she faces regarding her best friend and her own future as a beauty.