Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: When did Scott Westerfeld create Uglies?
Uglies is a 2005 science fiction novel by Scott Westerfeld. It is set in a future post scarcity dystopian world in which everyone is considered an "ugly", but then turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery when they reach the age 16. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society's enforced conformity, after her newfound friends Shay and David show her the downsides to becoming a "Pretty".
In an interview with Simon and Schuster's book newsletter, author Scott Westerfeld talks about the inspiration behind the series. Westerfeld thinks that the future will allow people greater control over their appearance: "We are definitely heading toward a world in which lots of people will get to decide how they look. That will change what we think of as beautiful, and what beauty means to us." In light of this Westerfeld "wanted to write a future in which these technologies were fairly common."
The Last Days, a horror novel by Scott Westerfeld, is a companion book to "Peeps". It takes place in New York, during the end of civilization hinted upon in "Peeps".
Steven Cummings illustrated Uglies in a manga-style graphic novel written by Westerfeld and Devin K. Grayson called Shay's Story which tells the story from Shay's perspective. It was published in a black-and-white 5¾ x 8¼ inches format by Del Rey Manga in 2012.[27]
A major theme in Westerfeld's work is the idea of free thinking or questioning authority. In "Uglies," the protagonist Tally rebels against her society's rules first with harmless pranks and eventually by leaving the city altogether. She finds a group of runaway uglies who refuse to conform to social norms that includes undergoing cosmetic surgery. Similarly, "So Yesterday" examines popularity and why certain trends are considered 'cool.' The novels praises innovators who think outside the box and come up with new fashion statements entirely on their own.
Westerfeld was born in Dallas, Texas. As a child he moved to Connecticut for his father Lloyd's job as a computer programmer. He saw his dad working with planes, submarines, and the Apollo missions.
Another common theme in Westerfeld's novels is coming of age. Because Westerfeld writes primarily for young adult audiences, his protagonists are usually teenagers who find themselves over the course of the novel or series. Tally in "Uglies," Cal in "Peeps" and Hunter in "So Yesterday" all struggle with finding where they belong until they come to terms with who they are.
In a blogpost in 2006, Westerfeld claimed to have ghostwritten five Goosebumps books, one of which was All-Day Nightmare, one of the entries in the Give Yourself Goosebumps series which came out in February 2000. 
When asked how he came up with the idea of Uglies, Westerfeld said, "the inspiration came from a friend whose dentist asked him to consider getting cosmetic surgery." [20] He is the son of a computer programmer for Univac, which meant he grew up familiar with the cutting edge of 1960s technology. Amanda Craig said that "it is his prescient perception of how such inventions will lead to absolute loss of privacy which has elicited as much fan-mail as the issue of how looks dominate our lives." [21]
A “utopia resting on ruthless suppression of individual freedom” was Amanda Craig of The Times’s description of Tally’s city.[17] Many critics identified the trend of a controlling government in the novel.[18] People in the protagonist’s world are “programmed and designed by the Pretty committee, ” with no say-so in their operation, and identity is placed firmly “in the hands of the state”.[15] Dragoo and Scott point out how segregated the city is, with Pretties, Uglies, Middlies, and Crumblies neatly divided into different sections.[16] Many reviewers have commented on the way in which the city manipulates its inhabitants, including the supposedly rebellious uglies, who are nothing more than “docile bodies”.[15] Bedies, the dystopian society depicted by Westerfeld includes a particularly common trope in the genre: the duality of spaces, the metropolis representing the totalitarian civilization and nature as a field for freedom.[19]
Westerfeld graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1985. He began composing music as a teenager and composes music for modern dance. In 2001, Westerfeld married the Australian author Justine Larbalestier.
Pretties is a 2005 science fiction novel and the second book of the "Uglies" Trilogy written by Scott Westerfeld. It is set in a future dystopian world in which everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery upon reaching age 16. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society's enforced conformity.
Goliath is a biopunk/steampunk novel by Scott Westerfeld, and illustrated by Keith Thompson. The novel is the third and final installment in the Leviathan series after "Behemoth", released on September 20, 2011.
Specials is the third novel in the "Uglies" series of novels, written by the American author Scott Westerfeld. It continues the story of the protagonist, Tally Youngblood.
"Leviathan" and its subsequent sequels stand out notably to other young adult novels that are published in recent years for featuring illustrations in-between its pages. The idea of incorporating illustrations into them began back in 2007 when author Westerfeld had discovered illustrations for the Japanese translation of his earlier work "Uglies," to which he had shared them on his blog. He was met with feedback from English-speaking fans who complained of how their novels were lacking in such features; until one reader pointed out how they are a norm in Japanese novels, particularly light novels. Further research by Westerfeld also found it to be a commonality in old Western novels prior to the invention of the camera. Inspiration also came from adventure novels that were around during the World War I era, which became one basis of research for the series' settings.
Nora Barlow appears as a supporting character in Scott Westerfeld's 2009 young adult steampunk novel "Leviathan.", Behemoth, and Goliath. In Westerfeld's alternate history series, Barlow is reimagined as a prominent genetic engineer and diplomat.
Several of his novels have been optioned for films. "So Yesterday" has been optioned to be made into a film by one of the producers of "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine". However, this option 'slowly died', as Scott Westerfeld wrote on his blog. The "Uglies" series was optioned in 2006 by Twentieth Century Fox as a possible film series.
All three books have been favorably received. Praise has focused on the addictive quality, especially of the first book, and the action. John Green of "The New York Times" compared "The Hunger Games" with Scott Westerfeld's "The Uglies" series. "Catching Fire" was praised for improving upon the first book. "Mockingjay" was praised for its portrayal of violence, world building, and romantic intrigue.
There is also some moderate debate sparked by Uglies over the issue of monitoring people. The state has started to track teens through their cell phones and on occasion through dental implants.[2] Westerfeld feels that this will “result in a total loss of privacy,” however, others feel that this technology is necessary to properly supervise people.[2]
Scott Westerfeld has described Minerva as another in his long line of 'sexy but crazy' girls he writes about, much like Melissa from "Midnighters".
The novel sparked discussion over the use of plastic surgery to improve one's looks. The author said he has “received many letters from girls who have decided against having surgery since reading Uglies,” while others, sparked by Uglies, have started to ponder the ethics of changing your body’s appearance.[2] Westerfeld has theorized that “having extreme cosmetic surgery will be like buying a $1,000 Gucci bag, an indication that you are a member of the privileged class."[2] Critics echo his opinion. However, Westerfeld has also stated he “wouldn’t hesitate [to use plastic surgery] if he had a kid with port-wine stain. We have all been altering our appearances ever since clothing was invented.”[2] Other critics have stated that while altering one's appearance with plastic surgery can be ethically debatable, the benefits of it to people who have need for it are tremendous.[28]
Scott David Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known as the author of the "Uglies" and the "Leviathan" series.
In the last book of the "Uglies" series by Scott Westerfeld, a character named Frizz Mizuno invented a surgical brain procedure called "Radical Honesty" that renders him unable to lie. In fact, if he hears someone tell a lie when he himself knows the truth, he can't even simply "not" speak—he has to reveal the truth under any circumstances. Even at the possible cost of his own life and the lives of people he cares about, he still can't lie to save them, because his brain is "wired" to speak the truth.
In the dedication page for Uglies, Westerfeld says: “This novel was shaped by a series of e-mail exchanges between myself and Ted Chiang about his story “Liking What You See: A Documentary.” His input on the manuscript was also invaluable.” In another interview, Westerfeld says that this documentary is about a new technology that enables an individual to turn off their ability to see beauty so they can focus on the deeper and more important parts of another individual. In a 2012 interview on Bookyurt, Westerfeld explained that his point in writing the book was not to make a big commentary on the issues with beauty, but to make people aware of the culture of retouching that is developing in the world and to be aware of our own ideas about beauty and our need to think for ourselves.[24]
Leviathan is a 2009 novel written by Scott Westerfeld and illustrated by Keith Thompson. First of a trilogy set in alternative version of World War I, it has Central Powers (known in-universe as "Clankers") using mechanized war machines opposed by Entente Powers (as "Darwinists") who fabricate living creatures genetically. The central protagonists are Aleksander, son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; and Deryn, a Scottish girl with dreams of joining the British Air Service with her brother. The sequels are "Behemoth" and "Goliath". The first two chapters of this book were released with "Bogus to Bubbly: Insider's Guide to the World of Uglies".