Ugliest
The Art of Being Ugly Book 3
by Kelly Vincent
Life, academics, and activism. Facing hate and bigotry, can this agender teen make a difference in LGBTQ+ rights?
Oklahoma City. Nic Summers is equal parts excited and nervous. Determined to excel, the seventeen-year-old strives to find time to survive physics, build confidence, and enter a competitive art mentorship. But the principled teen’s stress skyrockets when a protest video results in them and a trans friend being forced by the school to move to the female dorms.
Burning with a strong sense of justice, the normally shy teenager summons the courage to speak out against damaging state legislation. But when the vision goes viral, they’re shocked when the authorities hand down an ultimatum: stop or be expelled.
Can Nic dig deep and prevail against institutional bullies ready to erase their identity?
Sharing the plight of those too often silenced, author Kelly Vincent opens the door to understanding and empathy. Through the eyes of a big-hearted main character, Vincent leads the way toward accepting and appreciating each other’s differences.
Ugliest is the inspiring third book in The Art of Being Ugly contemporary YA series. If you like protagonists who grow, making a positive impact, and standing up for the underdog, then you’ll love Kelly Vincent’s soul-stirring tale.
5 out of 5 fairies
This series has been an absolute roller coaster of emotions, but watching as Nic grew and changed with each challenge kept me reading, and it’s a little odd to realize I’ve reached book three already. I feel like I know Nic so well at this point, like a friend I’ve had for years. It was so heartwarming to see Nic had found a good, supportive community, even if it was being threatened by the powers that be. This can be hard to read at times, especially as someone part of the community that grew up in a small town, but the tough things are real things that happen to teens and young adults in the US today. I appreciate how real everything felt, and I was rooting for Nic and friends the entire time. Cannot recommend this series enough for anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community, especially those who feel alone.
🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
AWARDS
Barnes & Noble NOOK Top Indie Favorites for August and September 2024
BookLife Editor’s Pick
MORE PRAISE
“A hopeful and empowering novel of teen activism.” – Kirkus Reviews
“An important work of YA fiction, Vincent’s evolving storyline and mature thematic focus make this a profound work of LGBT literature.” – SPR Reviews
“Kelly Vincent’s novel Ugliest is the earnest continuation of an agender Oklahoma teenager’s coming-of-age story.” – Foreword Reviews
“Empowering journey of LGBTQ teens standing up against adult judgment.” – BookLife Review, Editor’s Pick
The Art of Being Ugly Series
Figuring out your sexuality and gender identity while dealing with bullying, heartbreak, friends moving away, way too much homework, and your conservative state trying to erase you and your friends with legislation isn’t something just anyone can do. But Nic Summers can.
The Whole Series
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Ugly (Book 1)
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
Uglier (Book 2)
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Ugliest (Book 3)
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
KELLY VINCENT (they/ them) wrangles data weekdays and spends the rest of their time playing with words. They grew up in Oklahoma but have moved around quite a bit, with Glasgow, Scotland being their favorite stop. They now live near Seattle with several cats who help them write their stories by strategically walking across the keyboard, with their first novel, “Finding Frances,” a fine example of this technique.
Their four subsequent books, “Ugly,” “Always the New Girl,” “Binding Off,” and “Uglier,” were released in 2022 and 2023. “Finding Frances” and “Always the New Girl” won several indie awards and “Ugly” was selected as the Honor book for SCBWI’s Spark Award in the Books for Older Readers category for 2022.
Kelly has a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Oklahoma City University’s Red Earth program. Learn more about Kelly on their website.
