Pretties

This book took me by surprise! I assumed that since Tally was turned into a “pretty-head” the book would be off track and boring, but man was I wrong. Scott Westerfeld did it again! He worked just enough emotion, action, romance, and intrigue to make this second book in the series just as great at the first. Although, there were some things that frustrated me the book as a whole was amazing!

Tally is one of my frustrations! I like her character, yet I hate her character. Tally is quite gullible and keeps running into these traps. She just seems full of it to me. Her thought process can leave you quite annoyed sometimes. I feel like I cannot relate to her on as many levels as I would have liked. On the other hand, she is a good person at heart. She cares about her friends and even people she just meets. Tally is a fighter, which is another reason I actually like her character. She does not back down easily.

The romance in this book is another thing that has thrown me off. I know that we do not always end up with our first loves, but Tally has really screwed up in this one. She now has two guys that she “loves”. At first I went along with it thinking “Oh ok, she lost her memory when she became a pretty it’s cool”, until she remembered everything and still chose to choose another guy, Zane. I would not have been so annoyed with this information had I felt that David and her separated rationally. There are places in the book that make you feel like maybe she does not want him anymore because he is so “unattractive”.

The twists in this book just keep getting better and better. Tally has made friends with a new “camp”, and she experiences how their life is manipulated from day to day. She also finds out what happens when you take matters into your own hands and make irrational decisions (more than once let me add). The main twists are what had me on the edge of my seat. I was absolutely shocked with the ending!

With that being said, the ending was amazing! It is a perfect place to pick up from on the next book. I am eager to find out what happens to Zane, Shay, Tally, and David. ******SPOILER SO PLEASE SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH********* After finding out that Shay has become a special, I have no clue how Tally will manage to save the day now. Not to mention that Zane has had half his brain destroyed. How will they possibly fix him? And how will Tally make their love last?

I have become neutral with Shay’s character in this book. At first I liked her because she wanted to be different, but now I feel that she has jumped off the deep end. I understand that she has had her mind messed with and she cannot quite put her finger on the “weird feelings” bothering her, but she has become a total monster. I am kind of sad about this because I really wanted to like her character. I feel bad for her and I want her to be the hero at the end of the day, but I also wonder what this story would become if she were to miraculously see the light of day. This has left me with a feeling of “whatever” on how her character turns out in the end.

The story has become a little confusing at this point. (move to next paragraph to skip this spoiler)*****SPOILER***** In this book, you find out there is another civilization living under the control of Special Circumstances and “The Pretties”. There is a slight amount of information that explains why they keep them trapped in their environment, but I found myself wanting a little more. We find out that they are the reason for the lesions in the brain. Their civilization has been in a blood feud for years, and for no apparent reason as far as we know. The lesions keep the pretties from conflict and anger. I get the fact that studying them helps progress their research, but where did they find these people and how long has this been going on. Why does no one really know about them?

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It has some pretty interesting concepts on what the future could hold. The characters may need some improvement, but I still have a couple I route for. I am eager to read the next book in this series to see where Westerfeld goes with this story. I would strongly recommend this read to anyone. People with an open mind will really enjoy this one!

This was so much better than the first book. I totally loved it.
I loved the new pretty words- it was so bubbly making.

I was heartbroken over David, I think that he and Tally are the perfect couple and not Zane(-la) who I think is cool by the way. I liked the fact that he didn't blame Tally outright for begging him to take the pill which now eats his brain.
My worst character in this book is Shay. I liked her in the first book but in this one she was just so off. She's the one who always get Tally(-wa) into trouble and then blames it on Tally. She didn't want the cure in the first book - I respect that decision as it was her body and she did not want to risk her life- which led to Tally deciding to become pretty. After Tally became pretty, got the cure which she shared with Zane, she (Shay) was angry that Tally didn't share it with her and turned herself into a cutter, then joined Special Circumstances and became a Special Special. If that wasn't enough, she decided to force tally into being a Special too! God she's crazy!
I still like the Special Circumstances though just not the Special Specials.

Anyway, this book is amazing and makes me realise that being pretty is not always what it's wrapped up to be.

Reader reviewed by Ruthie

Reader reviewed by Mickey

I think that "Pretties" is a wonderful book that portrays what would happen if the human race was exposed to a world completely without worry or care.  It clearly shows that even in the most perfect of worlds, rebellion is still coming on strong.  Even though the story takes place countless years into the future (I am pretty sure we are in the pre-rusty era) I feel it is easy to relate to some of these characters.  Like Tally, always feeling like she has some thing to prove and can put herself completely into anything she believes in.  And Zane, willing to do anything to be different and not pretty-minded.

Reader reviewed by Rachel Connell

At the end of Scott Westerfeld's first book the Uglies Tally decides to go back and become a Pretty to try and find a cure. Only thing is her time is filled with partying and she doesn't remember a thing. Then an Uglie comes and gives her two pills and she has to remembe why she decided to be a Pretty in the first place. She gives one of the pills to her boyfriend Zane who has a horrible reaction and Tally has to find a way to get him to the only doctors who can help; the ones outside the city.

Another great book in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. More action and romance that anyone would love to read.

Reader reviewed by HoopsGirl27

When Scott Westerfeld introduced readers to the world of Tally Youngblood in Uglies, it seemed at first a veritable Utopia. You turned 16, you got an operation that made you absolutely beautiful, and you got to live in a city where everything was done for you while you partied as much as you liked. What could possibly be wrong with that?

But there was a hidden, sinister force lurking beneath the world of the Uglies and the Pretties -- the world of the Specials, genetically enhanced people who were faster, stronger, and crueler in their beauty and outlook on the world. The Pretties live their lives largely unaware of this breed -- because the operation that made them pretty also caused lesions in their brains that leaves them forevery "pretty minded." They don't have the concentration, nor the concern, that to discover what's truly happening in their lives.

At the end of Uglies, Tally has turned 16, has discovered a free people who live out in the wilds (or the Smoke), and sacrifices herself to the Specials to become a Pretty anyway -- all to test whether or not a cure for the lesions will work.

And so begins the frenetically-paced adventure of Pretties. Tally, her memories erased, finds a letter addressed to herself, from herself, accompanied by two pills. But she's torn between wanting to be pretty forever, and her love for her new friend, Zane. Zane is a different kind of pretty -- one who likes to take crazy risks for the adrenaline rush, and it's his idea to split the two pills. Zane has had suspicions that something has been wrong with him since the operation to become pretty, and has discovered that only by staying bubbly -- an emotional state caused by an adrenal charge -- can he think through the constant haze of being pretty-minded.

The cure isn't without dangers, however, and while Tally begins thinking more clearly, Zane's level-headedness comes at the expense of ever increasing migraines. Their only hope is to escape New Pretty Town, find their way back to the New Smoke (since the Specials invaded and destroyed the old one) and hopefully find a cure for the cure.

'T is strange the mind, that very fiery particle,

Should let itself be snuff'd out by an article.

-- Lord Byron (1788-1824) "Don Juan"

While I was waiting for the book Pritties I found this review and it made me more excited to read the book!!!!!!

Reader reviewed by ruber band

Pretties is a really good book. i personally dont like it as much as uglies but it still caught my attention and really wanted to know what happened at i end. This is a great story about how you can still change your self even though it may be hard it can still happed. Even though it is a fiction it still has a vast meaning behind it. Scott Westerfeld is an amaizing auther that makes a wonder book. Definatly a reader

Reader reviewed by Kath

What a great book. After the first book, Uglies, you just cant stop...you have to read the second one.
Pretties is life back in the city for tally after beeing transformed (and brain washed) by her opération. Her frinds, the smokies, sneeks pills to cure her brain so that she can see clear...but some thing goes wrong for her boy friends that also took the pill. Now it's a question of breaking out of the city to cure him, but it's not that easy...
Will they make it with out beeing captured by the Special circumstances???
Once again this book was verry easy to read, verry captivating and the action never stops.
It's a great book, Read it!!!
Kath

Reader reviewed by Taylor

Just like Uglies, Pretties starts out with a bang creating an addiction from the start. But this time its because you can't believe what is happening. Tally is a pretty, and she is happy about it! This made me so angry, yet addicted, and I had to keep reading.
My girly side also falls in love with Zane because he is a bubblehead (which makes him gorgeous) but yet he has an original and serious side to him. How could a girl ask for anything more in a man?

This book is thuroughly addicting, and constantly changing. Just when you think you know whats going to happen, something changes. I love the relationships they create in this book, although i thought one character, Fausto, wasn't explained very much. I love that Westerfeld turned around the entire image of bubbleheads, and gave them the potential to change things from how they have been for the past 300 years (with the help of Tally of course.)

Just like the last book, this one has a cliffhanger ending, forcing you (not that you will need any extra push) to read the next one.

Another great book, 4/5

Reader reviewed by Jaydin

Pretties definately caught my attention, even from the first page. It was action packed and had a good plot and good descriptions.

I thought that it was the best of the trilogy and it was a very good attention grabber. I was wondering what was going to happen every time i turned a page.