Review - Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Pretties (Uglies #2)
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: Nov 1, 2005
Paperback, 370 pages

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Couple of things that took me by surprise. The second book, this one I am reviewing, was published back in 2005. That was over 6 years ago. Crazy that I am just now really reading the entire series. It is nice that I don't have to wait for the following book to come out, but odd that I haven't been really seeing the news on these til now. Second, there are at least three different covers that I have seen. I prefer the ones to the left. The designs are more attuned to how I feel when I read the books. I also do not care for books with real people on the front. I like to imagine the people on my own. Oh and these would make an incredible movie!!! (hint)

I read the first one months ago, so it did take me a bit to remember what I was reading and what had happened. You can read my review of Uglies #1 here!

I would highly recommend these books be read in the order they are in the series. I get this questions all the time at work and have a hard time because WHO wants to read a series out of order?? Really why would anyone do this? I admit that Westerfeld does a great job keeping the reader informed and up to speed, but that also takes away from reading the books and finding out what happens because they tell you in the next book.

Tally has survived being ugly, met the boy of her dreams (uhm, her ugly dreams) and he has taught her how to survive in the wilderness. Due to circumstances I refuse to divulge here, she winds up pretty. They give her the surgery to become pretty which she avoided in book one and she is now living in the city as a pretty. She is careless, vapid and constantly partying. She meets her old friend, Shay, but they aren't as close as could be because of Tally's slight betrayal in book one. She does meet a new boy, a pretty boy who she seems drawn to, but he has other plans and they involve Tally. As she is getting comfortable in Pretty Town she has a visit by an old friend. One she can't quite remember, but one that brings trouble and a whole whirl-wind of excitement. As her memory comes back, her level of trouble increases. She will soon learn the value of mind over body.

I am a huge fan of these books, not only as a teen at heart, but because they are clean and youthful. A teen, a tween, a younger maybe slightly sheltered younger person would truly love these books. They have excitement, energy and most importantly a young woman who is very inspiring. They teach you how to think for yourself and going with the flow still requires thinking. They teach how to be a leader amongst a crowd. And so many other wonderful life lessons.

Summary -
Gorgeous. Popular. Perfect. Perfectly wrong.

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.

Review - Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Title: Uglies
Uglies Series #1
Author: Scott Westerfield
Publisher:
Publish Date:

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When I first started this book, I honestly didn't think I'd finish it. I didn't like it. The language was very tedious and mundane. I felt like I was reading the same sentence over and over again. Granted this is a girl who is turning 16 years, most of us don't have many coherent thoughts then either, but I just felt like it was dumbed down.

Oddly enough, the more I read, the more I liked the book and before I knew it I was flying through the pages and of course, now I want to know what happens in the second book.

I get that the society is bred to be dumb at first. Taught to hate how they look and make fun of each other to push themselves into getting the surgery to become pretty. I get that they are all kids and just out to have a good time before "growing up". It did change thought. It was almost as if the more Tally learned of life, the more the sentences became real and not so dumb.

I cannot believe I actually liked this book. I am shocked because I really wasn't impressed to begin with. But now I really am enamored with the characters, the plot and where it is going.

Tally is the main character. She cannot wait to become pretty and meet up with her other friends who are already living in Pretty Town. Til she meets Shay, a girl who cannot wait to be free of this travesty called "growing up and becoming pretty". Surprise, surprise, she likes who she is and what she looks like. GOOD FOR HER! Tally is so deep in the thick of wanting to be like everyone else, she doesn't understand Shay, but they become friends anyhow. Then one night, Shay appears to tell Tally she is leaving and wants her to come with her. There is a society that lives and grows on their own, no surgery required. It's called Smoke. But Talley refuses to go. When Tally arrives days later for her surgery to become pretty, the authorities are not happy that Shay has disappeared. They want Tally to go get her and bring her back and Tally will not have her surgery until then.

As you can imagine, Tally's journey is very eye opening. She meets David, the only boy ever born outside of Ugly and Pretty Town. His parent's who used to be pretty and have a secret of their own. It is a fight for Tally, does she tell the truth and keep her friends or does she betray them all and get what she wants?

Summary -
Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.