Pretties (Uglies)
The second installment of Scott Westerfeld’s New York Times bestselling and award-winning Uglies series—a global phenomenon that started the dystopian trend.
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.
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.
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Community Reviews
World: Book two explores the advanced-technology of New Pretty Town, a world designed to be super-safe, unbreakable, and a haze of bliss for the young pretties inhabiting it. In that sense, the world is amazing! The technology and capabilities adds an exciting futuristic feel, even though itâs a dystopian society. However, the way the technology is used by the young pretties leaves the technology under-utilized and vapid, leaving me craving for more. I wouldâve liked to see more advanced technology. Though most of what is shown about New Pretty Town is simple and based off current technology, hardly satiating the imagination.
Pacing: Like the first book the pace of the book speeds up as your read, spanning a few months in the beginning and only a matter of days in the last part of the book. It didnât have nearly the same intensity as the first book, which slowed it down. Most of the book was used for building, but it was a slow build that left me a little disappointed at the climax, following a similar ending of the first book in the series.
Writing: I love how the first part of the book is written. The speech and terminology used by the pretties is dumbed down to express their vapid, self-centered nature, intensified by how excessive and over-used the words are, but itâs contagious. It really shows the atmosphere of New Pretty Town. Such a utilization could be considered annoying, but I enjoyed the way the speech appropriately explained the nature and mindset of the young pretties.
Characters: In this sequel Tally Youngblood is still our main character and due to her recent surgery sheâs even more selfish and self-centered than she was before. Even after she takes the âcureâ she doesnât across any less interested in the people around her. There is far more internal struggle for Tally than the first book, which really delves into her character, but she never quite seems to overcome her naturally selfish nature, even in her attempts to save the people around.
Plot: The overarching plot of this sequel is reversing the effects of the brain lesions caused by the pretty surgery. The progression from pretty-minded to ugly-minded, or bubbly, is gradual, which makes the transformation believable. Tally aids the process by doing things that send her pulse racing. In other words, adrenaline seems to be the trigger. It makes sense given that the pretties never have to feel fear, anger, or anything other than happiness and safety, but adrenaline goes against that.
Everything seems to go wrong for Tally, though, as she tries to make herself bubbly. Instead of the interface ring, sheâs given a cuff that she canât take off. So, she canât escape the city easily and she also canât even speak freely. Zaneâs cured, but has constant headaches like somethingâs gone wrong. The cuff sets the hot air balloon on fire. Tally misses her window to jump from the basket. She loses her board in the river. Sheâs stuck inside a reservation for pre-Rusties.
Even in the constant mess of her plans, she somehow manages to pull out an answer to everything and find her way out of each problem⦠perfectly. The cuffs just need excessive heat to expand and slip over her wrist. There just happens to be gloves that protect her arms from any amount of heat, making that possible and even Zane manages to slip out of his cuff. A bottle of champagne is sitting in the hot air balloon to extinguish the flames. She passes right over a river, giving her a perfect place to jump. Somehow she manages to survive the current, make it to shore unscathed and still only be a seven-day hike from the Rusty Ruins. The Specials just happen to be arriving in the reservation and she manages to steal their hovercraft without any problems, making it to the ruins to find David and the others without any more hitches.
It all just worked out a little too perfectly and everyone else made it alive, too, even if Zane lost half his brain. Though, I have to say that I actually am glad that the love triangle existed in this book because of the fact that I like Zane a heck of a lot better than I like David. David just doesnât seem real. He doesnât seem truly capable of love, or accepting Tally for who she is, and their relationship never seemed real. So, Iâm happy that Tally picks Zane in the end. Heâs a much more likable and believable character than David ever was.
The ending of the book with Shay being a Special is the best part. Shayâs corruption and desire for revenge is the most believable part of the book, even if it makes her the most selfish character in the series, but thatâs what makes her corruption real. She doesnât apologize for who she is. She doesnât try to pretend like sheâs a nice person in the way Tally does. With that being said I leave my rating of this book at three stars.
Pacing: Like the first book the pace of the book speeds up as your read, spanning a few months in the beginning and only a matter of days in the last part of the book. It didnât have nearly the same intensity as the first book, which slowed it down. Most of the book was used for building, but it was a slow build that left me a little disappointed at the climax, following a similar ending of the first book in the series.
Writing: I love how the first part of the book is written. The speech and terminology used by the pretties is dumbed down to express their vapid, self-centered nature, intensified by how excessive and over-used the words are, but itâs contagious. It really shows the atmosphere of New Pretty Town. Such a utilization could be considered annoying, but I enjoyed the way the speech appropriately explained the nature and mindset of the young pretties.
Characters: In this sequel Tally Youngblood is still our main character and due to her recent surgery sheâs even more selfish and self-centered than she was before. Even after she takes the âcureâ she doesnât across any less interested in the people around her. There is far more internal struggle for Tally than the first book, which really delves into her character, but she never quite seems to overcome her naturally selfish nature, even in her attempts to save the people around.
Plot: The overarching plot of this sequel is reversing the effects of the brain lesions caused by the pretty surgery. The progression from pretty-minded to ugly-minded, or bubbly, is gradual, which makes the transformation believable. Tally aids the process by doing things that send her pulse racing. In other words, adrenaline seems to be the trigger. It makes sense given that the pretties never have to feel fear, anger, or anything other than happiness and safety, but adrenaline goes against that.
Everything seems to go wrong for Tally, though, as she tries to make herself bubbly. Instead of the interface ring, sheâs given a cuff that she canât take off. So, she canât escape the city easily and she also canât even speak freely. Zaneâs cured, but has constant headaches like somethingâs gone wrong. The cuff sets the hot air balloon on fire. Tally misses her window to jump from the basket. She loses her board in the river. Sheâs stuck inside a reservation for pre-Rusties.
Even in the constant mess of her plans, she somehow manages to pull out an answer to everything and find her way out of each problem⦠perfectly. The cuffs just need excessive heat to expand and slip over her wrist. There just happens to be gloves that protect her arms from any amount of heat, making that possible and even Zane manages to slip out of his cuff. A bottle of champagne is sitting in the hot air balloon to extinguish the flames. She passes right over a river, giving her a perfect place to jump. Somehow she manages to survive the current, make it to shore unscathed and still only be a seven-day hike from the Rusty Ruins. The Specials just happen to be arriving in the reservation and she manages to steal their hovercraft without any problems, making it to the ruins to find David and the others without any more hitches.
It all just worked out a little too perfectly and everyone else made it alive, too, even if Zane lost half his brain. Though, I have to say that I actually am glad that the love triangle existed in this book because of the fact that I like Zane a heck of a lot better than I like David. David just doesnât seem real. He doesnât seem truly capable of love, or accepting Tally for who she is, and their relationship never seemed real. So, Iâm happy that Tally picks Zane in the end. Heâs a much more likable and believable character than David ever was.
The ending of the book with Shay being a Special is the best part. Shayâs corruption and desire for revenge is the most believable part of the book, even if it makes her the most selfish character in the series, but thatâs what makes her corruption real. She doesnât apologize for who she is. She doesnât try to pretend like sheâs a nice person in the way Tally does. With that being said I leave my rating of this book at three stars.
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