Pretties (Uglies, Book 2)

by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties (Uglies, Book 2)

published	November 1st 2005 by Simon Pulse
binding	Paperback
isbn	0689865392 (isbn13: 9780689865398)
pages	384
description	Gorgeous. Popular. Perfect. Perfectly wrong. Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her b...more [close] 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. [close]
date added	12-30-06 edit book

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Chloe

Chloe rated it:

03/10/08

recommends it for: an oven

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Pretties, to put it mildly, did not live up to my expectations. Considering that my expectations allowed for the poor writing and the cheesiness of book 1, and that I only wished for a little excitement, this says a lot. First of all, I was sorely disappointed with Westerfeld’s decision to make Tally pretty at the end of book 1. What, Scott, you can’t write a book about a plain heroine? Even in a series that allegedly advocates individuality? But, more on that later. I was still willing to g...more

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Emma

Emma rated it:

07/11/08

Read in June, 2007

Pretties is the second volume of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Trilogy. It picks up almost exactly where Uglies left off and the story is fairly involved so I strongly recommend reading Uglies first. If, however, you decide to ignore me, here's a brief explanation of what's going on which will necessarily include spoilers (and yes I am quoting my own review):

"Uglies is set in the distant future after a mysterious global catastrophe precipitated changes to the foundations of what readers wou...more Pretties is the second volume of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Trilogy. It picks up almost exactly where Uglies left off and the story is fairly involved so I strongly recommend reading Uglies first. If, however, you decide to ignore me, here's a brief explanation of what's going on which will necessarily include spoilers (and yes I am quoting my own review):

"Uglies is set in the distant future after a mysterious global catastrophe precipitated changes to the foundations of what readers would call modern society. Fearful of war and violence cities now operate as independent states (think Renaissance Italy as opposed to contemporary Italy). Isolated and self-sufficient, the cities have agreed to certain standards for the greater good.

"New technology ensures that citizens never want for food or luxury items, weapons of any kind are largely illegal, and at the age of sixteen everyone undergoes a series of extreme surgeries to better conform to societal standards of beauty. The logic being that, since humans are preconditioned to respond to certain visual cues in each other already (big eyes are non-threatening, a clear complexion and good teeth indicate that a person is healthy), applying these beauty standards will reduce conflict and create a more harmonious society.

"But in a world where everyone is movie-star-gorgeous (oldies like Rudolph Valentino and Greta Garbo are considered “natural pretties”), normal people are so not pretty. In short, they’re ugly."

At the end of the first book, our heroine Tally Youngblood also learns that normal people are smarter than the Pretties. As part of the government's plan to keep the population in line, Pretties' brains are surgically altered with lesions to make Pretties more complacent. The government's logic can be summed up in four dangerous words: for the greater good.

At the end of Uglies, knowing now that the operation has to be stopped, Tally makes the ultimate sacrifice--she allows herself to undergo the Operation in order to become an undercover operative of sorts. The only problem is that, because of the Operation, she forgets everything she learned about the Operation, the government, and perhaps most importantly about Special Circumstances (Westerfeld's interpretation of secret service/black ops types).

In other words, Tally starts Pretties with a basically clean slate. She and best friend Shay know that they lived with the resistance group known as The Smoke, but little else. Looking for something "bubbly" to do as Pretties, the girls decide to join the Crims--a clique known for pulling dramatic stunts in order to stay bubbly and consequently think a little more clearly than Pretties usually do. As Tally becomes more involved with the Crims and their leader, Zane, pieces of Tally's past begin to fall into place. But, the more Tally learns about her past, the more confusing things become as she has to decide between her past and her present.

Of the trilogy, this one is my least favorite. The characters, being Pretties, seemed the most unreal. Although Westerfeld evoked a very realistic world in Uglies it all rings a little less true here. I love how much slang these novels use and how easy it is to follow, but that too got to be a bit much.

The novel ends on a dramatic note, Tally once again rallying against those who would maintain the status quo. But at the same time, like in Uglies, she is once again a victim of circumstances. So, although the ending is great, it's also a bit too familiar. Since Pretties is part of a trilogy, it is a must-read to see what happens to Tally. But, in this reviewer's opinion, the second installment in the trilogy doesn't quite live up to the hype created by the first....less

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Zen

Zen rated it:

01/01/08

bookshelves: kidslit, sff

Read in January, 2008

Man, totally had a moment of "bzuh?" when '2008' showed up as an option on the drop-down menu.

I have a weakness for dystopic fiction -- the way it breaks down what you think you know about the world and puts something completely different in its place is one of the main reasons why I read sf. I found this a very enjoyable read: interesting, emotionally engaging, infinitely readable. (Lamely, I picked this up in one of the innumerable warehouse sales thinking it was the first book i...more Man, totally had a moment of "bzuh?" when '2008' showed up as an option on the drop-down menu.

I have a weakness for dystopic fiction -- the way it breaks down what you think you know about the world and puts something completely different in its place is one of the main reasons why I read sf. I found this a very enjoyable read: interesting, emotionally engaging, infinitely readable. (Lamely, I picked this up in one of the innumerable warehouse sales thinking it was the first book in the trilogy, when it was clear from the back of the book that it was the second. Argh. In case anyone was wondering, it's totally readable without having read the first book, but naturally you get hugely spoiler'd.)

That said, I'm not sure if it's objectively a great book. There's a kind of, hm, obviousness about it that a lot of YA has? A certain lack of subtlety.

I like Tally, but she suffers from a certain measure of Mary Sueism. Not so much because she's the heroine and is a strong character and is Not Like The Others etc. etc. -- these are all things I am A-OK with, that's what protagonists are for -- but because all the other important female characters are evil or at least hostile. I was distressed and unconvinced by what Shay does and becomes -- I need to read the first book, obvs, but there didn't seem to be much best-friendship going on: Shay's sort of set up so she can betray Tally later, so that Tally can have her pain. Dr Cable is evil. Maddy invented the cure and so is clearly a Good Guy, but she hates Tally. All of Tally's friends who remain friends are dudes, and Zane and David are the two most important people to her. This may be realistic for a teenage girl, but still, I'm not sure I'm down with this privileging of the d00dz over the ladies.

I mean, I might be overthinking this, but what I'm saying is: there's nothing inherently wrong about having a character who is great but doesn't get along with any of the other characters of the same gender. But after years of exposure to movies and books and TV where female friendship is ignored or dismissed (because all girls are bitchy and will backstab a friend the minute Love comes into the picture and men are more important to women etc. etc.), I have grown cautious. I'm reserving judgement on Westerfeld till I've read his other books, but I still get to judge the heck out of this book.

Another thing that made me go hmm was the 'savage' tribe in the woods. The fact that they were white and, apparently, of Anglo-Saxon origin made me laugh, but the whole "civilised person has encounter with barbaric natives" trope still makes me twitch.

I do think it is a good book, because it deals with interesting ideas. I find the idea of beauty fascinating (though the forms it takes in this book are a little goofy -- diamonds in your eyes? Tattoos that flash in time with your heartbeat? That does sound like a 13-year-old's idea of the devastatingly beautiful), and Westerfeld has an interesting take on it. Also the age-old question of why people are such destructive morons. And I like the worldbuilding. I'll need to read the other two books to decide whether the lack of subtlety and my issues with the characterisation will prove dealbreakers, but I definitely will be reading more Scott Westerfeld....less

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Rachel

Rachel rated it:

06/19/08

Here's what I wrote on my book club blog about Pretties, and the whole series: Westerfeld knows that he's writing to teens, so he's trying to address a LOT of issues that teens face. One is, obviously, being superficial. Remember reading the teen magazines, hearing all of the celebrity gossip (not to mention your own school gossip), trying to dress well and be "cool?" Maybe you were better than I was and didn't get pulled into that, but most teens are. And often the pull doesn't go awa...more Here's what I wrote on my book club blog about Pretties, and the whole series: Westerfeld knows that he's writing to teens, so he's trying to address a LOT of issues that teens face. One is, obviously, being superficial. Remember reading the teen magazines, hearing all of the celebrity gossip (not to mention your own school gossip), trying to dress well and be "cool?" Maybe you were better than I was and didn't get pulled into that, but most teens are. And often the pull doesn't go away once you turn 20 and aren't a teen anymore. I still find myself tempted to read the covers of the gossip magazines at the grocery store, to watch another cookie-cutter, uninspiring chick flick or to read the mindless quick-read books. It's harder to choose the book that I'll struggle through but that will make me think and maybe even change, or to turn off the tv when a couple of beautiful people are on the screen, no matter what kind of dumb things they're saying. When Peris chooses the promise of blissful ignorance and laxity of the Pretty society, part of you can't really blame him. Who wants problems? Who wants to have to think and to work when we can just be entertained instead? We have to consciously choose to resist that pull, and teens are just being introduced to it.

Another issue is our treatment of the environment. I think that Westerfeld isn't advocating the pristine, sustainable development of the Pretty society, or the wasteful stupidity of the Rusties (our present state), but something in between that Tally gets a glimpse of with the Smokies. A reverence and appreciation for nature, but an understanding that nature is to provide for our needs, and so cutting down a tree is not a sin (some tree-hugging extremists today might take the Pretties side on this, don't you think?).

When the Rusties come along, he's again attacking our tendencies for senseless violence, adherence to illogical traditions (women's subservience) just because "it's always been that way," and even religious piety. "Question authority!" he's saying all throughout the book. That's what teens do naturally, but he's targeting an authority that they don't always recognize - the media. Teens now can't live without their iPods, they go to the movies every weekend, are overloaded by the media and they don't read or think much on their own - from what I've seen. Correct me if you think I'm wrong.
In addition to all of his preaching, Westerfeld writes a captivating series with convincing characters and and draws you into his intriguing world as you read his books.
Thoughts, comments?...less

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Beth

Beth rated it:

02/19/08

Read in November, 2007

Pretties is the sequel to Uglies, the second in a trilogy which I had started back two months previous. I opened the book with some hesitancy, despite the fact that I'd enjoyed the first book and had been anxious to start the second, since the details of the first book were kind of fuzzy — would I remember enough to piece together a coherent story?

Turns out I needn’t have worried. Pretties picks up where Uglies left off, yes — but the main character’s memory has been tampered with a...more Pretties is the sequel to Uglies, the second in a trilogy which I had started back two months previous. I opened the book with some hesitancy, despite the fact that I'd enjoyed the first book and had been anxious to start the second, since the details of the first book were kind of fuzzy — would I remember enough to piece together a coherent story?

Turns out I needn’t have worried. Pretties picks up where Uglies left off, yes — but the main character’s memory has been tampered with and she can’t quite remember what happened in the first book, anyway. My own stunted recollections made for a rather authentic read. :-)

Actually, I found myself identifying all too well with the emptyheaded, “pretty-minded” section of the book (aptly nameed “Sleeping Beauty”): if you’ve ever zoned out in front of the TV or computer, wasting away your time and losing some sense of reality all in the name of entertaining yourself, you’ll understand exactly the sensation Westerfield is trying to recreate. (Being sleep-deprived helps with this perception, too.)

The futuristic society that so intrigued me in Uglies continued to fascinate throughout this sequel. The Pretties, made beautiful through an operation at age sixteen, spend all their time amusing themselves and no time thinking — that is, until Tally Youngblood (flawed heroine of Uglies) arrives in New Pretty Town. Through the help of new friend Zane, Tally’s memory of her ugly past is reawakened. She and Zane search for a cure for pretty-thinking by staying “bubbly” — which is basically to be hyped up on adrenaline — all the time. (I loved the Pretties’ distinct dialect that infused the first chapters, and I loved that Westerfield taught it to his readers simply by using it repeatedly.)

Of course, as Tally slowly remembers the events of the first book, things get increasingly more complicated. And as hard as she tries, Special Circumstances (the almost-mythical enforcement agency of this rigid society) always seems to be one step ahead of her. Pretties concludes it a most cliff-hanging fashion, much as you’d expect the sandwiched part of a trilogy to be (think Star Wars or Lord of the Rings … isn’t the end of second part just about the most depressing, lowest point you can sink?).

Obviously, I can’t wait to get my hands on the final book of the trilogy, Specials!...less

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Rachelle

Rachelle rated it:

05/29/08

Read in May, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Funny... I liked this book better than the first one. I think the concept is interesting. When Peris asks Tally why she's not happy being a pretty-head...she replies, "Why am I unhappy? Because the city makes you the way they want you to be, Peris. And I want to be myself. That's why.
Peris: Maybe they have good reasons for changing us Tally."
Tally: Their reasons don't mean anything unless I have a choice, Peris. And they don't give anyone a choice.

I guess I've read a ...more

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1 comments

Jessie

Jessie rated it:

11/15/07

bookshelves: advisory

Read in November, 2007

Response:
After reading Uglies, the first book of this trilogy, I was captivated and wanted to learn more of what happens to Tally and the smokes, people who knew of the terrible reality of what happens to the ones who go through surgery and become a pretty. Well, in this book, Tally who has been sent away from her town to retrieve information on the smoke ends up becoming a pretty which is pretty much the equivalent of being mind controlled. This place takes place in the future when humans de...more

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Mary

Mary rated it:

07/12/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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3 comments

Alissa

Alissa rated it:

01/10/08

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: anyone

i have fallen in love with this series
this book basically was the ending to the main charcter Tally Youngblood. Tally is this adventurous girl who will never give up on her dreams. She is a "special" here. Shes past the "ugly" stage and the "pretty" stage and now she is something more than everyone else. She is a "special". She Has these super senses and things about her that no one else besides her fellow "specials" posses.

Though w...more

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Trine

Trine rated it:

(review of isbn 1416917292)

07/09/08

Read in July, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jessica

Jessica rated it:

07/24/07

bookshelves: modern-fiction, ya-lit

Read in May, 2007

What I found most interesting about Pretties was its thematic use of various forms of bodily mutilation/eating disorders. In a perfect society, where everyone is brain-damaged into peace and transformed into absolutely perfectly beautiful creatures, how do you rebel? By starving yourself, cutting yourself - in a lesser sense, by covering your body in tattoos. (Tattoos as mutilation is a controversial thought, and I'm not sure I know where I stand with it - I mean, are some tattoos okay, but a bo...more

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Decendant_of_Darkness

Decendant_of_Darkness rated it:

03/22/08

Read in February, 1908

recommends it for: people who read the first book

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Courtney

Courtney rated it:

06/01/08

bookshelves: read-in-2008

Tally Youngblood, now pretty, is having the time of her life - or so she thinks. She's beautiful, healthy, and completely spoiled. Encouraged to party and "surge" (surgically alter herself) and be generally vapid, Tally gets twinges that she's not happy like she's supposed to be. Then she gets a message from her old, ugly self. She knows what's wrong. She and her clique, the "Crims," attempt to keep their heads clear - to keep "bubbly" instead of "pretty-headed...more

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Trin

Trin rated it:

06/04/07

bookshelves: sci-fi

Read in February, 2007

Sequel to Uglies, as I suppose is semi-obvious. I don’t want to say too much about this book because it would spoil Uglies, which I think a lot of you would enjoy. But, like volume one, this book was incredibly exciting and compelling. It falls a little bit into that sequel trap, repeating some of the aspects of the first book; in fact, there’s something frustratingly cyclical about the narrative. However, it has several thrilling set-pi...more

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Maggie

Maggie rated it:

01/10/08

This book is the sequel to Uglies. It really summed up the whole story, and lead me to want to read the third book named Specials. Tally finally becomes pretty, her life long dream to live the perfect life of having everything you want and being able to just party all the time. The further into the story she realizes that something is wrong, that "something" is what she was fighting for ever since her ugly days. After her beautiful transformation from an ugly to a pretty she tries as h...more

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Jeni

Jeni rated it:

03/05/08

Read in February, 2008

This is the sequel to "Uglies" and falls short of its predecessor. Humans have destroyed most of the world and so, a group of scientists discover that they can slightly slow the human brain so that new thought and discovery is limited and in so doing, they can "save" the world from more destruction. When a person turns sixteen, they go in for surgery to make themselves "pretty" and during the surgery, the brain is "injured" purposefully. Obviously, no o...more

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-syl-

-syl- rated it:

12/17/07

bookshelves: fiction

Read in December, 2007

Tally Youngblood has never been an ordinary girl. Since she was an ugly she played many tricks and had passed them on to the other uglies. Now, she's pretty. Lives in a New Pretty Town, join a clique called the Crims. Mostly the Crims members are pretties who played lots of tricks when they were uglies, just like Tally did. So, it's just natural that Tally had joined the clique.

But when life as a pretty seems to go smoothly. She received a letter, from herself. Back when she was an ugly, she...more

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Lady Ozma

Lady Ozma rated it:

01/30/08

bookshelves: 2008, sci-fi, youngadult

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: everyone, young adults

The second installment in this series started off with a pace that did not let up until the last word.

The world becomes more twisted for Tally as once more she attempts to escape the clutches of the social norm and her fate of "being pretty-minded" to her dream of finding herself in The Smoke.

The story sucks the reader in, making it impossible to put down. Raising more questions than it answers, you leave the book anxious for the next installment.

This time around, Tally ...more

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Rebekah

Rebekah added it

04/19/08

Read in April, 2008

I really liked this book. The beginning, I must say, was really boring and hard to get into, and you're just like, "OK already!" But then it gets very good and exciting and you just have to finish it! I really enjoyed how the author added in the parts about how "hundreds of years ago" in our time, (because the book is set in the future) then girls would starve themselves to be skinny. In the future they didn't have to worry about that because they were all considered ugly unt...more