Pretties (Book Two of Uglies) by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties
Book Two of Uglies
Written by Scott Westerfeld

“My name is Tally Youngblood and my mind is very ugly.”  -- Tally, Pretties, Written by Scott Westerfeld
If you haven't read the first book in this series, Uglies, I strongly suggest you wait to read this review, until after you've read Uglies.  It is almost impossible to write a good review of Pretties without giving away the ending of Uglies, because it begins right where Uglies left off.


Uglies ended with Tally making the decision to be the guinea pig for a new medicine. Maddy, David's mother and a doctor, believed that she had found a way to reverse the effects of these lesions on the Pretties, but she needed someone who was not only willing to take the medicine, but someone who she felt was capable of consenting. If something went wrong or they found the medicine caused unwanted side effects, Maddy would not be able to forgive herself for forcing it on someone who didn't understand the risks. Because Tally felt so extremely guilty for her perceived betrayal of the Smokies and David, she offered to turn herself in to the Specials, and get the surgery. After she was turned Pretty, the Smokies would rescue her and she'd take the cure.

This is one of those rare books that appears so simple on the surface but becomes more and more complex the more you think about it. As you go deeper and deeper into each layer of the story you begin to see just how phenomenal Westerfeld really is. In fact, it's so subtle that I almost missed it altogether in the Uglies. It wasn't until I was reflecting on the story and began writing my review that I finally realized exactly what he was doing. I was delighted when he continued to reveal new levels of depth in some of the characters, as they found their way to greater understanding, in the second book.

One last thing I feel I must mention, because it is usually something that drives me insane, is the use of a particular "lingo" amongst the Pretties. Usually when I'm reading a book and the author uses unfamiliar made-up words I get frustrated really quickly. It tends to make the book unnecessarily complicated and therefore not nearly as much fun to read. I hate feeling like I need a glossary for the made up language just so I can understand what's going on. Once again though, Westerfeld shows his incredible talent as a writer. The Pretties have a whole slew of slang words in their regular vocabulary, but his consistent use of these words, along with his well-constructed sentences make it incredibly easy to understand.

Pretties was every bit as good as Uglies. There were many twists and turns in the plot to keep it interesting. New characters were introduced, and new relationships formed. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next in, Specials.

Uglies (Book One of Uglies), by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies
Book One of Uglies
Written by Scott Westerfeld

"Perhaps the logical conclusion of everyone looking the same was everyone thinking the same." -- Tally, Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

I have to say that I was pretty intrigued by this tale. It had received so much praise I was actually pretty skeptical that it would live up to the hype. For the most part, I thought it was pretty wonderful.

In the end I fell head over heels in love with the story, Uglies, and I genuinely liked the characters. The problem I did have with the characters was that I felt that they were incredibly simple. There is something to be said for a character that is straightforward, and I'm not denying that. Sometimes the simplest character has the ability to impact the plot in a way that a more complex character never could, like Charlie for instance, in the beginning of the book Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (If you haven't read this one I definitely recommend it....fascinating book). In this case, I found the simplicity to be a bit of a detriment to the story.

Not one of the characters seemed to have any depth. They were easily swayed by whatever the popular opinion of those around them at the time was. They were, to me, poster children for "If in Rome, do as the Romans do." They were just too intelligible. I found it rather unrealistic. To have had maybe two characters, each of which was staunchly loyal to their own side of the issue, would have been reasonable to me. They would have been the extremist viewpoints by which all of the other characters are judged by. But that wasn't the case in Uglies, at least in my humble opinion.

Here, none of the main characters really came into their own. In fact, I felt this way throughout the story, until it suddenly clicked with me. I wasn't seeing the author's subtle foreshadowing until the very end. Well played, Scott Westerfeld, very well played.