Scott Westerfeld's Pretties

Pretties

Tally Youngblood is back and this time she’s pretty.  She has turned herself in so that she can have the operation and then return to the Smoke and try the cure. But things don’t go as she has planned. She likes being pretty, until she encounters someone from her past which causes old memories to resurface. She does all that she can so she can remain bubbly and try to figure out. But she’s not alone this time, which brings in relief and complication as her memory gets clearer. There’s even more trouble when it turns out that she’s not the only one who remembers.  Another escape from the city, again doesn’t go as planned, and again she learns more disturbing things about the city.

Scott Westerfeld has done it again; he has captured my attention and saturated me with the world of pretties, uglies and specials. I am a fan of Tally Youngblood, even though she seems to always find herself in impossible situations. I know that she is destined to be the hero in this series, but I can’t see how it’s going to work out.  Where Uglies may have been about saving oneself from the expectations of others and redefining what it meant to be pretty,Pretties is about saving others.

You’ve got everything in this book; romance and a heart torn between two loves, a friendship that is still suffering from a betrayal, and the realization that everything you thought to be true –isn’t.  Though Tally is pretty now, she still has her ugly mind and this allows her to break through and complete the task that she set out to do-just not in the way that she had planned.  This time she is not doing it alone; Zane, the leader of the Crims, is with her now. They both take the cure, and they have very different side effects.  When Zane’s symptoms become dangerous and life-threatening, they decide to leave the city and get the help of the Smokies. This time it’s not just Tally, it’s the entire group of Crims. Once again Tally is separated from the group and she finds a secret world within the world she once knew.  When she finally catches up to the rest of  the New Smokies, she must then decide to either run with them or stay behind for the one she has chosen to love.

So far I have to say, I am liking this series and not just because of the storyline and the growth in the characters. There is a healthy dose of insight of modern day society that I appreciate.  If you want to know more about the Uglies series or any of the other books Scott has written check out his website at www.scotwesterfield.com. You can also find Scott on Facebook. His new book Goliath, the final book in the Leviathan series will be out Sept. 20, 2011. 

Always Shine,

Starr K.