writehollydavis
Written on Nov 30, 2021
Finally surgically transformed into a "pretty," sixteen-year-old Tally, now gorgeous and programmed to think only happy thoughts, is plagued by tangled memories of living in the Smoke, a rebel colony of "ugly" runaways hiding from the Special Circumstances authorities.
- ISBN10 1416936394
- ISBN13 9781416936398
- Publish Date 3 May 2011 (first published 1 November 2005)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Simon & Schuster
- Imprint Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 368
- Language English
Reviews
readingwithwrin
Written on Mar 20, 2016
See more reviews like this first on my blog
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
At the end of Uglies we see Tally and giving herself up to become pretty in order to be an experiment for a possible cure for keeping everyone “bubbly” as the new pretties call it. At the start of pretties we see Tally as a new pretty partying and trying to adjust to not living in the wilderness. While she can’t remember much from her old life she knows that there’s something else out there and wishes she could go back in a way.
When she is going to join a group of people that are new pretties as well, she meets the leader Zane who is an interesting character to say the least. He doesn’t want to be pretty and he feels guilty about something, but we don’t see what this is until almost the end sadly. As these to get closer and they get something that appears to be changing them and make them “bubbly” and remembering what their old lives used to be like. You realize that something aren’t so good, and maybe it’s because we had met David first and see how good they were together or if it’s just me being suspicious about anyone new, but I never like Zane and I never trusted him, and I still don’t.
Once Tally and Zane are “bubbly” they start getting everyone else in their group to be as well, but this doesn’t end up going so well , with one person going to extremes in order to remember how things used to be.
“Nature was tough, it could be dangerous, but unlike Dr. Cable or shay, or peris-unlike people in general-it made sense. The problems it threw at you could be solved rationally.”
Tally eventually finds a way out and gets several of their group out as well. Sadly Tally ends up getting separated from them and ends up going on a rather large adventure that shows her just what the Specials are really doing and how they create things, and mess with people’s lives just to see what humans act like in certain situations.
Along this Journey Tally learns a lot about what’s happened since the rusties world ended and how long certain other things have been going on as well. When she finally makes it back to her group and what’s left of the smokies she learns that certain things have gone terribly wrong, and that she had messed things up again. But she also learned that she was far stronger than she thought and that maybe a cure wasn’t needed after all and that maybe there were other ways to make people “bubbly.”
While I wasn't expecting that ending. It still is plausible, and one thing Dr. Cable will never be able to take away from Tally is her ability, to fight, adapt, and survive to whatever situation she is in. She is truly amazing especially considering how she acted in the first book and how she has grown up since then. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
“My name is tally youngblood and my mind is very ugly”
Kim Deister
Written on May 30, 2015
This is a book/series written for the young adult demographic and I am definately not that (!), but it is full of themes that are applicable to us all... at any age. With a society that is based on a conforming, created beauty, there is the inevitable theme of superficiality. Self worth is based on beauty, happiness found in the nonstop parties and pursuit of that beauty. There is also the theme of conformity, or fitting in. While there is no set way to look in the world of the Pretties, there is a fundamental set ideal. There is only so much "wiggle room" within that ideal for individuality, just enough to add to the array of physical beauty without supporting true unique identities. The theme of ignorance is bliss is also touched upon in this book. There is the rather sarcastic implication that living in blissful ignorance is preferable to facing the darker aspects of life. I think this is particularly poignant, considering the state of the world today. There is often the impulse to turn your back on the problems of the world and forget they exist. But ignoring them doesn't change them, doesn't solve them.
In this book, Tally has become a Pretty. She is living her life as all Pretties do, beautiful and in pursuit of fun. The problems in the world have disappeared for her in her new life and new mindset. But a message from her past reaches her and she suddenly remembers all of those problems. The fun ends for her, and that choice to face the problems of the world and turn her back on her new easy life is what makes her a hero. Not everyone will make that choice, although even those who choose to embrace the Pretty life are pretty relatable. I think all of us, at one time or another, would like to be able to turn our back and just relish in the good things.
Interestingly, there is a bit of an environmental theme, a subtler theme, but an important one. The environment of the Pretties is sustainable, but overly technological and extreme. The environment of the past Rusties (our own present world) was wasteful and damaging to the planet. It isn't so much that the author is presenting the environment of the Pretties as the ideal, but perhaps something between the two.
This is a book/series that makes you think and consider your own world and your own beliefs. There are both utopian and dystopian elements to the story and it is an interesting alternative perspective on our own world.
My Recommendation
The implications of the world of the Pretties are a little discomfitting in their potential and that inherent discomfort is exactly what makes this book such an engaging read.
Chelsea
Written on Jun 27, 2013
I kinda liked how Tally switched from an ugly to a pretty because it gave us a look at how the pretties live and think. I really hated how they talked though. When they used words to mean other things it really threw me off and just kind of annoyed me. The plot in this book wasn’t terrible so I was able to get through it pretty easily. The reason I don’t like these books is that I really don’t like the main character. I find she’s annoying and whiny. But if you can get through that then the book isn’t too bad. It’s just a little boring for my taste.
Briana @ Pages Unbound
Written on Jul 1, 2011
On a more technical note, Westerfeld has done a fantastic job of fleshing out his dystopian world in Pretties. Uglies has technology like the smart walls, interface rings, and hoverboards, but Tally spends so much of her time tricking the technology that it can fade into background. Then the action moves to the ruins and the Smoke where there is much less technology, so in some ways the world of Uglies does not seem greatly different from our own. In Pretties, however, Tally and her friends are living in the heart of New Pretty Town, surrounded by technology people do not often try to trick—and much more closely monitored by it, since she and her group are considered threats. Westerfeld’s vision of his dystopia really comes to life in this book.
He also has done a remarkable job of inventing and incorporating “pretty-speak,” which includes the word “bubbly,” of course, but also phrases like, “Snow would be so pretty-making!” and “The sun would be so warming!” He successfully conveys the insipidness of the pretties without making his readers want to bash their heads against a wall because everyone has been stating obvious things in cutesy language for so long. His best addition is “surge” for an abbreviation of “surgery,” conveying that operations for cosmetic purposes have become so common and so frequently discussed that the word has been shortened for everyday use.
Westerfeld’s exploration of his world and philosophy simply becomes deeper with each successive novel, making Uglies a series uncommonly well-executed.