Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Dystopia

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Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts: I know I'm writing a review here for the second book in the series, without having written one for the first. I am honestly not even sure how that happened. But I forgot to write up a review for it so it didn't get put into my schedule and now it seems like too late to go back. I like the book to be pretty fresh in my mind when I write up my reviews. So anyway, I'm going to start here on book #2 in the Uglies Series.

I definitely enjoyed this book. I liked it even more than the one before it. And that is something that I love in a series, and doesn't come along too often. When each installment exceeds it's previous one. This is a very good thing! It is a little bit odd though, because this book didn't really have as much action, or the same fast pace. It wasn't as active or emotional either. But I did feel that we got to learn a lot more about Tally. And that is another thing I adore in a series or any book. Character growth and progression. I love to watch characters change, grow and adapt. And Tally is definitely doing a lot of all three of those things.

So Tally is right where she originally always wanted to be. All everything seems just ducky and perfect until a very surprising visit from an old friend. That's when memories start to return to Tally, and she is fighting her hardest to find out what she really wants. To fight against what she has been conditioned to want and how she's essentially been brainwashed to behave. And that is even harder than it sounds!

We are introduced to a brand new love interest for Tally. And I still find myself quite conflicted with this new development. I really loved David, and he seemed like such a fantastic match for Tally. He was the one who changed everything for her, who opened her eyes and mind to the world around her. But once she was taken away from The Smoke and made into a pretty, she lost her memories of David and she found Zane. She definitely has good reasons for liking Zane as well and they did go through a lot together. Not that anything seems set in stone, I will keep cheering for David ;).

And that's the way it is with this book. Nothing is for certain. Things are constantly changing. Environments, people, lifestyles, and most definitely thought processes. It makes for a pretty great read. It's fun to keep up with and keeps the reader very well engaged.  I would definitely recommend this series, and I am already looking forward to reading #3.  The ending left me in a very shocked and scared place so I definitely need to find out what comes next for Tally. The plot never stops surprising me.

Hopefully I will remember to write my review for #3,  and please forgive me for jumping ahead in the series haha ;).