Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)

by Scott Westerfeld

Paperback, 370 pages

English language

Published Nov. 1, 2005 by Simon Pulse.

ISBN:: 978-0-689-86539-8
OCLC Number:: 62149214

(65 reviews)

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.

3 editions

Books That Burn reviewed Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies (2))

Review of 'Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Pretties presents a Tally who is different the one we met in Uglies, her vocabulary transformed to make her feel like a new narrator while keeping her underlying personality. It’s a really good portrayal of memory loss and identity.‬

Her relationship with Shay is complex and dynamic, and I like the Crims as a group. This book explores more the world established in Uglies, especially in ways that show the underlying systems of control which are in place.

I appreciate the handling of the dynamics with Zane and David, especially the message that you can have had a good relationship with someone but not want to return to it later on because you’re different people. It’s dystopian, so the time horizon for this change is pretty extreme, but it’s still a good message. As a book for teens, taking the time to say this is really important, given that the …

Yashima reviewed Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies (2))

Review of 'Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The sequel to Uglies was just as great. Again: too short! Over too fast! No other complaints.

I must admit I had not expected most of the twists and turns of this book. I like that the heroes mostly don't get to take the easy way and especially the continuing conflict with Shay. I never thought he would turn Tally into a pretty!

Yashima reviewed Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies (2))

Review of 'Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The only bad thing I can say about this book is that it was over too fast. Well and one other thing: Usually I would not have picked it up because the title just does not speak to me. But the story hooked me on page one. I could not stop reading. I loved the world, the language - just bubbly and not at all brain-missing - and the characters.

After reading some reviews though I have something to add however. Something I kind of forgot amidst all the fun.

Some reviews mentionned the "cutting" that the Specials take up in the second and third books. The characters start cutting themselves to get a clarity high that takes them out of the pretty-haze their brain modification put them in. In a way this behavior appears acceptable, even cool. It should be made clearer that this is not healthy behavior. I …

halkeye reviewed Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies (2))

Review of 'Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I want to say this book was cashing in on the Hunger Games franchise but i think it came out before Hunger games did, and doesn't really have a lot in common.

I really wanted to see where things were going. I enjoyed the adventure, and will probably check out the next book at least.

I felt the book really layed on the message very thick. Very much that the idea of attractiveness is kinda subjective or something. I actually felt how much the main character pushed "I want to be pretty too" at the beginning of the book got really really annoying. That being said, it quickly moved on and found it quite interesting.

/end bad review

arr reviewed Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies (2))

Review of 'Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Full review here: rawles.livejournal.com/361663.html#cutid1

But in short, this was rad until it stopped being about Tally and Shay's friendship and started being about Tally's annoying romance with some douchebag who screwed over her friend sprinkled with much gender essentialist All Girls Are Rivals bullshit.

Mark Philpot reviewed Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies (2))

Review of 'Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Pretties picks up right were Uglies left off with protagonist Tally Youngblood having gone through the surgery process to become "pretty", along with the sinister side effects.

This installment of the Uglies series felt incomplete. The first book felt like a complete story. Pretties didn't seem to have the same arc and I think that's because Tally doesn't really "change" she just gains "realization." As a result, it felt like a shorter journey and I was reading just to find out what happens next rather than understand the world and characters that Westerfeld created. I guess I'm a little disappointed in this sequel and I'm not sure what that portends for the next installment.

Mark Philpot reviewed Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2) by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies (2))

Review of 'Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There is no reason that this book should be classified as Young Adult, and it seems all the good science fiction & fantasy authors are stuck in that classification. Uglies is the first I've read from Westerfeld and will definitely make my way through the rest of his works.

Uglies is the first installment of a post-apocalyptic series where plastic surgery is used once someone reaches sixteen to make everyone "pretty." Westerfled does a good job exploring the societal consequences and unraveling the ulterior motives, without delving too much into contemporary cliches.

In the back of my mind, it reminded me slightly of [a:Stephenie Meyer|941441|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1250877761p2/941441.jpg]'s [b:The Host|1656001|The Host|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1259179981s/1656001.jpg|3328799] except without the incredibly sappy writing and love triangle. Highly recommended, and hoping the rest of this series lives up to this strong opening.