Beth F
Sandy
bermudaonion (Kathy)
Stephanie
Trisha
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
Just a caution: it is pretty much impossible for this review NOT to be a spoiler for “Uglies” (which I have also reviewed). If you haven’t read Uglies and are concerned about knowing the ending, please do skip this review.
Tally Youngblood is no longer Ugly, she is now Pretty and she is getting ready to join the Crims, one of the coolest cliques in New Pretty Town. Tally is finally at the party she’s been anxiously awaiting, the one at which the Crims will decide whether or not she can join, when some of the Smokies show up with a secret about the past she can no longer remember. Tally and her new boyfriend Zane fight to stay bubbly and not let themselves give into the lesions that make them pretty-minded, but it isn’t easy when the city and Zane’s own body are against them.
I really do like this series. Westerfeld keeps up the action without making this a brain-dead action book. The love-triangle also worked much better than one in another young adult I could name. Perhaps the best part is the social commentary, which works because of the dystopian society in which Tally lives. I don’t even want to describe some of the commentary both about Tally’s time and our own because I don’t know how to keep it from sounding heavy-handed, although Westerfeld pulls it off quite nicely.
Perhaps the only the I didn’t like about “Pretties” is that it ended with a similar sort of cliffhanger (although not quite the same) as did “Uglies.” They were a little too similar for my taste, but that didn’t stop the ending from propelling me straight into “Specials!”
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I think I’m going to have to break down and buy this series. All of these books sound so good and so thought provoking.
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Yeah, I’m intrigued with this series myself, but based on what I’m reading, I think I would keep it from my 11 year old. It’s hard enough navigating through cliques and self-esteem these days.
Sandy’s last blog post..Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
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After Specials, I also recommend Extras. I loved all these books!
Jeanne’s last blog post..Skinned
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devourerofbooks Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I’m definitely planning on it, I already have it from the library. As I heard it doesn’t involve the same characters (and since Specials didn’t end with a cliffhanger) I’m trying to get through a few other books first, though.
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I couldn’t read the review — fear of spoilers — but I read the last paragraph. Similar ending or no, glad to know that you’ll read more.
Beth F’s last blog post..Monthly Wrap Up: April 2009
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Gotta read this! Loved Uglies but there was a hold on Pretties at the library so I never got around to ordering it. Really want to find out what happens next though
Ladytink_534’s last blog post..My April Books
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