Book Review: Pretties

Book: Pretties (Uglies #2) by Scott Westerfeld, 2005 by Simon Pulse, 370 pages.

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Gorgeous. Popular. Perfect. Perfectly wrong.

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.

Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

My Thoughts:
This was an interesting second installment of the Uglies series. I loved Uglies and Pretties has a very different feel, taking place mostly in New Pretty with lots of "bubbly" language and mindless parties.

Tally has sacrificed herself and has become pretty so that they will have a test subject for their cure to the brain lesions. We get to know Shay better and are introduced to Zane, Tally's new love interest. I liked Zane and the way he tried so hard to keep his brain from going pretty.

Tally's character was good, though some of her indecisiveness drives me crazy, but it's probably supposed to because her ugly brain is at odds with her pretty brain.

I liked the development of the brain science and the idea of the lesions. And, again, the social commentary on the idea of pretty and ugly is terrific. Then there is the great twist at the end of the book. I love that kind of thing.

However, this book had the feel of a transition book for me. There was a lot of action and movement, but somehow, it still left me wanting something else. Hopefully, I'll find it in Specials. Maybe it's because I found the world in Uglies so much more interesting than the world in Pretties. Overall, though, it was worth the read and I'm anxious to get onto the next book.