Aug

Book Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

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PRETTIES by Scott Westerfeld
Series: Uglies, #2
Publication Date: November 1st 2005 by Simon Pulse
Rating:

Summary: 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.

Review Overview:

PRETTIES was a lot slower than the first book
Interesting to see Tally as a pretty but the book was less provoking overall
Cliffhanger left me wanting more; I’m definitely excited to finish up the series

PRETTIES was definitely a change of pace from the first book in the series. While it was still an enjoyable read, I didn’t quite find myself clinging onto every word as I had with the first book. Of course, the obvious reason why this book was so different was because Tally is now a Pretty.

Seeing Pretty Town from a different perspective was interesting because it showed us how the other half lives. If it weren’t for the fact that Pretties are kind of mindless for the most part, life as a Pretty does seem like a lot of fun. Life is just one big party and they never had to worry about anything. But when Tally associates with a clique called Crims – Pretties who want to stay in touch with their trouble-making past as Uglies – she starts to remember bits and pieces of life before the surgery.

Westerfeld also sets up a love triangle in this book, and for once, I found myself conflicted. First of all, it didn’t seem forced just for the sake of adding a love triangle. Furthermore, both David and Zane are good guys. The only problem is that David is an Ugly and Zane is a Pretty. It would be too superficial of me to pick Zane because he’s the good-looking guy, and that would probably beat the whole message of the book. I’m just glad that I’m not Tally; ultimately picking between David and Zane will be a tough choice in the conclusion. I don’t have a favorite at the moment, but we’ll see if that changes.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find the series as thought-provoking as the first book. Now that the world has been built, there were a lot less surprises on how society had turned out this way. Since the world-building is out of the way, the main focus is the development of the characters and the plot.

The Pretties use a lot of cutesy slang, but it wasn’t too much to annoy me. I got used to the bubbliness of their language pretty quickly. PRETTIES does end in a cliffhanger, but I had a feeling it was coming. It definitely makes me want to pick up the next book soon! I enjoyed reading PRETTIES and I thought that it was a good sequel overall.

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Permalink Category Book Review, Three Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Scott Westerfeld, Book: Pretties, Genre: Dystopia, Genre: Science Fiction, Publisher: Simon Pulse, Series: Uglies | Words 659 words

Jun

Book Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

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UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld
Series: Uglies, #1
Publication Date: February 8th 2005 by Simon Pulse
Rating: |

Summary: Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. Not for her license — for turning pretty. In Tally’s world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to be pretty. She’d rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world — and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Review Overview:

Without a doubt, this book makes you think about society today and in the future
Romance felt a little bit rushed; there’s a bit of chemistry — but it’s really not the focus of the novel
Hoping to read the rest of the series before school starts in the fall!

I had been wanting to read this series for a very long time, but I never really got around to getting a copy. My friend Tasha is a huge fan of the series and finally lent me hers and I finally got around to reading it. Unfortunately, I started reading UGLIES in the middle of finals, BEA, and the end of the semester which meant that I really did not have much time to just sit down and read. My reading experience had been extremely choppy and it made it difficult to really get into the book. However, despite my personal setbacks, I was still able to enjoy UGLIES overall, and it definitely made me think.

Tally lives in a society where at sixteen, you turn pretty. Initially, I found many, if not all, to be extremely shallow. Uglies called each other terrible names like Zitface and Squint that basically pointed out their flaws. There is this obsession with facial symmetry and looking perfect, and Tally could not wait until she turns pretty herself and moves to Pretty Town across the river. I didn’t think that I was going to be able to relate to Tally at all, but she does grow as a character as the book progresses. We learn the secrets behind becoming pretty – secrets that still make my mind boggle – and Tally realizes that the whole world that she had known growing up may not be as perfect as it looks.

Other than the issues of self-image, beauty, and plastic surgery, Weseterfeld also brings up many topics that makes readers think. The book is way more than just about a teenager in a world where everyone turns pretty. He also makes readers think about issues such as genetic modification and experimental medicine. Like a good dystopian novel, he made me think of society today and how our actions could impact the world in the future.

There is a bit of romance in the novel, though it is far from the main focus. I did feel that it was a bit rushed, but there is some chemistry between the two characters. The romance does play a bigger part toward the end of the novel, and I am curious how it picks back up in the second book.

UGLIES definitely gives readers a lot to think about. Westerfeld is a fantastic world-builder and he absolutely makes you stop to think while reading. UGLIES is a fantastic example of what a dystopian novel should do: it should entertain but also make you question your actions and today’s society and how it could affect that future. The scariest part about the UGLIES? While the concept seems outrageous, there are probably many people out there who wouldn’t mind living amongst beautiful people.

I can’t wait to continue the rest of the series! I hope I can get to them all before school starts up again in the fall. UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld is definitely recommended to fans of dystopia and science fiction.

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Permalink Category Book Review, Four Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Scott Westerfeld, Book: Uglies, Genre: Dystopia, Genre: Science Fiction, Makes You Think, Publisher: Simon Pulse, Series: Uglies | Words 864 words

Jun

Top of the Shelf #27

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A weekly meme on the books on the top of my list to read and books recently acquired, borrowed, or bought. Inspired by the Story Siren’s In My Mailbox.

Top of the Shelf / Currently Reading
What’s next on my to-read list for the upcoming week. I’m still reading Wildefire by Karsten Knight. I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.

For Review
I accidentally was sent two copies of this one. I will probably post the extra as a giveaway.

From Internship
I don’t get paid. I reimburse myself with free books. Here are just a few of the books I got.

Gifted/Swapped
Super thank you to fabulous best friends Loreal and Caitlin. <3 Loreal got me a signed copy of ANNA!!! And I swapped with her to get Jane, another big favorite.