Pretties

Bibliographic Info

Title: Pretties

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: 2005

ISBN: 978-0689865398

Plot Summary

In Pretties, the sequel to Uglies, Tally has just received the operation to make her pretty.  Life is all that it should be.  She’s beautiful and popular and even meets a boy, Zane, who is both gorgeous and the leader of a popular clique.  The only problem is, Tally keeps saying the wrong thing.  She’s almost grim when she ought to be “bubbly.”  She also has strange, confusing half-memories of her time in the Smoke, the settlement she lived in while she was rescuing her friend Shay.  With Zane’s help, Tally begins to unravel the confusion and remember the truth of her pre-pretty experiences.

After she connects with a friend from the Smoke and discovers a note dictated by the unlikeliest of all people – herself, she has to make a fast decision to trust the note and take some mystery pills, or not.  What she decides means that she and Zane have got to get out of their city, to escape the tight grasp of the authorities, and more urgently, to save Zane’s life.

Critical Evaluation

This sequel to Uglies is every bit as fast-paced and exciting as the first book.  Tally’s character responds appropriately to the dazzle of graduating to a world where everything is fun, everyone is beautiful, and her brain has been altered to fog over anything but delight.  Still, her natural character peeks through at all the right moments.  The world of Pretties is amazing, but the story never weighs down in the elements of cool.  Instead it is propelled forward by a compelling plot.

Reader’s Annotation

Tally Youngblood is finally pretty, but something inside her won’t just let the champagne and parties dull her mind.  When she meets Zane, she is no longer alone in her feeling that there are frivolous excesses in the pretty world and confusing memory gaps within herself.  Together, they must escape the city to find answers, and to save Zane’s life.

Author Info

Scott Westerfeld is an author of adult and young adult fiction.  He was born in 1963 in Dallas, Texas.  He has held jobs as a textbook editor, substitute teacher, computer programmer, and factory worker.

Scott Westerfeld and his wife Justine Larbalestier (also a writer) live in New York City and Sydney Australia.  Westerfeld enjoys Mexican and Thai food and never wears jeans.  Never!

Westerfeld, S. (2011, March 11). Westerblog. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/.

Genre

Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties

Political Science

Philosophy

Book Talking Ideas

Imagine yourself at the best party among the coolest kids you’ve ever met, but for some reason, you’re not having the time of your life.

Reading Level

12+

Challenge Issues

Self-inflicted starvation

Self-mutilation

Challenge Responses

Active listening

Refer to library’s collection policy

Provide complaint form

Refer to book reviews

Selection

Sequel to ALA Best Book Uglies.