Book Review: Pretties (Ugly #2) by Scott Westerfeld

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.

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My Review

Pretties was an unexpected addition to the Uglies series. I can't say that I disliked it, but I wasn't entirely pleased with it either.Pretties starts off not too long after book one ends, with Tally now fully made into a Pretty and living the supposed "high life." She has very limited memory of everything she went through to get where she is, and all that she sacrificed for her friends. That is until someone from her "ugly" past shows up and tells her about something that was left behind for her to find. Driven by curiosity and her fuzzy memories of the past, she sets out to find the answers she's been looking for and to become "cured" once and for all.

This sequel was more aggravating than it was enlightening over all. I was really quite surprised by the direction the author chose to take the story in.Particularly the direction in which he took the romance. First of all, not nearly as much plot development occurred as there should have been. I blew through this book don't get me wrong, but when I noticed I was on page 200 and not much had really happened to further the growth of the characters, I started to get concerned. I mean yes, the book naturally moves quickly because it's a fast read in general. However, I didn't think Westerfeld would take up so much time describing Tally's journey to get where she needed to be. Which now that I think about it, is exactly the way the first book was structured as well.

Pretties was good enough to read and continue the series with, but not good enough to say that I really enjoyed it. Naturally, the story ended with a cliffhanger once again, therefore prompting me into being forced to continue, even though I'm not sure as to how pleased I will be with it. I love the characters and the entire concept of this series, I guess I just expected more from it. I will definitely be reading book three: Specials.

I would recommend reading Pretties if you are already invested into the series, if only to see how everything works out. Buy it on Amazon here! Or buy it at your local Goodwill (that's where I found mine).