Well, I lost my notes for Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. Or did I even take notes? Let’s see how this review goes with my less than perfect total recall. 
But first, a word from our author… well, at least the blurb from Goodreads:
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.
First things first: I liked Pretties more or less the same amount as I liked Uglies. There were plenty of annoying aspects about Pretties, but the story was unique. In fact, I have to admit, the trilogy is really starting to grow on me.
Let’s start with what I disliked the most about Pretties so we can move on to the good stuff. The lingo. The lingo sucked big time. It reminded me of Neal Bortz when he tries to sound like a valley girl with all the “like this” and “like that” “like” “like.” Okay… we get it. It’s obnoxious. Now can we get OVER it?
Same thing with Pretties. Everything was bogus or bubbly or whatever-making, and totally overboard. I don’t know if the overuse of the special lingo was purposeful, but the excessiveness of it made it seem like an adult trying to fit in the young crowd but failing miserably.
What I enjoyed? I loved that despite being transformed into a Pretty, Tally was still the same person inside — pretty but still full of insecurities. Instead of the focus being on her outward appearance and being adored, the focus shifted to fitting in. Just like when she was ugly, she still had doubts about being good enough.
In a way, it was sad. We had a society which perfected individuals physically… in essence, giving them all they dreamed of having. To help the pretties along, they turned them into the addle-brained, content with having fun. They created an utopian environment, at least it appeared that way to an ugly looking in. Well, even Pretties believed they were living the ultimate life despite their continual strive to be cool. In reality, they had a broken society full of daft people who never had an opportunity to be comfortable with who they were.
Though I consider the books middle of the road reads thus far, I still think the trilogy is worthy of attention. Well, I’m working on the last book of the trilogy. It’ll be interesting to see how everything resolved itself.
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld is Available at: The Book Depository and Barnes & Nobles
