Pretties - Scott Westerfeld

Westerfeld, Scott. Pretties. 1st Simon Pulse ed. NewYork: Simon and Schuster, 2005. Print.

Summary: Pretties is the second installment in the Uglies trilogy.  In this story, Tally has been turned pretty after turning herself in from the Smoke.  She now lives in Prettyville with her friends Peris and Shay, and is a member of the elite clique the Crims, lead by a boy named Zane.  The Crims is comprised of members with a past as tricky Uglies -- those who did pranks.  Together with Zane, Tally finds the secret to staying bubbly.  Being bubbly means one is less pretty-minded and thinks more clearly.  Zane knows that there is something else to being pretty than just a physical transformation, and has figured out that by thrill seeking, he can clear up his mind.  When he shares this secret with Tally, it spurs her to remember that there is a cure for being pretty-minded, and one of the members of the Smoke has left it inside of the city for Tally to find.  Together, Tally and Zane find the cure and split the two pills.  They are each cured, but Zane experiences chronic headaches which they believe are a side effect of the pill.  The two plot to leave Prettyville and find the New Smoke so they can have Zane treated, and help to spread the cure amongst all Pretties.  When they finally arrive at new Smoke, Tally finds out she took a pill that did not contain the cure, and realizes that she managed to cure herself by staying bubbly.  The New Smoke is discovered shortly after, however, and Tally and Zane are captured.  They are to be turned into Specials, the unit which fights outside threats to the city.  Will Tally be able to stay bubbly even as a Special and manage another escape so she can spread the cure?

Dystopia: This book continues the story that Westerfield began with Uglies.  Finally, Tally finds herself turned into a Pretty, but the circumstances are very different than she imagined.  She has joined the dystopian society as a fully-fledged member, and as such, this book delves deeper into the working of the city and Prettyville.  Enter Zane.  Tally meets Zane through her friend Shay, who appeared in the Uglies novel.  Zane is the leader of the Crims clique amongst the New Pretties.  The only people who can join The Crims are those who were "tricky" when they were Uglies.  Tally has gained wide fame for her escape from the city to the Smoke and her eventual return.  This makes her a shoo in for the Crims, and Zane takes a special interest in her.  He reveals that he is able to stay "bubbly" by remaining tricky as a Pretty and using stimulants like caffeine.  Somehow he has figured out that the operation means more than just physical alteration, and he has found a way to combat the effects of pretty-mindedness.  This detail is crucial to the story.  While bubbly, Zane and Tally are able to see the corrupt nature of the society they live in, and forms plans to escape and spread the cure.  We also learn that Special Circumstances actively recruits tricky Uglies to convert them to Specials.

As Pretties is a continuation of the Uglies series, it contains all of the dystopian elements that were there, with the addition of a new hero, Zane, and the fall of a former hero, Shay.  As the middle novel of the series, it becomes the one where the plan is formulated.  Zane and Tally, like the heros in the other novels in this blog, plot to release the society members from the snares of its corruption.  Like Amy in Across the Universe, there new-found knowledge allows them a new perspective.  This novel continues the theme of knowledge as power and ignorance as weakness.  The society in Pretties is able to maintain control over its members because they are unaware of the lesions in their brain.  They are further dulled because these lesions block their critical thinking.  Like the drugged water in Across the Universe, the operation is disguised as something beneficial, but really it is a device Special Circumstances uses to keep its members ignorant.  Like Soma in Brave New World, the lesions in a pretty-brain are a mind control device.

This novel was a good follow-up for Uglies and I enjoyed it even a bit more.  It's shorter, and I felt that sometimes the events in Uglies were dragged on.  I am excited to read the last book in the trilogy, Specials, and once I finish that book, I will be able to round out my analysis of these books, and see if they align with the list I constructed.  As I said, this book was also enjoyable, and comes recommended.