It gets a little tiring to keep reading the new words and speaking style, but I think it brings home the alien nature of the Pretties very well. One of the most significant developments in the world building is a certain discovery that Tally makes - which in hindsight makes a lot of sense but I wasn't expecting it and it took me completely by surprise.With Tally in the Pretty world, I found myself a little confused at the vocabulary used by the New Pretties - everything is either bubbly (good) or bogus (bad), and things are crazy-making, dizzy-making etc. Cable is, once again, flawless in her role of villain. The reappearance of the Special Circumstances people was expected in the book, but they still freak me out! Dr. However, when the truth is revealed to her about the operation and she begins to see clearly again, the world is revealed to be false and full of dangers. As a Pretty Tally is sort of annoying and shallow, but it's easy to see the lure of living such a simple life where everything is provided and your only job is to have fun. I also liked the introduction of Zane, I think he's a great addition to the cast and compliments Tally well - he takes risks and has a lot of fun, but is a lot more mature and guides Tally through the book.Pretties builds well on the foundations of Uglies and reveals more of Scott Westerfeld's dystopian world, and for the first time we get to see life from the Other Side. Her friendship with Shay finally begins to crack under the pressure of the events of the previous book, and it was nice to see Tally and Shay shaken out of their usual roles and grow into fuller characters.

Although she is a Pretty in this book, Tally matures very quickly once she realises the truth about the operation and makes some very difficult decisions which I admired her for. In Uglies, she lacked the ability to see the consequences of her actions and was pretty self-centred. I liked Pretties much better than Uglies for a multitude of reasons, but mainly because of the changes in Tally's character. Chapter 46: ‘How David Got His Scar’ Short Story.

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld