I liked Pretties for almost the same reasons that I liked the previous book. It's a unique story that is easy and quick to read. It is better than the first for a number of reasons, but I still felt a little underwhelmed. The plot seemed vaguely repetitive because first she was ugly but longing to be pretty, now she's pretty longing to be in the clique of Crims, she has to relearn about the Smoke.. etc. The first sixty pages felt almost like a reread of Uglies first hundred pages.The depth that was sorely lacking in the first novel Uglies is present here as well. More details about day-to-day life in New Pretty Town are supplied, and even more information about the "Rusties" emerge, but the characters themselves never grow and mature as the events in their lives unfold. There were a few plotholes in the novel (how did the Smokies hack the dress requirements for the party? and saying explicity that the operation ensures no bruises, but Tally and her friends are bruised after the prank with the ice rink) but they were less numerous than in Uglies.The pseudo-slang that Westerfeld has created for his pretties is basically inane and unoriginal. "bogus" "bubbly" "pretty-making" "[xxxx]-missing" just seemed like half-efforts at how brainless teenagers might talk. The pretties are supposed to vapid and dull, and the way they talk certainly impresses that aspect firmly into the narrative. I did like the names of the Mansions in New Pretty Town (Valentino Mansion, Garbo Mansion, Denzel Park...etc); I thought that was an amusing and clever way to direct attention to who the "Rusties" were.I enjoyed Zane. I didn't appreciate what he represented (the introduction to the inevitable love-triangle) but he was a fresh, intriguing character in Tally's life. I was happy to see (finally!) a pretty who had recognized that something was off in their world. I was sad to see Tally and Shay end because in this series so far, most relationships are between the sexes, with girls only competing against each other or openly hostile. Tally herself annoyed me in the beginning because she was back in the vapid state I loathed from book one. As the story moves along, I could begin to tolerate her more. The evolution of Shay through the book was one of its highlights. Instead of being a vapid dull pretty, Shay takes things into her own hands and ends up completely different than the runaway from book one. Shay is more malevolent and interesting than Dr. Cable as an antagonist.The ending, like the ending of the first one, left me vaguely depressed and unsettled. I can see the reasoning for Tally turning pretty in book one so they can test the cure, but Westerfeld AGAIN "improves" Tally and I can't help but feel it's not as beneficial for the story as leaving her normal/pretty would have been. He basically undermines the entire message he's been preaching for two going on threefour books. It seemed like a lot of the plot for this sequel was recycled. Tally searching to belong, learning about the Smoke, throwing off pretty-mindedness, escaping from New Pretty Town, just to be caught and surge'd up once more. One time felt like a cliff-hanger, two times just makes it a recycled storyline.This is a solid two star book. I had hopes that this book would improve over the original, but it remains at the same slightly above-average grade that its predecessor did. It is enjoyable to read, but fails to be anything more than that.More of my reviews here: http://bibliophileanonymous.blogspot.com/
