"Pretties" by Scott Westerfeld

Pages: 370
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Fiction

Back Cover Synopsis: 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.

Review: First of all, I find the back cover synopsis to be a tad ridiculous. Could they make it sound any more like a book only a twelve year old girl would read? But with that being said, this book was wonderful--just like the first in the series. It completely pulled me in--even though I was more than just a tad frustrating the way some things turned out. But, as a reader, I don't have control over that.

I also read this on in less than a day because I just couldn't put it down. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, so to speak. I needed to know how Tally survived, emotionally, mentally, and physically, through her life that is constantly changing and evolving.

"Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Pages: 425
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Fiction

Back Cover Synopsis: Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license--for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world--and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Review: Before I started this book series, I had heard a lot of great things about it. It definitely didn't disappoint. I was completely enthralled and read it in less than a day. It is an extremely quick read, and it can be difficult to keep track of the passing time. Westerfeld does an amazing job describing this future, in my opinion, distopian society. I can picture all the gadgets and advancements. Westerfeld's vision throughout this book, and the books that follow, are imaginative and genius.