Erica Chilson's Reviews > Pretties

Review from 2012. While my thoughts almost a decade later have shifted, I still enjoyed the novel. The rating would have probably changed. Rereading in anticipation of starting the spinoff series.


My Name is Tally YoungBlood and my mind is very ugly

I enjoyed this installment twice as much as it's predecessor. While still plagued with the dreaded redundancy of annoying words the storyline was extremely exciting *Bubbly?*! I can't imagine how much I would have loved this book if those words weren't in it, or over used *Totally bogus?*. Added to the words from last book, which were still blatantly abused, BUBBLY & BOGUS I am not kidding, when I accidentally use these tortured words in everyday life I flinch from the sound of them. The word Bogus was before my time, I picture surfers and skate boarders saying, "That's Bogus, Dude!"

I love Tally, imperfections and all! She is a very strong character; mentally, emotionally, physically, and her constitution. Yes, she makes mistakes, but she learns from them. A perfectly flawed Heroine! She earned my respect when she could have laid down and died when she lost her board into the raging waters. Instead she adapted the attitude that no one can save you except yourself. She packed herself up and started walking...

The addition of the character Zane added an unexpected twist to the storyline. His similarity to Tally made them a perfect partnership. Westerfeld creates flawed characters, making them relatable. The characters of Shay and Peris showed the spectrum of personalities. While Shay jealousy and greed causes her to have a conquer the world attitude that is easily corrupted, Peris is at the opposite end, his fear causing him to lay down and die*figuratively*. I adore Dr. Cable, she is the nemesis of this enthralling series. Are you evil if you are doing what you feel is right? That is our Dr. Cable, she does what she needs to do to keep her world on the path it is on. You can actually see her point when she explains it to Tally. Even though she does very bad things to keep the status quo, I can see her reasoning. This hammers home the point that whichever side you are on, you are are both right and wrong. The only answer is a balance between the two.

To the edge of the world The reservation the Others were on was ingenious! I didn't see that coming and usually little surprises me. The entire dynamic of this portion of the book was amazing, had me completely engrossed. I had to see what happened next.

Overall there wasn't a minute of the book that I wasn't enthralled. I was in my zone where I feel rabid, if you were to try and stop my journey before I reached it's end I would bite your hand off. If a book does this to me or makes me cry uncontrollably, it's a book I will never forget.

This series has it all; excitement, brutality, reality, denial, a strong moral, undercurrent of a love story, and a strong willed heroine set out to save her world. What's not to love? Oh, yeah... I almost forgot. The story premise actually made me forget for a moment... It's like so totally bogus that it's bubbly, Tally-wa! Yeah, that, Pretty speak! How could I forget?

I am still not convinced that the young adults reading the series will see the underlying moral. It's in your face for the adults. I think you would need a sledgehammer to get it through to the *fangirls* who will bypass the moral in obsession over the Tally/Daniel/Zane triangle. Not even most of the adults see the actual moral, most seem to see one side or the other, not the delicate balance that is being expressed.

Here are a few quotes that effected me:

Everyone in the world was programmed by the place they were born, hemmed in by their beliefs, but you had to at least try to grow your own brain. Otherwise, you might as well be living on a reservation, worshiping a bunch of bogus gods

My name is tally youngblood and my mind is very ugly This was one of my favorite scenes. Tally seems to come into her own right here. She became a person I would follow to the ends of the earth and back.

Do I love Scott Westerfeld as an author? I will have to try one of his other series to be sure. I will reserve judgment until I see whether or not the dialogue changes from series to series. Will I continue with the series? Hell YES! I need to know what happens. So much so that after finishing this at 2 am I abruptly started Specials. I will say that Specials is even better then pretties. Tally has turned into a Kick-Ass heroine before my eyes & our beloved Daniel has changed as well. Whereas Tally and Zane were the perfect complements to one another. Now Daniel and Tally have become perfect combatants creating an exciting thrill ride of a read. Truly a Wicked Read!

This review is also posted on: vkwickedreads.wordpress.com