From Ugly to Pretty

So Uglies by Scott Westerfeld ended with the Smokies getting captured by the Specials. Tally and David were able to escape. The Boss, on the other hand, did not do so well. The Specials killed the Boss.

Tally and David make their way back to the city to rescue their friends. On their way, they meet some uglies who assisted them. When Tally and David reach the headquarters and get inside, they discover that Shay has already been turned pretty and David's dad died. The others were successfully rescued.

As Shay and the other ugly Smokies begin their new lives in a cave behind a waterfall, they attempt to find a cure for the lesions in pretties' brains. David's mom devises an experimental pill that, she believes, is 99 % effective. They want to give it to Shay but Shay refuses. Shay believes that the Smokies are crazy for wanting to live like pre-Rusties. Shay says that the only reason she is with them is due to Tally. Shay is supposedly waiting for Tally to decide to return to the city and become pretty. Tally decides that turning pretty is actually what they need. Tally gives written consent to test the cure since Shay refuses. The book ends with Tally and Shay returning to the city, with Tally going straight to the warden. "I'm Tally Youngblood. Make me pretty."


Pretties starts off with Tally living in New Pretty Town. Tally is getting ready for a party that night. Tally does not seem to remember or care much about her previous life. Currently, she is worried about being accepted to a group of pretties called "Crim." As the story progresses, Tally learns that the leader of Crim was a friend of Shay's when they were ugly. His name is Zane. Tally also learns that Zane knows that pretties are brain damaged and the entire point of his group is to help pretties "stay bubbly" and remember their ugly years. Zane is trying to figure out what is wrong with them. He takes a special interest in Tally because she was so involved with Special Circumstances and the Smoke. She slowly starts to remember her past. She began to remember when Croy, one of the Smokies, showed up to a party and started leaving clues that remind her of her past.

What happens next will be a thrill.