This second book in the series picks up right where Uglies left off. The doctors in the Smoke rebellion have found a cure for becoming “pretty.” Tally has had the surgical procedure to become Pretty so that she can help test this cure. But when Tally is immersed in the mindless life of the Pretties, she forgets her promise. After Tally gets a message she wrote to herself before her operation, along with two pills for the cure, she and her new boyfriend each take one. Unfortunately, Zane has a dangerous reaction and Tally needs to seek help from the rebel doctors. When the authorities discover that some Pretties are able to cure themselves of their “bubbleheadedness,” they want to recruit Tally and her friends to join the dreaded Special Circumstances organization.

Like its predecessor, Pretties is an exciting, action-packed read. The main theme of this story is the struggle to regain the mental clarity that is lost when Uglies have the surgical procedure to become Pretties. One character finds that she can achieve this clarity through the pain associated with “cutting” herself. The life of the Pretties resembles that of college freshmen living in a dorm, with cliques and some alcohol consumption (among sixteen-year-olds, though it is not illegal in their society). The physical contact between the characters is limited to kissing. There are also references to Zane and Tally waking up in the same room after a nap.

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