In Which I Play Catch Up: Sequels
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
From publisher *contains Uglies spoilers*:
Tally has finally become ‘pretty’.
Her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are cool, her boyfriend’s gorgeous, 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 feeling that something’s wrong. Something important. And sure enough, when a message from Tally’s ‘ugly’ past arrives, the fun stops cold.
Now Tally has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life…
This is a series that lots of people love, but I have trouble getting excited about. While I’m reading the books, I’m totally into them and enjoy them greatly. But as soon as I finish, I too soon forget all about the series and my initial need to know what happens next.
That said, I did really like Pretties, the second in the series, while I was reading it, especially the last half. In the first book, Tally got caught up in the rebellion despite wanting nothing to do with it and it wasn’t until the very end that she became an active member of her own will. In Pretties I loved watching Tally become proactive, to willingly fight against the Specials and being pretty-minded. I do want to read the next book in the series, it just might take a while for me to remember.
And if you’re wondering, I’m hands down team David.
My rating: 7.5/10
Soundtrack Saturday
Holly’s Inbox: Scandal in the City by Holly Denham
Tag line: Good news travels fast; office gossip, even faster…
I loved the original Holly’s Inbox. It was such a fun, quick read, so when I saw that a sequel had been written I knew I needed to read it.
Again written entirely in email form (with a few text messages), everything I loved from the first book was back in Scandal in the City. The crazy emails from her grandma, gossip from friends, relationship insecurities, and, of course, office politics (as a former receptions, I always love the Dear Receptionist emails).
However, it was so similar to the first one that I kept thinking that I had already read it. There was one scene in particular, which was quite pivotal to the plot (using that term very very loosely here) that I could have sworn I had read before. Maybe I read an excerpt somewhere? Perhaps there was Scandal preview at the end of Holly’s Inbox? Either way, that wonderment got me all distracted at times.
Besides my confusion of perhaps reading a book I had already read (although I’m sure I hadn’t), Scandal really was a lot of fun and made me laugh out loud at a number of outrageous emails. I came to it looking for a light, entertaining read and that’s exactly what I got. If you enjoyed Holly’s Inbox, then I highly recommend reading Scandal in the City as well.
My rating: 7/10
alita.reads. 
Like you, I loved Holly’s Inbox — it was so fresh and fun! Scandal In The City was fun, too, but it was definitely more of the same… I also felt like many of the plot points were a little too familiar for comfort! Worth a read, but not as enjoyable as the first one!
I tried reading Pretties (Uglies was good) but with characters saying: “Tally-wah” my teeth started to grind and I felt a tic underneath my eye. Things like that annoy me and my enjoyment of the book plummets. I’ll have to give it one more go otherwise it’ll go to the DNF pile….
i read about holly’s inbox on meg’s blog but STILL haven’t gotten around to reading it. it is SO my kind of book but i keep forgetting about it. now i’m jotting it down and will make an effort to pick it up ASAP. have a swell weekend!
I have Pretties last week in my mailbox. But I am going to keep it till Januari 2011. I still have lots of pile of books to read