Pretties

“They all had to wear bungee jackets in case anyone broke through. No one ever did, of course, but the thought that at any moment the world could fall away with a sudden crack kept Tally drinking plenty of champagne. Zane, who was pretty much the leader of the Crims, got bored and tipped a whole bottle onto the ice. He said that alcohol had a lower freezing point than water, so it might send someone tumbling down into the fireworks.”

This description of a party foreshadows the trick that Tally and Zane pull after they have been cured. It discusses both the floating ice rink and the fact that alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than water, which the two later exploit to cause the rink to collapse and turn the Crims bubbly.

“Of course, the Smoke didn’t exist anymore, thanks to Tally and Special Circumstances.”

Pretty surgery has made Tally’s memories of what happened in Smoke during Uglies vague, but this thought alludes to her accidental betrayal. While the reader will not get a full description of what happened until after Tally’s thoughts have become clear, this moment highlights that Tally still carries guilt with her even after the suppression of her memories.

“Her head throbbed, but the clarity that had come over her as she’d thrown herself off the balcony hadn’t faded. Her heart pounded as a burst of fireworks lit the sky, casting pink light and sudden shadows through the trees, every blade of grass in sharp relief.”

Tally experiences her first moment of clearheadedness while chasing Croy through the darkness at the Valentino Mansion party. This is the first time the reader sees her return to her old self, clarifying the effect of the pretty surgery on its victims. It also proves that clarity is possible, giving the reader hope for Tally’s future.

“Memories from the Smoke always came back at a brain-missing pace, like bubbles rising up through some thick, viscous liquid.”

This quote not only reveals one of the major consequences of the pretty surgery in its memory-altering capabilities, but it also uses the word “bubbles” to describe accessing things that should be off-limits, establishing “bubbly” as code for fighting the effects of the pretty surgery. The author uses a simile here to underscore the difficulty of accessing memories through the haze the surgery has created.

“It all seemed like a million years ago, but she could see herself—her ugly self—kissing David, traveling with him across the wilderness for weeks alone. A weird ping of memory moved through her, how strong and never-ending being with him had felt back then.”

As Tally’s mind becomes clearer, so do her memories. The author uses hyperbole when describing Tally’s relationship with David as a “million years” prior to emphasize how Tally’s experiences have distanced her from him. This becomes important later in the novel, contributing to Tally’s choice to stay with Zane instead of fleeing with David.

“That’s a good question. But whatever it is, it’s wrong with all of us.”

Zane has begun to suspect what Tally knows but has suppressed: The pretty surgery does something to change people’s behavior. He says this both to comfort Tally and reinforce the seriousness of their situation, which extends to every person they know and beyond.

“The city interface brought you pings, answered your questions, reminded you of appointments, even turned the lights on and off in your room. If Special Circumstances wanted to watch you, they’d know everything you did and half of what you were thinking.”

This reinforces the power of the interface rings, marking the beginning of their transition from a social tool to a symbol of imprisonment. Tally finally recognizes how dangerous this technology is to people trying to be secretive, realizing that she may have been under surveillance her whole time in New Pretty Town.

“I, Tally Youngblood, hereby give my permission for Maddy and David to give me the pills that cure being pretty-minded. I realize this is a test on an unproven drug, and it might all go horribly wrong. Brain-dead wrong.”

The letter left from past Tally to present Tally summarizes the events of the first novel for the reader as well as reiterates what is at stake. It also serves as the catalyst for the rest of the book. Zane and Tally split the pills, but Zane takes the one that eats brain tissue. This moment begins a ticking clock counting down Zane’s final days of health.

“But the cuff seemed to have been forged from one piece of steel, perfectly fitted to the oval of her wrist. She pulled at it softly, feeling the slightest give; she was growing skinnier every day.”

Interface cuffs have replaced the interface rings, shifting the novel’s focus from tools for the user to tools for the oppressor. Tally and Zane are trapped, and the cuffs represent their imprisonment, as they are unable to leave the city without being tracked. This moment also highlights the sacrifices they are making to become free, which include starvation.

“Suddenly, Tally felt exhausted. There were too many things to juggle. Too many worries falling on her alone. All she’d wanted was to become a Crim, to feel safe in a clique of friends, and now she found herself in charge of a rebellion.”

This moment highlights the differences between pretty-minded and bubbly Tally. She struggles under the weight of responsibility, which has come from taking the cure. The quote reinforces the sacrifices that she is willing to make for her chosen community because she continues to pursue rebellion even in this state of exhaustion, denying her brief, private desire for ease.

Cable’s words had left the world as sharp as a broken crystal. ‘You should see the world as I see it, Tally.’ ‘You’re offering me a…job? As a Special?’”

Tally’s conversation with Dr. Cable reveals several key facets of life in the city. Primarily, it shows that Specials used to be tricky uglies, meaning that Dr. Cable and Tally have something in common. It also reveals that Dr. Cable does not care what Tally does but rather sees it all as further proof that Tally should be recruited. The use of simile reinforces how Dr. Cable’s presence and words make Tally even more clearheaded, evoking both the sharpness and transparency of crystal to demonstrate how the rules of Tally’s world are becoming more evident to her.

“We are under control, Tally, because of the operation. Left alone, human beings are a plague. They multiply relentlessly, consuming every resource, destroying everything they touch. Without the operation, human beings always become Rusties.”

Dr. Cable compares humanity to a plague as a means of reinforcing the destructiveness of human nature. Plagues destroy indiscriminately, reinforcing her argument in favor of the operation as she attempts to persuade Tally that free will is less important than societal stability and environmental protection.

“Tally had known somewhere inside her that this moment would come, that Shay would eventually remember what had really happened back when they were uglies. But Tally hadn’t expected it so soon.”

At a moment that should be triumphant, Tally must face one of her greatest shames as Shay remembers the events that happened at Smoke. This moment acts as a catalyst since Shay’s rage at Tally inspires her to seek alternative cures. This puts the adults in the city on edge, accelerating Tally and Zane’s timeline to flee. Although there are many moments in the rising action, this is the one that most significantly propels the novel forward.

“Shay finally lowered her arm, swaying a little on her feet, and held out the knife. […] ‘This is Shay’s new cure.’”

Tally and Zane witness Shay’s ritualistic self-harm, and Tally realizes that it is Shay’s way of keeping clearheaded. This quote highlights the differences between Shay and Tally, which center on community. Shay feels betrayed and tries to build her own social group around remaining bubbly, but in doing so she resorts to self-harm.

“‘See you down there.’ [Zane] looked over his shoulder at the distant earth, then turned back to her. ‘I love you.’”

Tally and Zane, freed from the physical constraints of the interface cuffs, also become emotionally and mentally free because they can say whatever they want without fear of eavesdroppers. Their newfound freedom allows Zane to express his true feelings, reinforcing the connection that he and Tally have built through their search for a cure.

“Why am I unhappy?’ Tally repeated softly. ‘Because the city makes you the way they want you to be, Peris. And I want to be myself. That’s why. […] Their reasons don’t mean anything unless I have a choice, Peris. And they don’t give anyone a choice.”

This conversation with Peris underscores Tally’s thoughts on the brain lesions that influence the city’s people. In highlighting the importance of free will, Tally summarizes one of the major themes of the novel.

“No one knew where she was. The world had been emptied of everything but the wild, the freezing cold, and Tally Youngblood.”

Here, Westerfeld uses hyperbole to emphasize Tally’s loneliness as she is lost in the wild. She feels fear at her sudden situation—so much so that she loses her usual grasp of the broader context of her actions. She misses Zane, but her focus narrows to survival and escaping the wild.

“[Tally] took her eyes from the weapon and shook her head. It wasn’t fair to think of him as uncivilized. What Andrew was describing was as old as civilization itself. In school, they’d talked about this sort of blood feud. And the Rusties had only been worse, inventing mass warfare, creating more and more deadly technologies until they’d almost destroyed the world.”

Tally’s perception of Andrew provides important background information about the world. Although blood feuds and violence are a routine part of Andrew’s life, Tally comes from a society that has moved beyond such things. It is also important to note that Tally challenges her beliefs about Andrew by reflecting on his surroundings, noting that he is participating in something much older and bigger than either of them.

“Tally remembered her conversation with Dr. Cable, who had claimed that human beings always rediscovered war, always became Rusties in the end—the species was a planetary plague, whether they knew what a planet was or not. So what was the cure for that, except the operation? Maybe the Specials had the right idea.”

This moment of self-doubt sees Tally exploring the moral question Dr. Cable presented. It is the first time in the book that Tally challenges her commitment to the importance of free will. She considers the other perspective in a moment that allows the reader to experience her doubt with her. This adds depth to Tally’s character, as she grapples with complicated matters and considers perspectives beyond her own.

“Most likely, Tally thought, it had never occurred to him before now that people could see reality in completely different ways. Between surviving outsider attacks and getting enough food to live, villagers probably didn’t have a lot of time for philosophical disagreements.”

Tally and Andrew bond during the week Tally spends in hiding as she waits for the arrival of the scientists. Tally challenges her previous dismissiveness of Andrew and his culture, trying to be more sympathetic and empathetic to his situation. This shows Tally’s newfound maturity, as she now considers the perspectives of others.

“Maybe she didn’t need a handsome prince to stay awake—or an ugly one, for that matter. After all, Tally had cured herself without the pill and had made it all the way out here on her own. No one else she’d ever heard of had escaped the city twice. Maybe she’d always been bubbly, somewhere inside. It only took loving someone—or being in the wild, or maybe just a plunge into freezing water—to bring it out.” 

Tally finally gets a private moment to consider the situation she is in. In doing so, she realizes that she is not reliant on others to be successful. This is an important lesson that relates to the idea of free will. Tally chose to travel the wilderness, to escape the city, and to become bubbly without needing anyone to come to her rescue. She has become self-sufficient and established an identity, showing her growth since the beginning of the novel, when her biggest worries centered on the opinions of others.

“You and David could both be right. Maybe human beings are programmed…to help each other, even to fall in love. But just because it’s human nature doesn’t make it bad, Tally.”

Zane addresses one of Tally’s fears as they wait for the Specials to arrive and arrest them—specifically, the worry that Dr. Cable’s assessment of humanity is right. By claiming that human nature is not inherently evil, Zane invites the reader to remember that human beings are capable of kindness as well. His words flip Dr. Cable’s arguments about free will on their head, asserting that while humans may have certain innate tendencies that drive their behavior, those tendencies are actually positive.

“Despite the pretty-talk, she heard a cold, serene intelligence in Shay’s voice, a pitiless joy in having snared her old betrayer.”

Tally notices the changes in Shay following the latter’s Special surgery. This moment introduces conflicting ideas about Shay’s motives for forcing Tally to become a Special. Shay uses ingroup language with Tally and claims a desire to be friends, but her aloof attitude contradicts that and makes it clear that Tally is in a dangerous position.