February 8th, 2005 - Simon Pulse
Synopsis: Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.
But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
Well, it's taken me long enough to review this.
This is probably going to turn out to be a short review. I'm excited about writing today because NaNoWriMo has started and so I'm trying to pump out my daily 1.67k words!
Anyway, I liked this book. Simple as that.
The plot was pretty interesting, with just enough characters so I didn't feel overwhelmed, but to where I felt like there still needed to be a lot of stuff explored. The prose is super fantabulistically fantastic! Or, should I say "pretty"? (+1 point goes to Aaron for a lame joke)
The writing is colorful and twisty and turny, and the way that everything blooms as you get deeper and deeper into the novel is awesome! The society was alright, not insanely inventive in my thoughts, but when thinking about what I liked best about it all, I keep going back to the writing itself. Scott Westerfeld really knows how to balance flowy descriptions with getting straight to the point.
But I wish he could have done the same with the plot. I kept wanting something "more" to happen-something excited and new. Also, he didn't make me feel sympathetic to the characters. I don't know why, but Tally, the protagonist, made me feel unsympathetic through the way she thought. She was just kind of annoying.
But I wish he could have done the same with the plot. I kept wanting something "more" to happen-something excited and new. Also, he didn't make me feel sympathetic to the characters. I don't know why, but Tally, the protagonist, made me feel unsympathetic through the way she thought. She was just kind of annoying.
So, all of this is to say that the book was not awesometabulous as LEVIATHAN, but at the same time is a great thing to look at when wondering how to balance poetic writing with straightforwardness in prose. I've now used "tabulous" at the end of two words in this post-my day is fulfilled.
See ya on Friday!
-Aaron
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