Pretties is the second book of the Uglies Trilogy written by Scott Westerfeld.

Plot Introduction

The Uglies series is a science-fiction series set at least a century in the future. It tells about life after our current civilization was destroyed. The survivors of this disaster established cities much smaller than those currently existing, each of which is independently governed with limited traveling. At the age of sixteen, each person undergoes an operation which boosts their immune system and reflexes while giving them well-proportioned, symmetrical faces based on an international standard, so that all "pretties", as they are then referred to, look nearly identical. They are also given brain lesions which make them peaceful and compliant. Before they receive the operation, children are referred to as "uglies", and are kept separate from their older friends. Later operations follow to show signs of increasing age while maintaining this beauty, and the lesions may be removed for pretties entering careers which require quick thinking. Pretties who work for Special Circumstances, a group which ensures the city's security, are given an operation to make them look terrifying, become very strong and fast, and have incredibly fast reflexes.