Book 3 Project: The Hero Tally

Tally Youngblood is a very complex character throughout the trilogy. She is the main protagonist as she progresses from an ugly to a pretty and finally a special where this story takes place. Through thick and thin, I believe Tally Youngblood fits the role of a hero perfectly. Now for what exact one, that changes as she changes from book to book. I read The Specials by Scott Westerfeld and we get the most up to date version of Tally. Right now I would classify her as an anti-hero sprinkled throughout the entire book.

She now has the identity of being a special circumstance agent which she is not so thrilled about. By being a special, it helps to bring clarity in her life that she had been lacking.  Dr. Cable sends them on a mission to the Smokes. As they are snooping around in the mountains, they find a lot of high tech equipment. "The six hoverboars slipped among the trees with the lighting grace of playing cards thrown flat and spinning. The riders ducked and weaved among ice-heavy branches, laughing, knees bent and arms outstretched. In their wake glowed a crystal rain, tiny icicles shaken from the pine needles to fall behind, aflame with the moonlight" (33). This is impossible for those in the Smokes to have better, more advanced equipment then the Pretties have. As the three of them are looking around, someone captures Fausto and Shay but Tally reveals her hero self and fights off the kidnapper enough to save Shay. Tally had overcome adversity by putting her friends first and fighting to get them back. Although she didn’t save both of them, her attempt did not go unnoticed. She knew she had to protect her friends so she did the only thing she knew to do.

As the story continues, Tally has a hard time keeping her friendships strong. She tends to butt heads a lot with the one who is suppose to be her best friend and the one she has saved many times, Shay. They just can’t seem to always work their differences out quickly; it takes them time to finally admit their wrongs. Tally says, "…and yet she and shay always seemed to wind up on opposite sides. Was that a coincidence? Or was there something about the two of them that always turned them from friends into enemies? Maybe they were like two different species--hawks and rabbits, say--and could never be allies" (184).  We can tell that Tally really wants the friendship to work, but there is just some sort of barrier in the way. We can all easily identify with this situation. But Tally and Shay always seem to work it out in the end.

Overall, I believe Tally proves she is an anti-hero throughout this novel. Her morals in life quickly change as she is placed in a new environment with a new crowd. But through thick and thin, she always seems to keep her heart set on helping others. She has been put in a million different situations where she could just call it quits and save herself. Instead she fights for the people around her, determined to get them to safety before she saves herself. Through it all she shows some courage but she always seems to be a little confused with which morals should be in her top priority. The novel ends with Tally saying, "Be careful with the world, or the next time we meet, it might get ugly" (372). This statement right here proves Tally Youngblood is an anti-hero!

Villains (Reflection 10)

For some reason villains are very appealing to us as readers of the book or viewers of the film. They usually have one of the two lead roles throughout the novel. I feel like they are so interesting because they should be a lot different from who you are. Usually you can’t identify what is going through the villains mind while they commit awful crimes or hurt others. It makes me want to understand their motives causing me to dig more into who they really are. Usually the villain has a bit of a soft side which keeps us attracted to their character because we hope that the softness with overtake the evilness and cruel behavior he/she does.  Villains shows culture what is capable of happening if power or the focus is on the wrong people. For example, the man who shot up the movie theater is a straight up villain. I can see this written in a novel making him the perfect villain character. It’s sad that we have villains in this world. They are capable of doing so much harm to the population whether they are motivated from an episode of criminal minds or simply reading a novel.

Spot the Great Moment (Reflection 9)

Unexpectedness:

Now that Tally has become this new, indestructible person, she is ready to help everybody else. She has received yet another surgery that gives her bones a new strength and the ability for her muscles to repair themselves. Her senses have also become very keen so she can exceed all of her duties as a part of the special circumstance team. The Smokies have been smuggling in these pills to kill the lesions which cause the pretties to be stupid, as if they were brainwashed. She has already taken the pills and she is helping to cure the lesions off one of her closest friends and boyfriend, Zane. He has been taking the same dosage of pills it took to cure Tally’s lesions. Unexpectedly, Zane dies from the pills completely destroying his brain.

Tally, Shay and the rest of the Cutter’s go to capture the Smokes on their hover boards. They are extremely driven to take over the Smokes because David, who is now a mutual enemy, is the leader. You would think the cutters have the advantage in this situation, coming in to take it over when the Smokies are unstable, but they don’t. Unexpectedly, David and his team retaliate causing Shay and Tally to fight the outsiders in an old fashioned manner. Next thing you know, they kidnap Shay leaving Tally alone to fend for herself in the forest. She is now stranded without the only thing to help her get out, her hover board.

Eventually Shay and Tally are reunited along with all of the other cutters. They are sent on a mission to deliver more pills to a special clique called the Crims, a troublemaking group. They are to deliver more pills to cure the lesions so they can continue to be pretty without the dumb brain. They are to take the pills to Zane. Wait what!? Tally thought it must be a typo because Zane was apparently dead from the pills. She was so confused! Sure enough she goes to take the pills, expecting to see a new leader. It was Zane. He is still alive!

Top Five Books I've Read (Reflection 8)

1. Love Does by Bob Goff

Summary: Bob Goff tells many short anecdotes that all flow together to tell a lot about how he has gotten to where he is today. He is very influence by the word of the bible and ties it into his daily life. All of the chapters are of different experiences but they are all tied together by his love for God. His main idea portrayed throughout the book is that love does, that you must take action each and every day to spread love. Love drives him to do the things he does.

Why I like it: I just love how he takes each day as if it was his last. All of his stories have left this impact on me and inspires me to be a better person. Also, a lot of his anecdotes are funny which makes this novel a page turner. He turns every experience into a life lesson which makes this book very intriguing!

RIYL: If you like to hear about God, be inspired by others experiences or just looking for a quick read, Love Does is perfect for you!

Love Does by Bob Goff

2. Marley and Me by John Grogan

Summary: Marley and Me is a memoir of John’s life. John and Jenny had just gotten married. They decided to bring a Labrador retriever puppy into their family! Marley is so disobedient and gets himself into a lot of trouble. But they love the dog so much that they just continue to try to teach it. Throughout the novel, this puppy has helped the family through its toughest times and their best times. In the end, Marley teaches the family unconditional love and that it can come in many forms.

Why I like it: I love dogs! Marley reminds me of my own puppy which makes this novel really relatable to my life! John and Jenny have such a special relationship and the way their puppy brings them together makes this story ten times better. I also love how Marley knows when things aren’t right in the family, it’s like they have a sixth sense!

RIYL: Stories about dogs, a young love story or books that deal with overcoming adversity

Marley and Me Movie Trailer

3. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Summary:  John Tyree is a part of the Army and his home for a couple of weeks. He meets this girl on the beach, Savannah, when he dives into the ocean to retrieve her purse. They continue to see each other as they fall in love. John goes back overseas and Savannah promises to write until he comes home. His father dies so John returns home to find Savannah married to another man. The novel ends with Savannah staring at the moon which proves her love for John still exists.

Why I like it: It’s a cute love story. Not once did I find this novel boring which made me just want to find out what happens. Also, I really like to read books that are turned into movies so when I found out they were planning on making a movie for Dear John, I knew I needed to read it before it came out in theaters!

RIYL: Nicholas Sparks, young love stories or looking for a tear jerker

Dear John Movie Trailer

4. The Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Summary: In this futuristic society, you are required to have a surgery that makes you pretty when you turn sixteen. Tally has always dreamed of becoming a pretty but meets Shay who becomes her best friend. Shay runs away and asks Tally to come with her when she is sixteen so that she doesn’t have to get the surgery. Initially Tally decides to not go with Shay but is soon forced by the surgeons to track Shay down. This novel is all about her adventure to the Smoke’s where she meets a young boy who she falls in love with.

Why I like it: It has a lot of futuristic technology in it which makes me think about how much our technology has grown since I was born and what it will be like in another ten years. Tally also has a lot of strong morals throughout the novel and I really like that about her. She doesn’t allow society to define her and I think that is a very important lesson a lot of teenage girls need to learn.

RIYL: Futuristic societies, adventure, young love or learning little lessons about life as a teenager

The Uglies Cartoon

5. PS I Love You by Cecillia Ahern

Summary: Holly is madly in love with her husband Gerry. They do everything together and are the perfect couple! Gerry is diagnosed with a terminal illness and dies leaving Holly to be on her own. But before he dies, he has written a series of letters that Holly receives to help relive their love. She learns that life goes on but doesn’t go a day without thinking about Gerry.

Why I like it: Again, it is such a cute love story! I am really into reading romances and PS I Love You is one of my favorites. Just how everything unravels makes me feel bad for Holly. And to think of having someone who loves you so much, one who plans for after his death so you can be happy it just unreal. Also, this book is relatable to a lot of people who have lost their loved ones making this story to be cherished.

RIYL: Romances, an adventurous story, a good laugh or are looking for a tear jerker

Here’s a song to sum up the whole novel More Time

Book Comparison/Character Analysis (Book 2 Project)

I have read two of the four books thus far in the trilogy written by Scott Westerfeld. I really enjoyed reading the first book, The Uglies, and zipped right through it because it was such a good read! So I thought I was going to absolutely love the next book in the series, but it turns out to be the complete opposite. The Pretties just wasn’t what I expected. To be honest, I had a hard time getting myself to actually read it. I figured Westerfeld would continue the strong morals he set for Tally and a couple of the other characters and develop them more to be people we look to as a role models. But that is not the case for his second novel, The Pretties.
Each book in the series it titled differently, duh, but with that new title comes a new Tally. Mainly it is her appearance that is altered, but we can also see her morals fade and her true personality come out. For example, in The Uglies, Tally is ugly! She is a fifteen year old girl with a poor complexion, a big nose and frizzy, brown hair causing her to not be confident in whom she is. She is discouraged by the way she looks and only dreams of becoming pretty one day. This makes her character very humble throughout the story. Tally tries to do the right thing by putting others before her and at several points it gets her into trouble. In the end, she regrets betraying her best friend and leaving the Smokes. We can see that Tally is a typical teenager who is just trying to figure life out. But she has set strong morals for herself when it comes having the best interest for others, not herself.
In the second book, we are introduced to a new Tally. One who cares so much about her appearance with the opening scene of her trying on a million different outfits until she finally find one that she believes is going to wow society. Tally takes on an average pretty appearance, a big upgrade from being an ugly and she has this urge to become ‘popular’. As a side effect of becoming a pretty, she gets all of these lesions on her brain. These lesions cause a lot of her morals to slide downhill. Tally becomes a very shallow character who is now obsessed with her appearance and social status. Out goes her morals of being a loyal friend, putting others before her and in comes the Tally who only cares about what’s in it for her. Now that she has become a pretty, she wants to be the top of the top. So she ditches her boyfriend/bestfriend David because he is no longer good enough for her. She does everything she can possibly do to become a part of the Crims Clique. Tally goes as far as forming this intimate relationship with the leader of the Crims, Zane, to ensure she would be admitted into it.
With Zane and Tally now together, they go through a lot of hardships which really proves they have ‘true love’ and it is not just programmed into their brains. Eventually they are lead out into the wild and Tally says, “And the worst thing was, there were no mirrors out there in the wild, so the princess was left wondering whether she in fact was still beautiful... or if the fall had changed the story completely.” As the book comes to an end, we can see that Tally’s good heart is creeping back into her life. This gives me hope that The Specials will bring the old Tally back!

100% To Be Non-Fiction (Reflection 7)

I guess I am just confused. I don’t understand why an author can’t just classify their novel in the right genre! The author knows whether the entire story they told is fiction or non-fiction so why is it so hard for them to put it in the right category? The only way I can kind of understand why they would put it into a certain genre is if certain genres sell better and the only motivation the author has to write is to make a profit. But still! If you want to write a story on something that has happened in your life, authors should keep their facts straight! I think there is a difference between making up little fibs here and there and dramatically changing what happened to you! For a book to be considered non-fiction, there better not be big “facts” blown out of proportion just to help the novel sell better! There are people who are going to think your memoir is interesting enough without all of the fiction added in! If you are going to write a non-fiction novel, I think it needs to be one hundred percent accurate. And if the novel is partially made up, put it in the fiction genre and let your imagination roll!

Which Genre? (Review 3)

If we are talking broad terms, I would put The Pretties in the speculative fiction genre. Speculative fiction, as we learned, is all about the question of “what if?” In this novel, the overall theme is what if you were required to have a surgery to make you pretty when you turned sixteen. More specifically, I would say this novel would fit into the dystopian fiction category. Dystopian fiction is “often set in a future or alternate version of our current history—as though it could be our logical outcome based on what is happening in the world today” according to the Speculative Fiction worksheet passed out last class. Today we see a growing number of people receiving plastic surgery which in theory, is altering their image to be what they see as prettier. Humans tend to care a lot about their self-image and how others view them. A lot of people would go to extreme measures for their body image to be perfect. So based on our world today, having a surgery when you are sixteen to remove all of your flaws is a pretty realistic thinking of what our future could come down to. I think The Pretties could also fall a little bit under the science fiction category. There are a lot of advances in technology seen throughout the novel. For example, they have futuristic technology such as hover boards or wrist bands that locate you in a snap. Westerfield also comes up with this idea of a tracking chip placed on your tooth! That may or may not be invented now, but it’s definitely not common or something we hear a lot about.