It's always fun to observe a writer's evolution.
So Yesterday shows us some good writing, but the plot is weak.
He adds a plot with real stakes in Uglies, but while well written, Uglies is the standard dystopia-masquerading-as-a-Utopia theme that we've seen a hundred times before, and there are few surprises in the plotting or characterizations. Uglies does do an excellent job of leading us in to the sequel (a feat he manages equally well in the transition of Leviathan to Behemoth).
In Pretties, Scott Westerfeld makes The Leap from promising writer to excellent writer. Not only do we have the pleasure of his writing and a plot with stakes, but it has a fresher perspective, as if The Time Machine were written from the perspective of the Eloi. It's great, and the start of the chapter "Lurker" and the introduction of the concept of the "milli-Helen" as the unit of beauty required to launch exactly one ship, while a minor thing, was the moment I realized he'd made The Leap (a sort of anti-Nuking the Fridge).
There's a worry-making couple of chapters near the end where I thought he might be losing grip on the story, but it's clearer now that it will be worth it in Specials and Extras. O . M . G . I'm hooked, Mister Westerfeld.
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