Tally Youngblood

Infobox character
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series = "Uglies Series"
name = Tally Youngblood


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first = "Uglies"
last = "Extras (novel)"
cause = End of Series
creator = Scott Westerfeld
portrayer =
nickname = Skinny
Squint
species = Human
gender = Female
age =
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death =
occupation = Student (through "Uglies")
Special ("Specials")
family =
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children =
residence =

Tally Youngblood is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Uglies Series, written by Scott Westerfeld. In the first book in the series, Tally is ugly and living in Uglyville until she runs away to the Smoke. Tally is turned Pretty in the second novel, Pretties, where she meets Zane, and gradually cures herself of the 'pretty' lesions. By the third book Specials, Tally is turned into a Special, as part of her friend, Shay's group "the Cutters". There is an extra forth and final book in the series called Extras, which was originally unscheduled, but was published in October, 2007.

Appearances (WARNING: SPOILERS)

Tally goes throught many apperances in the series.

Uglies

Uglies sees Tally Youngblood as a 15 year old in Uglyville, where her best friend Peris has just turned pretty. All she dreams of is her 16th birthday when she will become pretty and go to live in New Pretty Town. But then she befriends Shay, a rebellious girl who has the same birthday as Tally. When Shay runs away to the legendary Smoke, where other Uglies live in a Rusty (what we know as our world now) lifestyle. But Shay runs away just before her 16th birthday, leaving Tally directions to find the Smoke in case she changes her mind to join her. On Tally's 16th birthday, she is taken to Special Circumstances, where Dr. Cable tells Tally she has to betray the Smoke or never be pretty. Tally is sent on a quest to find the Smoke and then activate a tracking device that will alert Special Circumstances to the Smoke's whereabouts. Tally eventually finds the Smoke but finds herself growing accustomed to the ways of the Smoke and the people there, particularly a boy called David, who has lived his whole life in the Smoke. David's parents, Maddy and Az, who were formerly doctors, but ran away from civilization to form the Smoke because they found out about Lesions (cuts in a Pretty's brain that disable them from thinking properly). After learning about these, Tally decides to destroy the tracker, but in doing this accidentally activates it, betraying the Smoke and alerting everyone to the fact that she was in fact a traitor and a spy. After escaping from Special Circumstances with David, Tally rescues Shay, David's mother and a few other Smokies from Special Circumstances. But Shay has already been turned pretty and David's father killed. Maddy, David's mother finds a cure to the lesions that are in the form of a pill, but Shay, being the only pretty, refuses to take the pill. Tally volunteers to return to civilization, undergo the pretty operation and then test the pills. The book ends when Tally tells city authorities "make me pretty".

Pretties

Tally Youngblood appears in the beginning of Pretties as a young New Pretty with nothing on her mind but partying, drinking, and having fun. But, when she meets Zane, the leader of a clique called "Crims", everything changes. He realizes that there is way to think your way out of being a Bubble-head. From consuming nothing but coffee to gulping Calorie-Purgers by the 3s and 4s he knows it all. And as Tally becomes less of a Bubble-head she starts to remember the real reason for becoming Pretty. She was sent to test out a cure that Maddy created. Tally goes on a wild adventure from the roof of Garbo Mansion to finding the illusive room number 313. Tally and Zane make a last minute decision to share the pills leading to all kinds of trouble. Tally gets into a fight with Shay because she finds out that Tally shared the cure with Zane. Tally later finds out that Shay has found her own way of curing herself. She became a Cutter. By Tally thinking her way out of being a Pretty-head, and Shay cutting her way to mental freedom they both earn themselves spots as Special Circumstances agents. The last line of the book came from Shay's lips: "Face it, Tally-wa. You're Special."

pecials

In the exciting "conclusion" to the Uglies "trilogy", Specials, Tally has become a Special Circumstances agent against her will. But, now that she sees the clarity and awareness that comes with being a Special she is beginning to enjoy herself. There's a catch to being Special. She is trying to destroy the very person and people that brought her to where she is. The New Smoke has been created and there are Uglies and Pretties both in the fight against the government. The Specials are there to stop them. Tally is a cutter along with Shay, Tachs, Fausto and the others. There is an attack in the night by the New Smoke pulling out all the stops. Sneak suits, infrared, and high-speed bows and arrows. Fausto is captured and that is when Tally Youngblood 's world is turned upside down for the third time in her life. She convinces Zane to try to go to the New Smoke and she tries to follow him she ends up in a city called Diego that turns out to be the New Smoke. Tally is amazed the the New Smoke had a whole city on their side. That explains the sneak suits. Special Circumstances soon finds out about Diego helping out the rebellious new Smoke, so they start a war against Diego. They bombed Town Hall and quickly destroyed most of the city, despite these actions being extremely "rusty". Tally finds Shay and the other Cutters and realizes that they have been cured by Maddy of the "special" lesions. Tally feels betrayed and whilst roaming the evacuated Diego hospital gets a ping from Shay. Shay has found Zane lying in critical condition in the hospital. Despite the doctors efforts, Zane's brain damage is too much and Zane dies. Tally is distraught and decides to go back to her city to confess to Dr. Cable, hoping that this will end the war. Tally does this and sneakily cures Dr. Cable, who comes to her rescue when Tally is about to be de-specialized. Tally escapes and finds David, at the end of the book Tally sends a ping to Shay, Peris, and Maddy regarding her future with David.

You all say you need us. Well, maybe you do, but not to help you. You have enough help, with the millions of bubbly new minds about to be unleashed, with all the cities coming awake at last. Together you're more than enough to change the world without us. So, from now on, David and I are here to stand in your way. You see, freedom has a way of destroying things. Be careful with the world, or the next time we meet, it might get ugly.

~Tally Youngblood

External links

* [http://www.scottwesterfeld.com/The Official Scott Westerfeld Website]