On a recent whim, I picked up a copy of Poster Girl by Veronica Roth. It was mostly out of curiosity, since I hadn’t read anything by her since her Divergent trilogy. I was surprised at how it sucked me in so quickly. In a manner I hadn’t experienced since The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. With The Hunger Games, I had only intended to read the first few pages and ended up blazing through the whole book in a few days. Poster Girl had the same effect on me.
It’s one of those rare books that you both get lost in as well as think on a level similar to when reading a book by Neil Gaiman. It makes you think about both the ethics of technology, as well as prison reform in multiple ways. At the same time, you are taken on a journey filled with mystery, political corruption, and tragedy.
The characters start out as mere outlines, but as you journey deeper, they develop into clearer portraits of people. You start out with names and how they currently live and, basically, learn more about them, as well as their world, with each page turn. It draws you in deeper as you learn more.
This a demonstration of Roth’s mastery of dystopian science fiction and her ability as a world builder, as she again builds not one but multiple futuristic worlds that are all tied together. Roth also doesn’t guarantee a happy ending, as no writer should. After all, some good endings aren’t happy ones. And no, I will not tell if it is a happy ending or not.
Roth is one of the few great authors who I had the fortune of discovering at the beginning of their writing careers. That being said, I have to give Poster Girl five out of five bookmarks. I sincerely hope you will pick up a copy of this book. I guarantee it will make you think.
Functionally Fictional 
Leave a Reply