Reviews tagging 'Death'

Poster Girl by Veronica Roth

23 reviews

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Roth’s books somehow always hit the right spot for me, and with <Poster Girl, it was not so different. I really liked the setting and the melancholic/sad/hard to describe atmosphere throughout the novel. 

Poster Girl takes place in futuristic times where the rebels have successfully overthrown the Orwellian government. Our main character Sonya was part of the establishment as the girl for the propaganda posters. Together with other regime supporters, she’s confined in some kind of prison village where the mostly live on their own. I found this part of the setting very intriguing, and it led to an interesting atmosphere. One day, she gets asked to look for a girl and can leave the prison for the first time in years. This part of the story was also so written so well. Through Sonya’s eyes, we see how much has changed, leading to a melancholic vibe. She was so brainwashed into supporting the old government that it’s hard for her to find her way in the new political landscape. 

There’s also a strong feeling of not belonging anywhere depicted which was so well written as well. The discussion of the moral of the old regime was interesting as well, focussing on the question if you can force someone to be a good person. Furthermore, I quite enjoyed the twists at the end. We learn that
Sonya is the reason for Grace’s disappearance and that she’s already dead because her father killed her. This whole “the new regime is not really better than the old one” twist was a bit cliché though


Looking at the characters, I really liked Sonya. Her backstory is so dramatic, especially how
she is the only one in the family that didn’t kill herself
. I also liked Alexander, and
I was happy when Sonya x Alexander happened. I felt sorry for Knox though, she deserved better


All in all, I would recommend Poster Girl to people who still love YA dystopian novels but want a more “adult” angle on them. 

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historyoftape's review

4.25
challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Maybe reading darker books on airplanes will be a new habit. In any case I read this in one day of travel, which was unexpected for me as I thought this might be a book I'd have to sit with some more. It definitely covers some themes that will haunt me for a while, but at the same time the style is more quiet and calm so I felt like I had the time to think about things without being distracted by action or too many twists. There were twists, don't get me wrong, and action, but probably due to the main character's quietness and detatchedness they were less the forefront. 

I enjoyed how more and more bits and pieces of the characters stories are revealed as time passes on, and how some decisions make more sense in hindsight with the new knowledge I gained. This book also did a really good job at making morally grey characters lovable, and even evil ones likeable. As it says at one point, no amount of loving anyone will make them a better/good person. 

All in all I really liked this, even though it is not the genre I usually go for :)

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adventurous challenging dark reflective
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I received a copy of this book as part of my subscription to FairyLoot.
"Poster Girl" follows a young woman named Sonya. Sonya long believed in the Delegation's moto: " WHAT'S RIGHT IS RIGHT". She followed it without question or second thought. But when the Delegation fell, and she is locked up with other important members of the Delegation in the Aperture, she begins to rethink everything. She is given the opportunity to earn her freedom and get out from under their watchful eye. Sonya is tasked with finding a missing girl, a second born to a family who should not have had a second child under the rules of the Delegation. Through her investigation, Sonya uncovers decades old secrets that could destroy her community's reality.
I really liked the idea of this book and the exploration of how surveillance is slowly encroaching on every part of our lives. It is easy to feel like wherever you are, technology will find you, and that might not be such a great thing. I also greatly appreciated that this book does not get too techy in explanation. I have a very visceral understanding of technology, so too much detail about the cloud would have really taken be out of the story.
Sonya as a character felt kind of flat to me. I wanted to see her complete her task, but I was never rooting for her. She is flawed and we learn something about her that is heartbreaking, but I never felt super connected to her as a person.
I think Veronica Roth does dystopian well, but this particular story just did not grab me like her others. Perhaps this was too futuristic with technology for me personally? Overall, I felt like this story was fine. I am happy I read it, but I likely will not think much about it.
I will probably pick up Veronica Roth in the future, just maybe not anything set in this world

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dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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