A review by rinku
Poster Girl: Wer bist du, wenn dir niemand zusieht? by Veronica Roth

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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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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