Popco

PopCo tells the story of Alice Butler-a subversively smart girl in our commercial-soaked world who grows from recluse orphan to burgeoning vigilante, buttressed by mystery, codes, math, and the sense her grandparents gave her that she could change the world.

Alice-slight introvert, crossword compositor- works at PopCo, a globally successful and slightly sinister toy company. Lured by their CEO to a Thought Camp out on the moors, PopCo's creatives must invent the ultimate product for teenage girls. Meanwhile, Alice receives bizarre, encrypted messages she suspects relate to her grandfather's decoding of a centuries-old manuscript that many-including her long-disappeared father-believe leads to buried treasure. Its key, she's sure, is engraved on the necklace she's been wearing since she was ten. Using the skills she learned from her grandparents and teaching us aspects of cryptanalysis, Alice discovers the source of these creepy codes. Will this lead her to the mysterious treasure or another, even more carefully guarded secret?


Author: Scarlett Thomas
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 04/20/2023
Pages: 512
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.30w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780156031370

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 08/01/2005 pg. 42
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2005 pg. 813
Library Journal 08/01/2005 pg. 73
Ingram Advance 10/01/2005 pg. 90
Booklist 09/01/2005 pg. 67
People Weekly 10/31/2005 pg. 54
New York Times 10/23/2005 pg. 27
Library Journal 08/15/2005

About the Author
Thomas, Scarlett: - SCARLETT THOMAS is the author of PopCo and The End of Mr. Y. She has been nominated for the Orange Prize and named Writer of the Year by Elle UK, one of the twenty best young writers by the Independent, and one of the Telegraph's 20 best writers under 40.