We Set the Dark on Fire

by Tehlor Kay Mejia

[girlinthepages]

So sad story, I was hoping to hear Tehlor Kay Mejia on a panel at ALA but it was too close to my flight time so I had to skip it to head to the airport. I had heard great buzz about the author and title in advance, and I was super bummed I missed the event! When I finally picked up We Set the Dark on Fire it was clear that the hype around this title is so well deserved. I'd heard it pitched as a Latinx, YA The Handmaid's Tale and the story definitely had those roots while still bringing it's own unique voice and ideas to the tale. It also reminded me of the recent release Girls with Sharp Sticks (which is great- I am totally here for these dystopian boarding school feminist reads!)

Set in a dystopian world (or is it with the way things are going, amirite???) it follows protagonist Dani who has attended school her whole life to take her place alongside a husband as his "Primera"- his main wife who is proper at all times and runs the household. Meanwhile, she's assigned to a household and husband that she must share with her nemesis Carmen, a Segunda (basically the second wife who is more like a mistress and does the childbearing in the relationship). The parallels in this structure to the The Handmaid's Tale is obvious, but I loved the modern and Latinx twist! The government is predictably corrupt and Dani and Carmen's husband is close to the heart of it, rumored to be the next president to a nation that denies the pleas of the poor and underprivileged outside of the borders of the city and blames its views on antiquated myths and folklore as an excuse. The story feels uncomfortably close to many current political events going on right now and is timely in its social commentary. It also juxtaposes the cruelty and corruption with a phrase out of Dani and Carmen's school handbook at each chapter heading, further reinforcing how the society and government normalize their corrupt actions and structure and brainwash female students into submission.

Overall: There's a lot of elements of this story I love but I don't want to get into because they delve into spoiler territory, as there's quite a few mystery elements in the novel, especially considering where certain characters' loyalties lie. I think this is going to be the start of a GREAT series and it's making me enjoy dystopian again!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages