We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Abstract

Reviewed by: We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Mejia, Tehlor Kay We Set the Dark on Fire. Tegen/HarperCollins, 2019 [384p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-269131-6 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-269133-0 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 In the realm of Medio, upper-class girls are trained to be one of two types of wife: the Primera, the witty and loyal advisor, and the Segunda, the passionate and brave beauty; politically elite men choose one from each category, completing a three-person marriage. Seventeen-year-old Dani has spent the last five years preparing [End Page 214] as a Primera, but her arranged marriage is nothing like she’s thought: her husband Mateo Garcia is volatile and reclusive, and the Segunda is Carmen, her nemesis and bully from school. She’s also terrified that they will somehow find out that she is actually an illegal immigrant, the very kind of person Mateo is leading military attacks against. When a rebel group shows up, demanding that she act as a spy or else they will reveal her true identity, she has no choice but to comply. The book serves as an indictment of both patriarchy and capitalism, highlighting the physical and emotional indignities suffered by Dani (as well as Carmen) at Mateo’s hands and the brute force of oppression that keeps the immigrants and lower classes in poverty, allowing men like Mateo to remain in power. Unfortunately, characters are lacking in depth, with Mateo an almost cartoonish villain and Carmen acting mostly as a plot device until she becomes Dani’s lover. Still, there’s palpable tension in Dani’s struggle to figure out whom she can trust (even Carmen comes into question) and fans of Ngan’s Girls of Paper and Fire (BCCB 10/18) will find a similar combination of social commentary, thrilling espionage, and tender romance. Copyright © 2019 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois