We Set the Dark on Fire

HI I AM NOT OKAY WHY DID NO ONE WARN ME HOW MUCH THIS WOULD HURT. THE ENDING DESTROYED ME. NEED. SEQUEL. NOW. THIS BOOK WAS SO PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVED IT SO SO SO MUCH. (AND I *MAY* HAVE STAYED UP TIL 3 AM READING IT AND I HAVE NO REGRETS).

Dislikes

... nothing. Literally nothing. The fact that it ended. The fact that I have to wait 8 months to read the sequel. Nothing.

THINGS THAT WERE PERFECT AND WONDERFUL AND I LOVED

- Tehlor Kay Mejia's writing is legit the prettiest thing. Like holy fuck I love her writing so much ahhhhh. It is STUNNING. I've read a few short stories by her, so Iknew this already, but reading a 20 page short story vs reading an entire book... wow. I can't get over how gorgeous her writing is.

- The world show more building was so amazing. It was so richly developed, and she somehow managed to give enough details for me to feel like I'd lived there my whole life, like Dani had, without info-dumping, and that was hella impressive. And the world building coupled with her gorgeous writing? I forgot the real world existed.

- The freaking gorgeous cover

- DANI. This girl was such a nuanced character and I LOVED HER SO MUCH. She had so much internal struggle and she didn't know who to trust but she always tried to stay string, until it was all too much.
- CARMEN. This girl. My heart. I loved her so so much. At first she comes off as cold and closed off, but then you slowly get glimpses of the real her, and she's so fucking precious. Deep down she's just a disaster gay who cares too much for her own good.

- And their romance. THEIR ROMANCE. I cannot stress enough how perfect their romance was. It was beautiful and soft and it made my heart ache. These two are so perfect for each other and I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY GODDAMMIT.

- The social commentary in this book is also really fucking good. It addresses immigration and socioeconomic inequality and misogyny and I think it's done so well.

Overall? I'm fairly certain this book doesn't have a single flaw (okay fine it probably does but not ones I could see) and it was perfection and I loved it with my whole entire heart and if you haven't read it already GO READ IT RIGHT NOW. show less

I’ve been so interested to read this book since I first heard of it a few months ago and have been waiting for weeks now to get it from my library. It felt so nice to finally get it in my hands and I had such fun reading and highlighting the hell out of this book in a single sitting.

The first thing that strikes you most about this book is the world. It’s an island nation, with the inner island separated from the outer ones by a wall and border security enforcement being a major concern for the government. The govt elite live separately in a compound, literally on higher ground, sound in their belief that they know what’s best for the people of their country, and anyone protesting for the sake of the poor and destitute people are show more immediately deemed rebels and punished harshly. The border enforcement forces are increasingly vicious, terrorizing even the people who live on the supposed “right” side of the wall, and scaring them with the possibility of being sent outside the wall. The themes of illegal immigration, the lengths to which families will go to for the safety of their children and to make it to the right side, the inhumane ways in which the government makes policies to torment and punish people are all explored very very well and the parallels to what’s currently happening in our country(and also around some parts of the world) are uncanny. The world building in this book is a great example of how authors take inspiration from the read world to create fantasies and how they can show a mirror to the fault lines that exist in our reality.

While the idea of a school to train girls to be wives is not something new in fantasies, I found the concept of two wives - one to be an intellectual partner and the other to fulfill the more usual wifely duties felt quite unique. And though atleast the Primera being an equal partner and being involved in her husband’s politics seems like a good thing for her, the inherent misogyny of this whole concept is made glaringly obvious from the get go. The women are taught to suppress their own desires and do everything for the prosperity of the “family” which in essence means the husband. And despite all the young women being trained in the same fashion, the way they are treated differently because of their background or how close/far away from the capital they were born, is a completely hypocritical version of how the supposed marriage system has to work.

The author does a great job with the main character Dani. She is strong willed, smart, dedicated to her family because they sacrificed everything for her and only wants to keep her head down and do her job as the Primera. However, with reluctance initially, she starts working for the resistance and slowly realizes the prejudices that the elite harbor for the common people and how the whole system is based on corruption. Once she sees the truths for herself, she starts making her own choices, never caring for her safety. She did come across as impulsive and not thinking through her actions sometimes, but I could totally see where she was coming from.

Carmen on the other hand is mysterious, charming and flirty and I thought made a good balance to Dani’s slightly stoic demeanor. I loved the development of their relationship from being slightly antagonistic to kind of sister wives who slowly get to know each other better. The feelings they felt for each other developed very organically in the story and the aspect of it being forbidden definitely lent more intensity to their relationship. Everything else around them always felt so high stakes and almost dangerous, so I really enjoyed the bit of levity in the scenes when they were together. Their husband Mateo on the other hand is someone we do come to hate as a reader, but I never did get a good sense of him - I understood that he is more on the extreme and cruel side in his politics and too egotistical in nature, but I would have liked to know his motivations better.

The writing took some getting used to for me. I’m not one for purple prose and while the author didn’t indulge too much in it, I felt the writing a little too metaphorical for my taste initially. However, I quickly fell in love with the story and got completely lost in it. There are also some very memorable scenes and conversations in the book for which I want to commend the author for her thoughtfulness. One scene which I feel will resonate with a lot of readers is when Dani shuts up a man for trying to mansplain her own life to her. It’s such a passionate piece of dialogue and I feel many women would have wanted to say something similar to a man atleast once in their life. The author also does a great job of giving her female characters the strength to discover themselves and fight for their choices in a world where they don’t really have a lot of agency. While showing the ugly reality of the government, the author doesn’t completely paint a great picture of the rebels - it’s very realistically portrayed that despite great and noble intentions, revolutions are always messy.

Overall, this is a very fascinating world which feels all too real, with excellent female characters, a passionate sapphic romance and an ending that I really did not see coming. I would definitely recommend this to all lovers of fierce female leads in fantasy, but would like to remind everyone that this is not an action packed book, but a story that takes a deep look at prejudiced politics, discrimination of the already disadvantaged populace and why revolutions in such instances are inevitable. show less

Specifics:

Book: We Set the Dark on Fire

Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia

Published: 26th Feb'2019

Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Contemporary, YA Fiction

LGBTQIA literature: Yes

Series: Part 1 of the Duology

Age: 14

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books ( Harper Collins Publishers)

Pages: 384

My rating: 4/5

Blurb:

DANIELA VARGAS is a top student at the Media School for girls, where young women are trained to be perfect wives to distinguished men, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society. But when a resistance group learns where she comes from and asks her to become one of their spies, Dani must decide will she give up everything she's strived for in pursuit of a free Medio - and a chance show more at a forbidden love?

Review:

This is an accidental pick for this month but turned out to be so relevant. With the #blacklivesmatter movement taking place on a very resourceful and much needed way, I wanted to read books that reflect on such revolutionary times.

We set the dark on fire is not only an lgbtq literature but a revolt, against the upper class smothering the lower class and the lower class fighting for their freedom and lives.

The books is set in a world where girls from the 'Right side' of the wall go to a school where they are trained to either be a Primera - 'A woman who will be an equal to her husband and rule by his side in whatever he does' and a Segunda - 'A woman with nothing to do but to be pretty and bear children'.

The story is from Dani's point of view and in the beginning of the story are very questionable teachings that are thought to the girls in the Medio School.

This premise was so hurtful and tested my patience but there was something more to the story than just this. I thought the story would be about this system being overruled.

But turns out, there is also a war happening against the class (caste) system and people are revolting against their "Rulers".

The La Voz society fights for the suppressed and approach Dani and black mail her to become a spy for them. Meanwhile, Dani who graduates as the best Primera is married off along with Carmen - her die hard enemy, to the same family of Garcias, who happen to be running for president soon and have a core place in the havoc being raged on the lower class.

What happens next is not just rebellious and brave but also heart warming. The character development is very strong. I absolutely adore the writing and couldn't keep the book down.

The book does end on a very good but sort of predictable twist and a cliffhanger which I sort of thing was not necessary.

I would have liked it better if they spoke about the 'Two Wives' thing in a negative way. Nobody seems to have a problem with that and I am hoping that book 2 shatters this as well.

I rate this book 4/5 stars.

Spoiler alert:

The plot of the book was very well set. I liked that the author gave us a lot of information but also kept some for herself.

The best character development is definitely Carmens. She goes from being a sworn enemy who uses Dani's childhood to tease her to coming out to her as someone who just needed cover to falling in love with her and ending up being a member of La Voz.

The ending of the book, however, I am not okay with somehow. Why did Carmen have to leave? They could have built up a story to cover for the both of them right? I would have loved seeing them both sneaking off to steal some alone time when Mateo wasn't home.

The lovestory was pretty amazing though. The classic enemy to love trope but in a completely magical and rebellious setting. Someone on Goodreads said, "Imagine being a weak straight man and your two wives don't love you, and instead fall in love with each other. Instantly cursed." I figuratively died laughing at that.

Coming to the main characters:

Dani: Coming from the other side of the wall, Dani's parents gave up everything to get her into the school and her only goal is to get into a good house and fulfil her parents dreams. But when Sota approaches her and starts blackmailing her, she hesitantly helps in to protect her cover. We see her as a powerful and spontaneous young lady. She does feel for her cause and positively decided to convert into a member of the La Voz. I love how strong yet vulnerable she is. I cannot wait to see how she manages to carry on in that house without Carmen.

Carmen: I think she is a very important member of the society. The way she presents herself is admirable. I cannot wait to see more of her. Especially since she is not far away from someone that she loves so dearly.

Mateo: Can we kill him already? I hate how he is a control freak. I hate how he thinks he can rule the world with his cruelty. I hate how he treats the two girls. He is a perverted and privileged piece of shit and somebody that I relate a lot of real-life leaders to. The way he pushes himself on women is so disgusting and I feel like a thousand insects are crawling under my skin.

Reasons to pick up the book:

LGBTQ plus literature
Strong female characters
Great plot and writing
Very relevant for current times
Fast read
Page turner

Cons:

Tests your patience in the beginning (this is subjective)
Ends on a cliffhanger which is making me anxious becasue we don't really have answers
Predictable to a certain extent
The violence can be a trigger show less

We Set the Dark on Fire is about a girl named Daniela Vargas, aka Dani, who, for the last few years has been going to the Medio School for Girls, a place where young women are trained for one of two roles in their marriage after graduation: Primeras, who run their husband's household, and Segundas, who raise the children. Dani is the school's top Primera student, but her papers are a lie. She's from the outer parts of the island and she must keep the truth hidden or be sent to prison. When a resistance fighter threatens to expose her, Dani must use her Primera skills to become a spy to the Garcia family she just married into. Meanwhile, she's falling hard for her home's Segunda, a girl who bullied her throughout school, Carmen. Will show more Dani hold on to the privilege her parents fought so hard to win for her or will she give up everything to fight to free Medio?

I had this novel on my TBR Bookshelf since it came out almost two years ago. I don't know why I didn't pick it up sooner, but because of Quarantine, I've been slowly making my way through all my books. I don't know who wrote the review, but I read a few from this book and someone's first line was something along the lines of "How bad is it to be a straight male and have two wives, only to have neither one of them like you and to fall in love with each other". That line honestly sold me on reading this book and I read it through in 3 days.

I just really loved Dani's character. The inner struggle she goes through rather she essentially continues being the model Primera her parents lied and fought so hard to get her to become or to turn it around and help fight against everything she's trained for for the last four/five years.

Carmen's character took some getting used to, but the author wrote it that way on purpose. The couple arc between Dani and Carmen is written well and honestly becomes a major part of the book (who doesn't love ex-friends falling in love?). The tension between them changes from partial subtext at the beginning to learning to trust to trying your hardest to keep them safe. Tehlor Kay Mejia does an amazing job with this narrative.

The story displays women not settling for something just because it's "been like this for hundreds of years". The women know what they want and they're willing to fight for it.

I knew I wanted the sequel to this book halfway through reading it. I searched high and low at local bookstores and ended up ordering it over the weekend so I could get it ASAP. I'm pretty excited to continue this story and I am grateful I did wait so long to read it just so I can get started on the sequel. show less

I so very much wanted to love We Set the Dark on Fire. On an extremely superficial level, the title and cover of this book are both excellent. I think they were the reason I put this book on my TBR to begin with, long before I read Miss Meteor. That was another reason I wanted to love this book so much — I really enjoyed Miss Meteor and was quite certain I would enjoy more of Mejia’s work. This book was rated so highly within the online blogging community, I was sure it was going to be a smash hit. I have some pretty mixed feelings after reading it.

Okay, okay. First of all, I really enjoyed the story this book was telling. Medio is a fictional world, but in many ways, it feels like one of our own countries or cities. Mejia calls out show more prejudice so easily in this book, but has been so clever as to do it in such a way that it allows the reader to disconnect. We look at classism, colorism, region-related prejudice, elitism, and more. The hum of war is all around Medio and from very early in the book, the reader can feel that in their bones. The subjects Mejia approaches in We Set the Dark on Fire are important conversations to have not just in fictional world, but in our real world.

I liked the characters as well. At the very beginning of the book, Dani is married off to Mateo with her sister wife Carmen, her long time school-hood nemesis. The worldview is set up in the very first pages of the book, and we know what the role of the Primera and Segunda wives are for, and we are well-prepared for this masculine-driven society. The character dynamics as they move along the Garcia family are incredibly interesting, and I like being in Dani’s head because she is so analytical. I like seeing a character with so much doubt because she feels more real to me than many protagonists. I wish her situation was not so real, but I don’t think a better protagonist could’ve been chosen for We Set the Dark on Fire.

What really kills me about this book is the pacing. For some people this is a slow burn, but for me, We Set the Dark on Fire approached each of its plot points at a frustrating pace. It is not a short book by any means, but by the end, I only felt we were halfway to where we should’ve been. For this reason alone, I had a difficult time concentrating on the story because the moments of action and interaction were slow to come. I suppose many people would consider this a slow burn, but for me, it was hard to stay focused. Dani is in such a position where she is surrounded by revolution and political intrigue, there should’ve been more going on and fewer interludes.

The pacing was only good for me when it comes to the romance. Personally, I loved Mejia‘s choice in Dani’s love interest, and I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t read it yet. The romantic scenes were electric and yet so gentle. I am definitely rooting for these two characters.

Did I like We Set the Dark on Fire? Yes, I did. I thought it was an excellent story with excellent characters and has a lot of promise. Is it going to make one of my top ten books of the year? Probably not. Well I read the sequel? Definitely! Will I reread this book? Probably not. It is good, but it hasn’t won that place in my heart to be a book I’m going to crave. I think it’s really worth reading, and I do recommend it, but the pacing was such for me that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to. show less

Student Review by: Heather R. (12th Grade)
Grade Range: 8th grade and up
Literary Merit: Great
Characterization: Great
Review:
The legend of two brothers, the Sun God and the Salt God, is the backdrop of We Set the Dark on Fire. The Sun God fell in love with the daughter of the king of Medio. When the Moon Goddess fell in love with the Sun God, he chose to stay in a relationship with both girls and that caused his brother to become angry. The Salt God made compromises entangled in threats, yet he and his brother fought and caused the island to separate. Outside the constructed wall, the land was cursed by the Salt God while inside the wall the Sun God ruled. Daniela Vargas was born outside the wall, but her parents chose to find a new life show more for her inside the wall. She is sent to the Medio School for Girls where each and every day she conceals her true identity and focuses on becoming the best Primera in her graduating class. Once she is thrown into reality, her life with her new husband seems like it might be manageable until she discovers that her new family will include Carmen, the one girl from school who hates her. On top of that, a mysterious figure representing La Voz, a resistance group, shows up and blackmails her to turn against the life that her parents sacrificed everything for. The rational part of Dani wants to back away from La Voz and its leader, Sota. At the same time, she starts to see more in herself than just the girl her parents wanted her to be. With her secrets building and relationships changing, Dani comes to the conclusion that she is not the only one who has secrets that desperately need to be hidden.

The cover of We Set the Dark on Fire drew me in since it reminded me of papel picado (decorated paper) that is a tradition in many nations with Spanish roots. The subdued colors of the cover kept me intrigued since the cover was simply beautiful with small designs like flowers and flames. The concept of the novel revolves around a family being composed of a Primera, the supposed equal to the husband, and the Segunda, the child bearer to the husband. The Primera is seen as all brains and no beauty while the Segunda is seen in the opposite light. Because our world has struggled over equality for women, I believe that the women readers of the novel would be offended by the way that female characters are treated. For example, Daniela’s husband only allows her to complete tasks that are centered around secretary like work and he persuades her to do as he says by using the strength that his stature in society gives him. Another example of this behavior is when he disrespects his other wife, Carmen, by only seeing her for her beauty and nothing more. These examples are highly offensive, but the author intends to show what other females are fighting through in their daily lives. As the novel progresses, the two female characters, Daniela and Carmen, show that they will not let social norms keep them from being the women that they have the potential to become. The author wants to show that women can combat the underestimating and stereotyping that they may have to face daily in their lives. Her characters are intended to be women who all females can look up to when they are trying to overcome obstacles. Going along with that, Dani and Carmen showcase how friendships can be shaped into strong ones even if the connection between the two people seems nonexistent in the beginning. These two ladies illuminate how friendships can be created in the most unlikely ways through the challenges that life always slaps us in the face with.
Recommendation: Dystopian fiction lovers that want to read a book with dynamic women characters in it who promote feminism. show less

I actually really liked this book mostly because I don't like too much world building in my dystopian novels so this actually hit the mark for me, although some have criticized it for being underdeveloped. The lesbian relationship is treated positively and respectfully. I was disappointed that the author included a masturbation scene because, although I understand that it's part of the character's sexual awakening, I didn't think it was necessary and it makes it infinitely harder for this librarian to put it on the shelf and keep it there without it being challenged. It has real world political parallels, such as the border wall that the government is building, that would make for an interesting book group conversation. Fast-paced show more (except for the romantic parts) and interesting, I would recommend it to dystopian fans or those who would like a shrouded way to discuss modern politics. show less