I know we’re not especially far into 2019 yet, but We Set the Dark on Fire is hands down my favorite book of the year so far. It’s a YA novel about two women who are placed in competing positions inside a toxic patriarchy, then say “fuck that noise,” fall in love with each other, and help foment rebellion. It’s completely gripping, the world-building is excellent, and as a dystopian future, it feels alarmingly possible. I devoured it and then made sad animal whining sounds when I finished because the sequel isn’t out yet.
It’s so, so good, you guys.
The county of Medio is starkly aligned by class. Mythology holds that two brother gods warred over a woman, and as a result those closest to the sea (and that respective god) were cursed with barren lands and oceans. A wall was built keeping the most impoverished out of Medio. The closer you live to the wall, the deeper in poverty you live. Those in the central capital are disproportionally wealthy and have a vested interest in staying that way.
Hmm. It sounds like this might be a timely subject.
ANYWAY.
There isn’t a ton of subtlety in terms of the wall being used to reinforce and represent institutionalized poverty, but I understood the structure of Medio’s caste system and wasn’t especially bothered by it. A lot of YA fantasy is built on an unusual or complex social structure. The structure in We Set the Dark on Fire might feel comparatively simple, but it’s totally unique and well-developed.
The upper class has a system of sister wives. Fortunate young women are trained in the Medio School for Girls to either become a Primera or a Segunda, one of the sister wives to a wealthy and powerful young man. Primeras are meant to be their husband’s intellectual equal; their job is to shrewdly help him succeed politically and professionally by acting as his counsel and forming her own alliances with other Primeras. The Segunda is the wife who is sexually involved with the husband, has children, and functions to satisfy his physical and emotional side. The two wives, assuming their husband is prosperous enough, can exist with little interaction between them.
We Set the Dark on Fire opens with Daniela Vargas graduating as the premiere Primera of her class. She’s almost immediately paired up with Mateo Garcia, a young man being groomed for the presidency. His Segunda is the woman Dani would least like to live with–Carmen Santos, who teased and bullied Dani at school.
Dani’s life should be complete–she’s the most successful Primera of her year, and her life will be lived in luxury. Instead she lives in a near constant state of anxiety due to the secret she’s keeping. Dani’s identification papers are forged. She was born on the opposite side of the wall, in abject poverty, and she and her parents crossed illegally into Medio. Dani’s parents sacrificed everything to falsify her papers and give her a chance to live a life where she never has to worry about hunger or illness or violence.
Just before moving into Mateo’s home and starting her life as his Primera, Dani is approached by the rebel group, La Voz. They know Dani’s papers are fakes, and they threaten to out her if she doesn’t spy for them.
That’s a whole lot of premise and that’s basically where we start the book.
The thing I loved so much about We Set the Dark on Fire is that there’s a slow progression for Dani from who she is the start of the book to where she winds up at the end. She’s not a revolutionary at first; she wants to quietly live the life for which her parents risked so much. But her exposure to La Voz, and to the shocking excesses of the upper classes, cause Dani to question her carefully won place. The idea of rebellion is legitimately terrifying for her, while at the same time, she’s enraged by the system she’s prospering in:
“Oh, a specific book, a new pen, a dress or shoes for an event.” He [Mateo] chuckled as Dani passed off her judgmental expression for wide-eyed innocence. “If they sell it in the capital, it’s yours for the taking.”
The anger was back. Dani smiled, layering gratitude over its jagged edges. She wanted to tell him how ungrateful he was for everything he had. How there were people where Dani was born who died for lack of medicine while he was sending kitchen girls to the city for golden pens.
But how would he even understand? He had only ever left this hill to direct men pointing rifles toward Dani’s home, guarding the land of the wealthy from the land of the cursed.
As Dani’s anger grows, so does a revolutionary fire inside of her and it’s delightful to watch.
Added to that is her slow-burn romance with Carmen. At first Carmen is a potential threat to Dani, but as they acclimate to their new lives, her fascination with the other woman grows. Dani was trained to be the head of Mateo’s household; she was never expected to have any kind of sexual relationship with him. She really has no concept of her own sexuality. So when she feels desire for Carmen, it’s overwhelming.
Carmen’s bullying of Dani is addressed fairly early on. Carmen admits to Dani, once they are both married to Mateo, that she was a bully in order to divert attention away from herself. Carmen also didn’t come from a prosperous background (although she is a legal citizen) and felt afraid and insecure. She made an immature decision to put the focus on Dani in order prevent herself from becoming a victim of some of the other girls.
Carmen is more complicated than the stereotypical pretty Mean Girl. She reveals a gentler, kinder side that Dani hasn’t seen before, and the narrative does a lovely job of quietly nurturing their secret relationship. Everything is shown to the reader in little reveals that have a huge impact later on, making a single illicit kiss feel as powerful as a full-blown sex scene.
The bottom line is, We Set the Dark on Fire has elements that I love–women coming together to dismantle the patriarchy, rebellion, secret affairs, and it’s written so superbly that I found myself relishing every chapter. There’s always an element of danger, of being found out, hovering in the background that carried a wonderful tension through the entire novel.
I will warn readers that this is the first book of at least a duology and we do end this one on a cliffhanger. For me though, the novel was so good there was no way I could wait until the series was complete to read the first book. Cue whining noises as I wait for the second one.
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Thanks!
Oh, this looks SO GOOD. I never understand why there aren’t more books about sister-wives ganging up together.
I love the cover so very happy to hear the innards are excellent as well.
Gave this one a solid A from me too! An excellent novel, with excellent characters and worldbuilding.