Tehlor Kay Mejia

Do you want to read a story about an extraterrestrial who thinks she is about to vanish from Planet Earth and wants to win a pageant as a way for people to remember her?

Or a story that talks about the frank disrespect and unfairness bestowed upon the queer and black community?

Miss Meteor, as the name indicates is a pageant in Meteor, a town famous for being named after, YOU GUESSED IT, a meteor. This is the 50th annual pageant and an event of great tourist opportunity for the town.

For the teens however, it is an opportunity to connect with their long separated friends and embrace their identities. It is a pageant that will make them realise that they are important and that they mean something.

I know, I am basically just giving a brief gist of the story but I think it is necessary for us to focus on how important knowing that you matter is.

Miss Meteor is a fast-paced, easy-to-read story exploring various subjects ranging from racial prejudice to queer-phobia, teens finding their confidence to finding a way back to their friends, all intermixed with a fun and heart warming story.

If you are a fan of ‘You should see me in a crown’ and are looking for a similar book, this one is the pick you need.… (més)

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 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… (més)

2.5 stars!

‘We set the dark on fire’ set a high bar of a rebellious story fighting several issues including and not limited to ‘class system/caste system’, patriarchy and homophobia.

Naturally, I had similar if not more expectations from its sequel. The issue I have with it is that it had so much potential but ended up being a collective of missed opportunities.

It worked out okay towards the end. I liked how it had women that took charge and fought for their people and rights. Honestly, thats it.

The first 100 or so pages were promising and then the story dipped into annoyingness. Carmen was so foolish that I was screaming.

Spoilers Ahead:

Sota died. Nothing significant came out of it.

Ari betrayed them. Their leader shared the blame and ended up being murdered by Ari and the girls murder Ari in return.

All these developments happen within the blink of an eye and amount to almost nothing. The number of lines used up to praise their leader and Lavos go to the dumps in minutes.

I would have really liked if the story was something more. It felt really rushed and forced.

For all the love I have for ‘We set the dark on fire’, the sequel did not hold a candle to it.… (més)