The additions of the notes from the Medio School for Girls handbook at the beginning were a good addition; they lent an extra level of understanding to the structure of the school and the Primera and Segunda roles, without having a giant, awkward knowledge dump somewhere in the book. Through these snippets and the descriptions, we can create a solid picture.
When I first heard about this book, it was right around the time the POTUS was talking about building a wall. It was touted as a grim possible future for our world, and sadly, that hasn’t changed much!
The higher up the mountain you live, the higher your standing in society. Our main protagonist has climbed her way up the social ladder from her position inside the school, despite a much lower status at birth, which hasn’t sat well with some of the other students; girls who started further up the ladder and can’t handle that someone with no pedigree could possibly be better than them at anything. What the other students don’t know, however, is that Dani’s birth was further down the mountain than they realise. The story starts with the school being attacked in the middle of the night, and we feel Dani’s fear that her fake papers - papers which tell the authorities that she has the right to be there - might be discovered. For years she has hidden her illegal status, and is so very close to achieving the goal of being a part of one of the highest families - something that will mean she never has to worry about being found out again.
This storyline will hit home with some people, especially those in the United States, and it’s nice to see a topic like this being promoted as a general storyline; I think that this will make it more accessible to some readers.
The audiobook reader is wonderful, pronouncing the Latinx vocabulary well (caveat - not a native speaker nor do I know one, so this is completely subjective on my part), and varying the voices for the different characters.
And, of course, this book is #ownvoices Latinx, but it is also very much LGBT+! I won’t spoil the ending for you here, because what would be the point in reading it if I did, but if you like f+f romance against a backdrop of rebellion… This book is for you! Also, polygyny is an expected and accepted part of the culture, which is refreshing.
The book is well paced, and the story compelling. I wanted to know more, especially about Sota, and I wanted to see how things worked out for the romantic situation. Character development could have been boosted in some parts, especially Carmen but I know the second book goes more into her story, so I’m ok with that. The ending could be annoying for some, but I just wanted the next book!
Content warnings: violence, rebellion, same sex relationships, polyamory (not grapic sex or anything like that!)
Overall Ratings: 4 stars
Posted by Li
Catalogue link: We Set the Dark on Fire (print)
Catalogue link: We Set the Dark on Fire (ebook)
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