What do you think?
Rate this book
384 pages, ebook
First published March 24, 2020
// buddy read with ju, melanie, & kate!
“Well, sometimes light shines on the worthy. But sometimes it just shines on the lucky ones. And sometimes… Sometimes good people get trapped in the dark.”
No matter what he did, he could not shut off the light that poured out of the people of Chattana.
“You can’t run away from darkness. It’s everywhere. The only way to see through it is to shine a light.”
Thank you to Candlewick Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This did not my affect my opinion in any way.
All quotes are from an advance copy and may differ in final publication.
( buddy read w/ may, mel, kate, lily, camillea, & kal!!! )
Everything in Chattana – every orb, every cookstove, every boat motor – all of it ran on the Governor’s light-making powers. (Loc 187)Nok and Pong find themselves caught up in a grander movement to shift the balance of power in Chattana. Their lived experiences lead them to initially resist that movement, albeit for different reasons. Pong has internalized the words he’s had pushed on him all his life. The Governor, destroying Pong’s idolization of him, tells Pong “Those who are born in darkness always return. You’ll see” (loc 217).
He was a runaway and a thief and a liar, and if there was a word for someone who disrespects a monk in his own temple, he was that, too. it had all happened so fast. In the span of a few days, Pong had become exactly what the Governor said he was. (Loc 419).Nok comes from a privileged (albeit imperfect by high society’s standards) family and has benefited from following the rules. She doesn’t realize that following the rules doesn’t guarantee a good life for everyone. Nok’s father also turns out be a more complex character than I initially assumed. I love a backstory that involves a character’s parents in middle grade fiction.
If a march were all it took to stop the Governor and his rich friends, someone would’ve done it already! (Loc 2244)Soontornvat writes in third person limited from both Pong and Nok’s perspectives. (I think Pong receives more page time). Despite not being a POV character, I have to highlight Pong’s childhood friend Som. Like Pong, Som was born in the prison, where he lived until he aged out. Som has learnt to live a life vastly different from Pong’s. As Pong does, I wondered why Som didn’t appear to harbour any ill will towards Pong. This point is eventually addressed in a way I didn’t expect. Their friendship was a highlight of the book for me. (The scene in which they reunite kept me on my toes!)