A Wish in the Dark [MG Review]

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All light in Chattana is created by one man — the Governor, who appeared after the Great Fire to bring peace and order to the city. For Pong, who was born in Namwon Prison, the magical lights represent freedom, and he dreams of the day he will be able to walk among them. But when Pong escapes from prison, he realizes that the world outside is no fairer than the one behind bars. The wealthy dine and dance under bright orb light, while the poor toil away in darkness. Worst of all, Pong’s prison tattoo marks him as a fugitive who can never be truly free.

Nok, the prison warden’s perfect daughter, is bent on tracking Pong down and restoring her family’s good name. But as Nok hunts Pong through the alleys and canals of Chattana, she uncovers secrets that make her question the truths she has always held dear. Set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world, Christina Soontornvat’s twist on Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a dazzling, fast-paced adventure that explores the difference between law and justice — and asks whether one child can shine a light in the dark.

Goodreads

Review

Of all the books I’ve read this year, A Wish in the Dark feels most keenly relevant to today’s world. (…I mean that in a broad sense, not a COVID-19 sense). Soontornvat has penned a moving story about the importance of believing in positive change and standing up for what’s right, both at a personal and community level. The story’s touch of magic (in the form of magical orbs providing light and energy) serves to visualize and make concrete a system of structural poverty.

Everything in Chattana – every orb, every cookstove, every boat motor – all of it ran on the Governor’s light-making powers.

Loc 187

Different Perspectives

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.

In following Pong and Nok’s experiences, A Wish in the Dark can serve as a gentle, clear introduction to social inequity and activism. I think it is difficult to write a book for children on such topics without coming off as didactic. But Soontornvat strikes a good balance between telling an entertaining fictional story and making a pointed observation about the world in which the reader lives.

If a march were all it took to stop the Governor and his rich friends, someone would’ve done it already!

Loc 2244

Best Friends

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!)

The Bottom Line

A Wish in the Dark infuses important messages and examples about social justice into a creative and vivid light fantasy story set in a Thai-analogue world. ★★★★.

(Also, it’s a Les Misérables retelling! As with More to the Story, I didn’t know that til after I finished the book, haha).

Note that two caregivers pass away during the narrative (one in a fire).

Further Information

• Read an excerpt
• Author website
• Guest post @ Nerdy Book Club
• Q&A with Booki Vivat @ YouTube
• Review by Lili @ Utopia State of Mind
• Review by Brenda @ Log Cabin Library
• Review by Machaela @ Pine Reads Review
• Review @ Kirkus