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Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that should absolutely be put at the top of your TBR pile. Recommended books will vary across genre and age category and include shiny new books, older books you may have missed, and some classics I suggest finally getting around to. Make space for another pile of books on your floor because here we go!
Today’s pick is a lovely middle grade fantasy that is an unexpected, yet very appreciated, retelling of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables and it is also a 2021 Newbery Honor book.
A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
The city of Chattana is a city of canals and light. There are many different colored orbs that serve as power sources to light everything, power the boats, heat the stoves, etc. They are all full of light created by one person: The Governor. The Governor appeared in Chattana after the Great Fire and saved it from ruin. He brought light and prosperity, though it is clear that the brightest and most powerful lights (and related prosperity) only bless the upper class.
This story starts in Chattana, specifically in Namwon Prison. It’s a women’s prison, though if a child is born in the prison they stay there too, even if their mother dies. So it’s not only a women’s prison, but a prison of orphans. We meet two of the main characters here in Namwon Prison: Pong and Somkit, two boys who were born in the prison. Their mothers are no longer alive so they are prisoners until they are released when they turn 13. Everyone at Namwon Prison is tattooed with a symbol that gets crossed out when they are released. That way, it’s easy to tell 1) who has ever been in that prison and 2) who has escaped.
The opportunity to escape arises for Pong and he takes it. He ends up at a monastery that takes him in. Pong is allowed to stay at the monastery and remains under the tutelage and protection of Father Cham for years. One day, the family of the Namwon Prison warden visits the monastery. The warden’s daughter, Nok, recognizes Pong as the escapee. She is very eager to prove herself and thus the pursuit begins.
Pong escapes and is reunited with Somkit but that is far from the end. Remember, this is a fantasy so while it’s loosely a Les Mis retelling, it is in a world of magic all its own.
That’s it for now, book-lovers!
Patricia
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