A Wish in the Dark

It’s a novel—a stand- alone, no less—that seems to have it all: a sympathetic hero, a colorful setting, humor, heart, philosophy, and an epic conflict that relates the complexity and humanity of social justice without heavy-handed storytelling. Soontornvat deftly blends it all together, salting the tale with a dash of magic that enhances the underlying emotions in this masterfully paced adventure. An important book that not only shines a light but also shows young readers how to shine their own. Luminous.—Booklist (starred review)Set in a fantasy analogue of Thailand, all characters are presumed Thai, and Thai life and culture permeate the story in everything from the mangoes Pong eats in prison to the monks he meets beyond the prison's walls. It's also a retelling of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, and Soontornvat has maintained the themes of the original while making the plot and the characters utterly her own. Pong's and Nok's narratives are drawn together by common threads of family, loyalty, and a quest to define right and wrong, twining to create a single, satisfying tale. A complex, hopeful, fresh retelling.—Kirkus ReviewsSoontornvat artfully builds up to a triumphant confrontation, weaving in important themes about oppression and civil disobedience along the way.—Publishers WeeklyNuanced questions of morality, oppression, and being defined by one’s circumstances are compounded with exciting action in this novel inspired by Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. The characters are resonant, and the action is enhanced by the fantastical Thailand-like setting. The original storyline and well-developed characters make this a standout novel. xadHighly recommended.—School Library JournalCombining themes of coming-of-age, protest, and the power of freedom, this book will inspire young readers to stand up for their own beliefs as well as those of all people. This is a thought-provoking adventure that will cause readers to ask themselves whether being safe or having freedom is the better option, and if that needs to be a choice at all.—School Library ConnectionThe rich, atmospheric Thai-inspired settings ground Pong and Nok’s journeys toward self-understanding, from bleak Namwon to the peaceful temple Wat Singh to Chattana’s bustling, colorful Light Market...The novel offers satisfying meditations on moral choices as well as age-friendly openings into conversations about prison pipelines, autocracy, and socio-political action.—Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksAlternating between Pong's and Nok's stories, Soontornvat tells a satisfyingly intricate tale of escape and chase while raising questions about institutionalized injustices of privilege and want. Her Thai-inspired world is fully engaging, but perhaps most winning is the innocence, hope, and humor she conveys in the context of the struggle for social justice and with respect to the children's growth.—The Horn BookA thrilling fantasy, set in a fresh, original world, with a vital message at its heart. A Wish in the Dark is incandescent.—Adam Gidwitz, Newbery Honor–winning author of The Inquisitor’s TaleAt once timeless and timely, Christina Soontornvat’s A Wish in the Dark is a richly imagined portrait of the power of hope, courage, and compassion to shine a light in dark times and the ability of small people to effect great change. Ingenious, captivating, and utterly gorgeous.—Anne Ursu, National Book Award–nominated author of The Real BoyDo you hear the people sing? Christina Soontornvat’s Les Misérables -inspired A Wish in the Dark will have readers cheering for Pong, the young boy who escapes a life of unfair imprisonment, discovers the powers of friendship and forgiveness, and raises his voice against oppression. I was swept away by the Thai setting, the Buddhist teachings of Father Cham, and the sheer grit and determination of these young characters. At the heart of this novel, like Victor Hugo’s, are the struggle for justice and the power of marginalized communities to change our world for the better. Young readers will be rooting for Pong and his band of revolutionary friends and inspired to spread more light in their own communities.—Sayantani DasGupta, New York Times best-selling author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond books Christina Soontornvat grew up in a small Texas town, where she spent many childhood days behind the counter of her parents’ Thai restaurant with her nose in a book. She is the author of many books for young readers, including The Last Mapmaker , a Newbery Honor Book as well as a Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Teen Readers. She is also the author of the Newbery Honor Books A Wish in the Dark and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team , also a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and a YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults finalist. Christina Soontornvat lives in Austin, Texas. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 A monster of a mango tree grew in the courtyard of xadNamwon xadPrison. Its fluffy green branches stretched across the cracked cement and hung over the soupy brown water of the xadChattana xadRiver. The women inmates spent most of their days sheltered under the shade of this tree xadwhile the boats glided up and down and up again on the other side of the prison gate.xa0 xa0The dozen children who lived in xadNamwon also spent most of their days lying in the shade. But not in mango season. In mango season, the tree xaddangled golden drops of heaven overhead, swaying just out of reach.xa0 xa0It drove the kids nuts.xa0 xa0They shouted at the mangoes. They chucked pieces of broken cement at them, trying to knock them down. And when the mangoes refused to fall, the children cried, stomped their bare feet, and collapsed in frustration on the ground.xa0 xa0Pong never joined them. xadInstead, he sat against the tree’s trunk, hands crossed behind his head. He looked like he was sleeping, but actually, he was paying attention.xa0 xa0Pong had been paying attention to the tree for weeks. He knew which mangoes had started ripening first. He noticed when the fruit lightened from xadlizard-u200bxadskin green to xadpumpkin-u200bxadrind yellow. He watched the ants crawl across the mangoes, and he knew where they paused to sniff the sugar inside.xa0 xa0Pong looked at his friend, xadSomkit, and gave him a short nod. xadSomkit wasn’t shouting at the mangoes, either. He was sitting under the branch that Pong had told him to sit under, waiting. xadSomkit had been waiting an hour, and he’d wait for hours more if he had to, because the most important thing to wait for in xadNamwon were the mangoes.xa0 xa0He and Pong were both nine years old, both orphans. xadSomkit was a head shorter than Pong, and skinnyu2009—u2009u200bxadeven for a prisoner. He had a wide, round face, and the other kids teased him that he looked like those xadgrilled rice balls on sticks that old ladies sold from their boats.xa0 xa0Like many of the women at xadNamwon, their mothers had been sent there because they’d been caught stealing. Both their mothers had died in childbirth, though from the stories the other women still told, xadSomkit’s birth had been more xadmemorable and involved feet showing up where a head was supposed to be.xa0 xa0Pong wagged his finger at his friend to get him to scoot to the left.xa0 xa0A xadlittle more.xa0 xa0A xadlittle more.xa0 xa0xadThere.xa0 xa0xadFinally, after all that waiting, Pong heard the soft pop of a mango stem. He gasped and xadsmiled as the first mango of the season dropped straight into xadSomkit’s waiting arms.xa0 xa0But before Pong could join his friend and share their triumph, two older girls noticed what xadSomkit held in his hands.xa0 xa0“Hey, did you see that?” said one of the girls, propping herself up on her knobby elbows.xa0 xa0“Sure did,” said the other, cracking xadscab-u200bxadcovered xadknuckles. “Hey, xadSkin-u200bxadand-u200bxadBones,” she xadcalled to xadSomkit. “What do you got for me today?”xa0 xa0“Uh‑oh,” said xadSomkit, cradling the mango in one hand and bracing himself to stand up with the other.xa0 xa0He was useless in a fight, which meant that everyone liked fighting him the most. And he couldn’t run more than a few steps without coughing, which meant the fights usually ended badly.xa0 xa0Pong turned toward the guards who were leaning against the wall behind him, looking almost as bored with life in xadNamwon as the prisoners were.xa0 xa0“xadExcuse me, ma’am,” said Pong, bowing to the first guard.xa0 xa0She sucked on her teeth and slowly lifted one eyebrow.xa0 xa0“Ma’am, it’s those girls,” said Pong. “I think they’re going to xadtakeu2009—”xa0 xa0“And what do you want me to do about it?” she snapped. “You kids need to learn to take care of yourselves.”xa0 xa0The other guard snorted. “xadMight be good for you to get kicked around a xadlittle. xadToughen you up.”xa0 xa0A hot, angry feeling fluttered inside Pong’s chest. Of course the guards wouldn’t help. When did they ever? He looked at the women prisoners. They stared back at him with flat, resigned eyes. They were far past caring about one xadmiserable mango.xa0 xa0Pong turned away from them and hurried back to his friend. The girls approached xadSomkit slowly, savoring the coming brawl. “xadQuick, climb on,” he said, dropping to one knee.xa0 xa0“What?” said xadSomkit.xa0 xa0“Just get on!”xa0 xa0“Oh, man, I know how this is gonna turn out,” xadgrumbled xadSomkit as he climbed onto Pong’s back, still clutching the mango.xa0 xa0Pong knew, too, but it couldn’t be helped. xadBecause xadwhile Pong was better than anyone at paying attention, and almost as good as xadSomkit at waiting, he was xadterrible at ignoring when things weren’t fair.xa0 xa0And the most important thing to do in xadNamwon was to forget about life being fair.xa0 xa0“xadWhere do you think you’re going?” asked the xadknobby-u200bxadelbowed girl as she strode toward them.xa0 xa0“We caught this mango, fair and square,” said Pong, backing himself and xadSomkit away.xa0 xa0“You sure did,” said her xadscab-u200bxadknuckled friend. “And if you hand it over right now, we’ll only punch you once each. Fair and square.”xa0 xa0“Just do it,” whispered xadSomkit. “It’s not worthu2009—”xa0 xa0“You don’t deserve it just because you want it,” said Pong firmly. “And you’re not taking it from us.”xa0 xa0“Is that right?” said the girls.xa0 xa0“Oh, man.” xadSomkit sighed. “Here we go!”xa0 xa0The girls shrieked and Pong took off. They chased him as he galloped around and around the courtyard with xadSomkit clinging onto his back like a baby monkey.xa0 xa0“You can never just let things go!” xadSomkit shouted.xa0 xa0“We can’t . . . let them have it!” panted Pong. “It’s ours!” He dodged around clumps of smaller children, who watched gleefully, relieved not to be the ones about to get the life xadpummeled out of them.xa0 xa0“So what? A mango isn’t worth getting beat up over.” xadSomkit looked over his shoulder. “Go faster, manu2009—u200bxadu2009u200bxadthey’re going to catch us!”xa0 xa0The guards leaning against the wall laughed as they watched the chase. “Go on, girls. Get ’em!” said one.xa0 xa0“Not yet, though,” said the other guard. “This is the best entertainment we’ve had all week!”xa0 xa0“I’m . . . getting . . . tired.” Pong huffed. “You better . . . eat that thing before I collapse!”xa0 xa0Warm mango juice dripped down the back of Pong’s neck as xadSomkit tore into the fruit with his teeth. “Oh, man. I was wrong. This is worth getting beat up over.” xadSomkit reached over his friend’s shoulder and stuck a plug of mango into the corner of Pong’s mouth.xa0 xa0It was ripe and sweet, not stringy yet. xadParadise. Read more