We Set The Dark On Fire is all about female power in a world where women are treated like something men can acquire, a world of machismo, divided in many ways. There are the people in the island who live outside the wall and the ones that live inside the wall, which equate to the rich and the poor. Women are divided and sorted into Primeras, someone driven by logic and thinking, or Segundas, pretty, desirable and lovable; and they compete with each other for the opportunity of marrying with the sons of wealthy families.  

Medio is an allegory of our own world, and shows what happens when you divide, marginalize and oppress people based on where they live or where they were born. It’s about fighting the system and tearing it down like it did to you and the people you love. The world Tehlor Kay Mejia feels like a reflection of ours while being a whole new world by its own, it reflects Mexican and Mexican-American culture whilst creating its own culture.

The character development is majestic and each character grows and learns so much. Dani, a girl raised in the outskirts of Medio near the border, is forced to spy on her new husband for La Voz resistance or be exposed as an “illegal” citizen and potentially end up dead. She’s battling with herself all the time, not able to be who she wants but discovering there’s more to the world and her role in it than she thought. Carmen is seemingly Dani's opposite and still has a lot in common with her-- how much they love, and that love is what helps them find each other, growing from enemies to allies to lovers in the midst of their circumstances.