Pitching Wicked Like a Wildfire

Book Cover for Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popvic

About Wicked Like a Wildfire 

Wicked like a Wildfire is a young adult novel written by Lana Popovic. This story follows two sisters Iris and Melina who posses magical abilities or “gleam” which allows them to coerce beauty. Their mother forbids them from sharing and exposing their abilities and they must never fall in love. When their mother is attacked, both Iris and Melina must overcome an ancient curse that lingers over their family and challenges them. In order to save themselves and their mother, they must work together to uncover the lies and secrets that generations before them have told.

Why Does this Book Matter? 

This book matters because it captures themes of a coming of age story of young girls growing up in a small town hiding their true identity, witches. Their magical abilities are an important aspect of the story as they learn to develop their powers but also grow as individuals. This novel is told from the perspective of Iris. She shows the struggles of family life with the relationship she has with her mother. When trying to discover the person who attacked their mother Iris and Melina uncover their family’s past and history of their witch coven. The storyline touches upon same-sex relationships and some of the struggles of being percieved 'different' can bring unwelcome reactions within society. It also shows how important acceptance and relationships are to overcoming these obstacles.

Society in this world has become untrusting of those who are different. The idea behind acceptance is to follow the norms of their society which brings about dark decisions and actions that have plagued their family from past to present. Iris believes her mother has taken away her identity with practice of her gleam being forbidden as it is dangerous to be different. I think this book is different from the typical mystical novel we might initially perceive this to be. The story is set within a beautiful and mesmerizing European town, there is great descriptive detail provided by the author to draw the reader into their world surrounding beauty, the scents, and objects around them, however, the lives of these individuals come with hauntingly dark aspects to contrast these settings.

Passage and Analysis

The passage I have chosen on page 30-31 is the first interaction you see between 17 year old Iris and her mother. In reading this interaction between mother and daughter, I understood that this novel was going to take a very different turn from my initial thought of how the story was going to be told. 

Mama cocked her head to the side, tendons cording down the slender but sturdy bow of her neck. Her eyes were glittering, bright and dangerous. They were palest gray, like mine; near transparent, with a darker line around the iris. Wolf eyes. "Tell me, is it gutter-trash whore day?" she mused. "It’s hard to discern your fashion nuances, sometimes. Might be they’re beyond me." My stomach knotted. I always yearned for the battle, because it was so much better than nothing, but still it hurt every time she picked up the gauntlet. "‘Whore’?” I echoed softly. “I'm not sure what you mean, Jasmina unless you’re talking about getting knocked up by a sailor at nineteen. In which case, astonishment,mother does know best! The gutter-trash element is still up for debate, though. I’ll check back in when I'm old enough to breed my own bastards.”

The relationship that Iris and her mother have can be seen as untrusting and critical. There is an abrasive relationship shown which makes the reader question the history of their relationship. Iris calls her mother by her first name in conversation which can reflect the lack of affection and respect towards one another. In the description of her mothers “wolf eyes”, the reader can get an animalistic sense that she is about to attack her daughter. Iris yearned for the personal attack on herself from her mother, as any sense of communication, even a hostile one, was welcomed and needed to fill the void in their relationship. Although the interaction was aggressive this battle with her mother provided her with some sense of connection with her mother, which was seldom.

"Where Our Magic Lives" by Chuck Sambuchino

In the 2016 “Where Our Magic Lives: An Introduction to Magic Realism” written by Chuck Sambuchino from the Writer’s Digest, touches on the importance of magic realism within children's books and young adult literature. Magic realism can be a challenging term to understand. It can take place in an ordinary world where someone or something possesses abilities or powers and faces different challenges of everyday life, love, heartbreak, family issues, bullying, etc. McLemore conveys the message of magical realism in her interview with the Writer’s Digest that it surrounds the real world with characters in flux with challenges of life.

There is a magical aspect or sometimes levels of escape used within the storyline to allow readers to identify with their challenges faced, such as oppression, bullying, sexual preference, acceptance, love, hatred, and friendship. These characters adapt or work within a world that is a reality, with real issues and show the readers how unique characteristics present challenges faced within our reality. A magical essence within this reality allows the readers to appreciate a storyline with undertones of real life problems with a magical component to deliver a realistic message.

Wicked Like A Wildfire follows the journey of two twin sisters Iris and Melina. Their unique abilities allow them to manipulate beauty, however, they face struggles of oppression with the small town they live in as humans could be fearful of the unknown and what they do not understand. Iris struggles with her family relationships, specifically the relationship with her mother. Her mother isolates herself and keeps family secrets of her true daughters' identities and history. Iris and Melina were told at a young age they are forbidden to use their gleam. Iris felt her mother was taking away who she is as a person and what makes her special. These inner family struggles Iris and Melina face are challenges that can be experienced in everyday life.

Video

This video explains what magical realism is to readers who are new to this concept and may not understand it. 

IK Video Production. Magical Realism In 6 Minutes: Literary Fantasy or Fantastic Literature? YouTube, 28 May 2021, https://youtu.be/UI9I2p71ct0. Accessed 16 Apr. 2022.

Why Does this Book Belong on a Syllabus?

I believe this book belongs on the syllabus for future Young Adult literature classes, as it provides close reading of the detailed text surrounding different moments of happiness, sadness, overcoming family struggles from their past and current life events, and the dark moments that come with being different.