Ignite Me

Dystopian fiction is often characterized by its dark tone and exploration of serious topics within the dystopian world of the text that provide commentary on the society from which the author writes. Though often less grim than adult dystopian fiction and more likely to contain romantic subplots, YA dystopian fiction is likewise somber in tone and less likely to contain strong friendships than other YA subgenres, such as contemporary YA, where friendships are frequently represented as the center of a protagonist’s social life. The absence of these friendships in dystopias reinforces the alienating conditions created by systems of oppression that define the society as dystopian, frequently leading to the physical and social isolation of the protagonist. Ignite Me, by contrast, includes a strong friendship characterized by lively banter between Kenji and Juliette—often even in the midst of serious scenes, such as when they quip about Juliette’s inability to swim even as they face daunting odds on Anderson’s ship in the final battle of the novel. Mafi leaves only one scene in the text free from banter, thus underscoring its gravitas and Juliette’s growing feelings for Warner: the episode where Warner (who, unbeknownst to Juliette, is grieving his mother’s death) does not arrive to a scheduled meeting point and she is worried for his safety.

The moments of levity and joviality that Juliette’s friendships lend to Ignite Me (and the fact that only an interpersonal issue, not a societal one, can disrupt this joviality) create a nuanced tone for the novel in which the darkness of Juliette’s circumstances is balanced by the affection and pleasure of her closest relationships. In this way, Mafi underscores the importance of such friendships as beacons of hope despite the cruelty and oppression of The Reestablishment. Friends (and, as Kenji continually asserts, best friends) in Ignite Me thus emerge as even more central to the lives of the teenage characters as they navigate difficult, painful, and life-threatening circumstances.

While Kenji continually reminds Adam that his romantic feelings for Juliette are not of central importance given the danger they find themselves facing, he does not contend that friendships are equally unimportant. Rather, the reverse emerges: Friends, in a world where traditional kinship structures are routinely and intentionally dismantled, become surrogate families—a necessary transition since the characters’ biological families are almost unilaterally dead, abusive, or otherwise estranged. As part of a bid to stamp out any resistance, The Reestablishment’s desire for control privileges the citizens’ relationship to the (corrupt) state above all, viewing any other relationship or allegiance as a threat. In such a world, friendships become an act of defiance against a corrupt and oppressive system. In Ignite Me, even family members who are present in one another’s lives and not overtly hostile to one another—such as Warner and Delalieu—experience a dearth of familial intimacy due to the pervasive atmosphere of suspicion created by the totalitarian regime in which they live. When Juliette learns of Warner’s distance from his grandfather, she understands, thinking, “Just because you’re bound by blood does not make you a family” (194). In fact, in Juliette’s experience blood connections almost never result in a supportive or loving relationship. Friendship, by contrast, is framed as the primary affective connection between characters in the novel—a relationship that is portrayed as life-sustaining, capable of becoming a mode of resistance in itself.