Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia (We Set the Dark on Fire) is an immersive and lush fantasy featuring a compelling battle between a magic-wielding teen and those who would use their power to oppress her.
Sixteen-year-old Lucha Moya and her 13-year-old sister, Lis, are imprisoned after their drug-addicted mother abandons them. Their captors, Los Ricos, are the kings of the drug Olvida that stole their mother. When Lucha falls into desperation, the malevolent being El Sediento offers her a bargain: he will awaken her ability to wield the forest's power and Lucha will help him destroy Olvida, something she wants anyway. The sisters escape, and Lucha leads them to a place critical to El Sediento's mission. They are helped on the days'-long trip by Paz, a devotee of Almudena, the forest goddess. Although a romance flares between Lucha and Paz, Lucha withholds the truth about her nightmarish ally from Paz. She wonders about Paz's motives but focuses on navigating the forest and preparing for what the spirit might demand next.
The author's skillful plot also introduces a sanctuary for those deeply devoted to Almudena, as well as the soft but warming buzz of a slowly developing queer romance. This Latin American-rooted tale is an exquisite examination of power structures as Lucha battles inequality ("If you wanted air, you had to pay for it") and unhealthy family dynamics ("The only thing heavier than a parent's presence is their absence"). The interplay between evil, powerlessness and hope is also interrogated as Lucha rejects the idea that the world as it is shackles her to a single destiny. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer