The Prison Healer

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of abuse, violence, incarceration, murder, and self-harm.

“While barely a teenager, he was still old enough to discern the truth from lies. He belonged to Zalindov now, the metal band around his wrist labeling him as inmate H67L129. There was nothing good in his future—lying would do him no favors.”

The bitter, cynical tone of this quote provides an implicit indication of just how profoundly Kiva’s own life has been ruined because she too “belongs to Zalindov.” Her conviction that “there was nothing good” in a new prisoner’s future indicates her own lack of hope, and the pronounced youth of the new inmate also suggests that this particular prison is based on a corrupt, unjust system. Likewise, Kiva’s specific reference to the alphanumerical label that the prisoner bears reflects Zalindov’s policy of dehumanizing those who are brought within its walls. Thus, in just a few phrases, the author delivers a wealth of implicit world-building before the true exposition of the novel has properly begun.

“Dreams were for fools. And Kiva was the biggest fool of them all.”

Once again, this quote shows Kiva’s deep, trauma-based bitterness, which colors her entire outlook at the beginning of the novel. By condemning any form of hope as “dreams” fit only for “fools,” she indicates the overwhelming oppression of her environment. However, her admission that she is “the biggest fool of them all” also indicates her determination to continue Overcoming Oppression with Hope and Resolve. Even within this mindset, she remains a realist who has a complicated relationship with dreams.