With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

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With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo



                This is one of those books that once you start reading it you can’t put it down. The words just flow through the page, the characters become your friends and you feel entwined in their lives. This story of Emoni, the seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican mother, doing her best to raise her child, finish her senior year in high school and working when she can to help her abuela financially is extremely well done. Emoni loves to cook and that loves is poured into every creation she makes, bringing those who try her food to feel unexpected emotions. Some people call what she can do in the kitchen magic. But she still has a baby father to contend with, classes that she struggles with and a fear of what the future will hold. When an opportunity arises to take a Culinary Arts class at her school, she hesitates but only for a second.

                I didn’t want this book to end. I honestly could have devoured a hundred more pages of this novel. I was way to caught up in Emoni’s life, in her daughter, in her cooking and in her future. She was such a beautifully developed young woman. Flawed and yet stronger than she could imagine and determined to be the best mother that she could possibly be while juggling school and work. The relationship that Emoni had with her daughter, Emma (also known as Babygirl) and her grandmother, was such a beautiful look at women’s familial relationship. How culture ties into that was thoroughly explored and really helped shape Emoni’s character. Her passion for food and creating different recipes was an essential part of Emoni and one that helped shape her decision making and had a huge bearing on what she did in the future.

                I loved this book. Acevedo created a story with a main character whose voice I understood and related to. It is hard being constantly judged and considered a stereotype especially when you are simply fighting to exist and do the best that you can. There are always people who will assume the worst of you and throw your decisions back in your face. But there are also those who will stand by you and continue to support you. People that are willing to fit in to your life and be there for you in whatever way they can. Acevado tells that story and she does it beautifully. And Emoni feels like a teenager. I can’t stress that enough! She feels like a teenager. Some moments she’s unsure of herself. Other moments she knows she is doing the best she can. Some moments the fear doesn’t let her leap. Other moments she’s taking chances she never thought she would. This is just an incredible book. Acevedo can do no wrong in my eyes, and if this is her second effort, I can’t wait for the third.

This book was provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. 

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