With the Fire on High

by Elizabeth Acevedo

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Though on the verge of adulthood, high school senior Emoni Santiago has been making adult decisions for the past three years, ever since she got pregnant with her daughter as a freshman. Now, with senior year coming to a close, Emoni has even more decisions ahead of her — most importantly, whether or not to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. Authentic and heartfelt, With the Fire On High is a joyful read about finding the courage to pursue your passion even when it seems impossible.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award–winning title The Poet X comes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright. Winner of the California Young Reader Medal!

Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions—doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela.

The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.

Plus don't miss Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062662842
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/30/2021
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	20,765
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

ELIZABETH ACEVEDO is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Carnegie medal, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High—which was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal—and Clap When You Land, which was a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor book and a Kirkus finalist. She holds a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, Cantomundo, and a participant in the Callaloo Writer’s Workshops. She is a National Poetry Slam Champion, and resides in Washington, DC with her loves.

Editorial Reviews

Emoni’s story is a gift... With its judicious depth and brilliant blazes of writing that simmer, then nourish, With the Fire on High is literary soul food.

New York Times Book Review

Acevedo’s first novel, written in verse, centered on a teenage poet. Now, we have a teenage chef. A former eighth grade English teacher, Acevedo sees these young talents not as rarities. They are everywhere — and in Acevedo’s hands, their stories transcend what is expected of them.

Washington Post

Acevedo has done it again: the multi-award-winning author of The Poet X (2018) here delivers perfection... This sophomore novel is simply stunning.

Booklist (starred review)

★ 03/04/2019

In this stunning sophomore novel from National Book Award and Printz winner Acevedo (The Poet X), Afro–Puerto Rican and African-American Emoni Santiago, a high school senior, lives in Philadelphia with her two-year-old daughter, Emma—nicknamed Babygirl—and paternal grandmother, ’Buela. A talented cook, Emoni balances school, work at a local burger joint, and motherhood—including shared custody with her ex-boyfriend, Tyrone—with moments in the kitchen, where her “magical hands” create dishes that allow the eater to access deep, surprising memories. But she’s not sure what to do with her passion, or after high school, until enrolling in a culinary arts elective helps her to hone her innate cooking skills in the classroom and during a hard-won weeklong apprenticeship in Spain. As she gains practice at leadership and fund-raising, she also cautiously develops a budding relationship with new student Malachi, a boy who respects Emoni’s boundaries. Acevedo expertly develops Emoni’s close female relationships, which are often conveyed through the sharing of food and recipes, and which shape and buoy Emoni’s sense of her own direction and strength. With evocative, rhythmic prose and realistically rendered relationships and tensions, Acevedo’s unvarnished depiction of young adulthood is at once universal and intensely specific. Ages 13–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Acevedo has done it again: the multi-award-winning author of The Poet X (2018) here delivers perfection... This sophomore novel is simply stunning.” — Booklist (starred review)

“[A] stunning sophomore novel from National Book Award and Printz winner Acevedo.... With evocative, rhythmic prose and realistically rendered relationships and tensions, Acevedo’s unvarnished depiction of young adulthood is at once universal and intensely specific.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The acclaimed author follows up her celebrated The Poet X with a love letter to food and a tribute to young, single mothers... Acevedo’s second serving offers a much-needed nuanced exploration of teen parenting that belongs on all shelves.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Acevedo continues to create beautifully realized characters with complex lives... Readers of all sorts will find something to connect with in this honest and ultimately hopeful story.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“With the Fire on High is a worthy follow-up to Acevedo’s nationally lauded debut. Emoni’s headstrong perseverance is inspiring. Acevedo’s clever imagery and explorations of language and culture make the journey not only beautiful, but thought-provoking.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Acevedo’s first novel, written in verse, centered on a teenage poet. Now, we have a teenage chef. A former eighth grade English teacher, Acevedo sees these young talents not as rarities. They are everywhere — and in Acevedo’s hands, their stories transcend what is expected of them.” — Washington Post

“Emoni’s story is a gift... With its judicious depth and brilliant blazes of writing that simmer, then nourish, With the Fire on High is literary soul food.” — New York Times Book Review

“With such distinctive ingredients combined with Acevedo’s already established sizable audience, this Fire on High should undoubtedly prove to be a sizzling success.” — School Library Journal

"Acevedo’s unvarnished depiction of young adulthood is at once universal and intensely specific." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Acevedo continues to create beautifully realized characters with complex lives... Readers of all sorts will find something to connect with in this honest and ultimately hopeful story.

Horn Book (starred review)

With the Fire on High is a worthy follow-up to Acevedo’s nationally lauded debut. Emoni’s headstrong perseverance is inspiring. Acevedo’s clever imagery and explorations of language and culture make the journey not only beautiful, but thought-provoking.

Entertainment Weekly

Acevedo’s first novel, written in verse, centered on a teenage poet. Now, we have a teenage chef. A former eighth grade English teacher, Acevedo sees these young talents not as rarities. They are everywhere — and in Acevedo’s hands, their stories transcend what is expected of them.

Washington Post

★ 04/01/2019

Gr 9 Up—The acclaimed author follows up her celebrated The Poet X with a love letter to food and a tribute to young, single mothers. Emoni Santiago is an Afro-Latinx high school senior in Philly who dreams up the most delectable concoctions, always mixing up tastes from her two cultures with a spice of her own. The news of a culinary arts course with a possible trip to Spain grabs her interest, but how will she juggle school, work, and taking care of her daughter? The young woman is barely balancing everything on her plate with the help of her talented best friend Angelica, 'Buela (her intractable grandmother), and occasional visits from her activist father (who moved to Puerto Rico after her mother's death). Acevedo populates her first prose novel with complex and unforgettable characters and turns the stereotype of "teen mom" on its head. Emoni has to deal with daycare drop-offs, custody issues, and making ends meet alongside college applications, budding romances, and the high school rumor mill. Realistic dialogue and vulnerable interior monologues about sex, loss, and insecurities will ring true with all adolescents. The author expertly weaves Spanglish, toddler mom worries, and culinary lingo and aptly evokes the Philly and Spain settings, immersing readers in Emoni's world. The novel's three parts are introduced by recipes created and perfected by the protagonist, and hints of Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate will leave teens hungry for more. VERDICT Acevedo's second serving offers a much-needed nuanced exploration of teen parenting that belongs on all shelves.—Shelley M. Diaz, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

School Library Journal

Author Elizabeth Acevedo sounds natural and authentic as Emoni, an immensely likable Philadelphia high school senior with a 2-year-old daughter and a gift for cooking. In both her writing and her narration, Acevedo warmly depicts the loving and supportive people in Emoni’s life—her Puerto Rican abuela, who helps take care of baby Emma; her best friend, Angelica; and Malachi, a new transfer student who is taking a culinary arts class with Emoni. In short chapters, listeners learn about Emoni’s magic in the kitchen—not only does she have an instinct for what will taste good, but her emotions are an essential ingredient that infuses her cooking. This delicious feel-good story will have listeners rooting for Emoni as she figures out the next steps on her life path. J.M.D. 2019 Best Audiobook, 2020 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MAY 2019 - AudioFile

Author Elizabeth Acevedo sounds natural and authentic as Emoni, an immensely likable Philadelphia high school senior with a 2-year-old daughter and a gift for cooking. In both her writing and her narration, Acevedo warmly depicts the loving and supportive people in Emoni’s life—her Puerto Rican abuela, who helps take care of baby Emma; her best friend, Angelica; and Malachi, a new transfer student who is taking a culinary arts class with Emoni. In short chapters, listeners learn about Emoni’s magic in the kitchen—not only does she have an instinct for what will taste good, but her emotions are an essential ingredient that infuses her cooking. This delicious feel-good story will have listeners rooting for Emoni as she figures out the next steps on her life path. J.M.D. 2019 Best Audiobook, 2020 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MAY 2019 - AudioFile

2019-02-20

Seventeen-year-old Afro-Boricua Emoni Santiago hones her gift for cooking and makes important decisions about her future.

Emoni's 'Buela says she's had a gift for cooking since she was small. Now Emoni has her own toddler, Emma ("The kind of name that doesn't tell you too much before you meet her, the way mine does"), nicknamed Babygirl. Emoni's first day of senior year at her Philadelphia high school is also Babygirl's first day of day care, leaving Emoni saddened about missing parts of her life. Emoni's a classic example of the school system's failure to harness many students' creativity and interests, but thankfully she discovers and enrolls in a new class called "Culinary Arts: Spain Immersion." Though the teacher, Chef Ayden, respects her, he's strict, and Emoni nearly drops the class, but eventually she gathers the ingredients—connections and skills—she'll need for success. A romance that doesn't fit the usual mold and a class trip to Spain round out this flavorful tale. Emoni occasionally breaks from first-person narration to address readers directly, and her voice and story feel fresh and contemporary. Diversity in representation is primarily racial and ethnic; however, Emoni's best friend Angelica is a lesbian. The short, precise prose chapters will draw in even reluctant readers, and the inclusion of several recipes adds to the appeal. Current pop-culture references and cultural relevance will attract both window and mirror readers.

Sabroso. (Fiction. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews