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| With Fire on High buy on Amazon |
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
My Ratings: 5 stars
Goodreads rating: 4.3 stars
Inside Cover:
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. There, she lets her hands tell her what to cook, listening to her intuition and adding a little something magical every time, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Even though she's always dreamed of working in a kitchen after she graduates, Emoni knows that it's not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she's made for her life - and everyone else's rules, which she refuses to play by - once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free. From the author of National Book Award winner The Poet X comes a dazzling story of a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to create that keeps her fire burning bright.
What I like:
I love how the book takes place in Philadelphia, many of the streets and places named in this book are very familiar. Even though this place takes place in "The Badlands" (you don't know where this is google it), it shows the true beauty of the residents that live there.
I love the honest and pure writing of Acevedo. She uses real language of the characters and are clear with her characters.
This story is relatable and you find yourself rooting for Emoni.
What I dislike:
NOTHING!! Such a great read. I would not recommend any changes.
My Review
To be honest, this was one of the best books that I have read this year. I believe this is one of my top 10 books that I have ever read. I will not give a summary of the book, check out the summary above or you can click the picture and it will lead you to Amazon. In my own opinion this book was EXCELLENT! This was a page turner for me and I find myself rooting for Emoni throughout the whole story. I found myself a teen mother in my senior year of high school and I was scared as heck because I was in charge of another life. I related to Emoni and the struggles that she has in being a teen mom. Each decision whether big or small has to be made, and they affect not only yourself but others. Life is hard and crap is thrown at you each and everyday, but you can't give up. Emoni is a legend in the kitchen and has a God given gift to cook. Even though she thought she thought she had "mad skills throwing pots together" (great cooking skills) she needed to know that her craft must be developed. Taking the culinary arts class in school would lead her to traveling to Spain, meeting well renowned chefs and cooking for many people. Emoni's future is unknown and hard to imagine due to the struggles that she faces. However, in order to get where she wants to be and do what she enjoys doing, she has to take a leap of faith. I am 15 years older than the character Emoni and I understand her fear with taking the leap of faith in living out your dreams. Fear of the unknown has no age limit and affects anyone. Many of us have dreams and goals that we want to obtain, but often we lack confidence in ourselves to reach them. Sometimes it takes others to encourage us to fulfill our dreams, or unplanned events to help keep us disciplined. Take a look at your life, find those cheerleaders who always have an encouraging word for you. Look back over your life and identify events, whether good or bad that helped shaped the person that you have become. After reading, With Fire on High, I have a new determination to go for those dreams that I put on the back burner because of fear.
I recommend this book to any and everyone. This will give you a glimpse of what life is like as a teen mother, a Afro-Latino in the city of Philadelphia, and the struggles that many of our teens face. If you enjoy a sweet story that involves delicious food and recipes, give this book a try.
