With the Fire on High

Another great book by Acevedo

This is the second Elizabeth Acevedo book I’ve read and it’s the second of her books that have landed in my LOVE pile. With the Fire on High is a great read, it's so rich and vibrant when discussing food and smooth and flowing in the way the plot is presented to us.

I really enjoyed the representation of a teenage mother in this book and the effort they go through whilst still at school. Emoni Santiago is a girl with her walls up, taking one day at a time, not only does she have the stresses of looking after “baby girl” but also the anxiety that comes with the last year of High School, when you start taking your steps into adulthood. It’s impossible not to like Emoni, you instantly know she loves her family and her passion is food. If you’ve ever had a passion, you know the feeling that Emoni has when she cooks. The descriptions of how she just falls into cooking and the stresses melt away. The dynamic between Emoni and her Abuela is so heart-warming, seeing them balance the care of baby girl but also supporting each other emotionally, swapping roles at time. You see the deep bond between Grandmother and Granddaughter. It bought back memories of when my own Grandmother was alive.

The relationship between Emoni and the new boy also touched my heart. Emoni doesn’t trust guys after her ex or their motivations. Her relationship with the new boy felt genuine as they took tentative steps to being friends throughout the book.

The key thing about our MC for me, is her growth throughout the book, as she learns important life lessons and starts to trust herself and her ability to lead her own life.

All the characters we just so well rounded and written that you love them all, even the ones you have mixed feelings on have been written in a way that you may see the impacts of their actions but you also see them as a human being. A normal flawed human being. In this book all the characters have a purpose and story and I love that they were given that. In other books, side characters can kinda feel like they were put in the book just for convenience but that just doesn’t feel the case here.

The plot is a perfect balance of between realism and lyrical fiction that not only makes you fall in love with all the characters and accept them regardless of their flaws. But experience everything each of them feel throughout. It’s a genuine, heart melting, heart-warming and gripping story. It’s almost impossible for Emoni’s love of food and cooking not to rub off on you, throughout the book you think of food, every time you stop reading you feel you need to cook/eat something tastey. I loved the effort put into every part of this book, everything within the story had a place and purpose. The plot serves to remind us we are not just what we think we are, that we are more and to trust ourselves. I was originally only listening to this when I was going for a jog or walk but once I reached the half way point I couldn’t stop listening and where I could I listened to it rather than music whilst working on projects at work.

I just love the way Acevedo writes and how she creates the world around her characters. The words gently guide you through the whole book and there’s been genuine sadness on my part from when the books end! In both With the Fire on High and Clap when you Land I’ve been left wanting more, more information, more time with the characters and more information on what happens next. It’s this feeling her writing gives me that will make me buy every book she’s written to date and will write in the future.

The narrator for the audiobook is the author herself and for me this just added to the overall impact of the story telling. A narrator can make or break an audiobook and Acevedo’s voice makes the book so much more. I may even go as far as to say I probably enjoyed listening to her read it to me than if I had read it myself.

I loved this book, even though it had the line “I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding” crop up twice. Due to the quality of the whole book I can forgive that line appearing ;)

If you haven’t read anything by Elizabeth Acevedo, where have you been? She is fast becoming one of my favourite authors and has made me fall in love with books written in-verse in a way I truly wasn’t expecting.

1 person found this helpful

Brilliant!

I really didn't expect to like this as much as I did. I usually look for contemporary books with more of a dark theme running throughout, but I was pleasantly surprised!

I loved Emoni - her passion for cooking and her drive to do right by her family. She is so mature, and the relationship that develops towards the end of the book feels so authentic and healthy.

Elizabeth Acevedo narrates the audiobook herself and it's beautifully done.

Light listen

A story of a Puerto-Rican teenage mum who's passionate about cooking.
Hard life, poor family and a dad who abandoned her when she was born.
Family support, friendship and love add the right flavour to your life and help you achieve whatever you want.

Not my favourite, I think Elizabeth Acevedo's best work is Clap When you Land.

loved it

loved the flow the seamless stream of brilliance in words. the flow of the book and creativity in turning words into colours on a canvas of beautiful art. absolutely masterpiece

BEST AUDIOBOOK EVER

I loved how Acevedo presents Emoni as strong willed, talented, and able to do whatever she puts her mind to, without shying away from the realities of young motherhood and the conversations surrounding that. The chapters are all really short which helps you zoom through it with the same satisfaction as a Netflix binge. The characters are so well written, Malachi and Abuela have my heart, and the focus on friendship is beautiful. The use of cooking as the central focus was so unique and exciting, and the interspersing of recipes (all with Emoni’s signature touch) was so cool, but be warned it will make you hungry! I listened to the audio & I really recommend as it’s the best audio I’ve ever listened to. I’m just so sad it’s over.

I wish I read this when I was a teenager!

Beautiful narration and wonderful characters. Thank you Elizabeth Acevedo for such an uplifting, real and beautiful coming of age story.

Boring start... Didn't finish it

Unfortunately the book wasn't able to keep me engaged enough.
This book seems to be directed go maybe younger readers. From the age of the main characters it seems. However, the story line wasn't able to keep me engaged. Booked returned too boring.