With the Fire on High: Elizabeth Acevedo

We meet again!

I have been heavily involved in the sci-fi world as of late, with the Aurora Cycle series and then finishing the Girls With Sharp Sticks books, it’s been a lot of tech and smarts and space and all that. I thought I’d switch gears a little bit and enjoy something a little slower-paced and more down to earth. So, here we go :)

Brief Synopsis:

When Emoni (which I just adore that name) found out that she was pregnant in her freshman year of high school, she figured that life was about to change as she knew it. The baby daddy was definitely not the love of her life, her dad was already totally absent from her life, her mom died during/right after childbirth, and she’s been raised by her abuela, who is strict but extremely loving.

She decides to keep the baby and together, her and her abuela raise Emma while Emoni continues school. Now in her senior year, she’s facing more decisions. Emoni has a HUGE passion for cooking and knows that she’s damn good at it, she just doesn’t follow strict rules and recipes. When her school announces that they’re going to introduce a culinary program, Emoni signs up right away.

However, she doesn’t expect all the ridicule from the teacher, who scolds her for thinking outside of the box, not knowing internal cooking temperatures and the like. She feels like she definitely doesn’t need his scrutiny on top of everything else in her life, but she really wants to try for the trip to Spain the class is going to take later on. Another complication comes into her life in the form of the new guy, Malachi, who’s smile and dimples could make a nun blush. Emoni very quickly informs him they’re not going to be a thing. They’re not even going to be friends. But Malachi is very insistent and she does feel like she may be unable to resist his charm.

Emoni starts noticing that her abuela is going to doctor’s appointments a lot more frequently and begins to worry for her health. Her best friend Angelica (Gelly) is dealing with her own life, trying to decide what school she wants to sign up for, though Emoni isn’t worried about her since she’s an amazing artist. Gelly is also a proud lesbian and is in love for the first time, which is something that’s exciting for both her and Emoni.

One day, she’s cooking dinner for Gelly and Gelly’s girlfriend, and Malachi offers to help. However, Emma’s dad Tyrone has a friend that just so happens to notice (yeah right) that Malachi goes into her place with her and he’s not happy about.

Feeling more and more discouraged, Emoni skips an entire week of her cooking classes and begins to wonder where her future really lies. She knows that, no matter what may come, she has to put her baby in front of everything else. After conversations with her abuela, Malachi, and Gelly, the thing that really spurs Emoni back into the classes is a revered chef telling her that she may have a future in a kitchen someday. However, her absence comes with consequence, and she is tasked with running the fundraiser that will take them all to Spain.

Emoni rises to the occasion and sets up a wonderful dinner for all, which raises just shy of enough money for her to be able to go. Crestfallen, she thinks that’s the end of her journey to Spain, until her aunt comes through and gives her the rest of the money needed. Emoni is shocked because she’s used to it just being her and her abuela.

As she gets closer to Malachi, Emoni starts to let her guard down. When they’re in Spain, she realizes that it’s a time to be free and really goes for it with him, though they both agree that they’re not pushing for anything too serious right off the bat.

The story ends with Emoni getting accepted to a college with a great cooking program, deciding she wants to really try her hand in a professional kitchen part-time, and possibly working with Tyrone to be better co-parents. She also gives her abuela the freedom to enjoy the rest of her life the way that she wants to without constantly worrying about Emoni and Emma.

My Rating:

I’m giving this book a 5/10. It was a good, quick read and a lot of parts of it were really cute, with fun characters, but I feel the story really doesn’t go anywhere. Things happen, but not a ton? It feels like a journal entry or the middle of a movie.

Favorite Quote:

“The world is a turntable that never stops spinning; as humans we merely choose the tracks we want to sit out and the ones that inspire us to dance.”

A book I read with similar vibes:

Okay, I kept harkening back to The Secret of a Heart Note for some reason. Anyone else read that? It’s also not a book, but I got really strong Jane the Virgin vibes while reading this, too.

Check out my Goodreads (Traci Bishop) and/or my Storygraph (bookishmamabish) to see what I’m currently reading and to see a good chunk of the books I have already read. My Instagram can be found on the home page and I will share whenever a new post is up as well!

Until next time <3