With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

With the Fire on High, the second novel from award-winning author Elizabeth Acevedo, was such a beautiful story.  Her first novel, The Poet X, won all the awards, so I was really excited to read this one.  And I loved every word of it.  This novel is an incredible  story about family love, perseverance, and following your dreams.  Anyone looking for a beautiful feel-good story, this is for you!

With the Fire on High is the story of Emoni, a teen mom and exceptional chef.  Since becoming pregnant during her freshman year, Emoni has made many sacrifices to care for her daughter.  She has focused on school and work and helping her Grandmother, who has raised her since she was very young.  And during this time she has continued to grow her passion in the kitchen.  She loves taking recipes and adding her own twist, elevating each dish to a new level.  When senior year starts, she has an opportunity, for the first time, to take a culinary arts class.  While she struggles to adjust to the strict nature of Chef Ayden instead of her own style of cooking, she grows closer to the new kid in class, Malachi.  Through her cooking and a class trip to Spain, Emoni learns to balance how things need to be done and how she wants them to be done.  She learns about being true to herself and finding a balance in her life.  She learns to grow with those people who are closest to her, and maybe even some she never expected to become a bigger part of her life.  It is such a beautiful story, one that will fill your heart as you flip through the pages. 

From Amazon:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award longlist 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.

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.