Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - With the Fire on High

Elizabeth Acevedo‘s writing is always immersive, beautiful, and emotional. This is partially good storytelling, but a lot of it is because she’s a poet first and lyricism blossoms in her prose. This is the second book I’ve read by Elizabeth Acevedo, and I liked it just as much if not more than The Poet X.

Emoni lives with her abuela and takes care of her young daughter while finishing senior year and working part time at the local burger joint. It might not be the life she would have chosen for herself originally, but she loves it, and she loves her daughter Emma more than anything. There is a trend of contemporary young adult books that portray stereotypical negative images in a positive light, and in many ways, With the Fire on High is one of those. It’s a story of acceptance and love. It’s about embracing the unexpected and not giving up on yourself.

As a main character, I really enjoyed Emoni because she was imperfect, but not in the way too many readers may assume. She’s also multi-faceted and interesting. She is stubborn but hard-working. She is positive and encouraging, but hopelessly hard on herself. She’s extremely responsible but also extremely self-sacrificing. I really enjoyed the way Acevedo took us through her year using food as a guide. Through this medium, Acevedo was able to show Emoni’s passion and individualism, making her a person and not just a silhouette. I was hungry every time I listened to the audiobook – I want food like Emoni makes: bursting with flavor and filled with emotion and memory.

It’s always amazing to listen to an author read their own audiobook. Most of them read excellently, but there’s something particularly special about listening to a poet. I know Elizabeth Acevedo is so much more than her poetry, but let’s be real. Her poetry is incredible, beautiful, and thought-provoking. She knows how to present words verbally. She knows how to evoke images in her lilts and tones and she does it marvelously. I really enjoyed listening to her read this book and I’m so glad she was the narrator.

With the Fire on High was an easy book to love and I devoured it. I already recommended this one to folks before I finished it, so I absolutely recommend it to you, dear reader. It’s one I’m going to add to my personal collection.

Content Warnings

queen_melliott's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

amykuc's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I'm trying to curtail my book buying (ha!). But I listened to this one on audio and then needed my own copy. There was some beautiful descriptions and quotes that I wanted to be able to keep.

Emoni Santiago is balancing a job, a daughter, and her senior year of high school. This year the school is offering some special elective classes, and one of them is a culinary class-Emoni's passion. The highlight of this class is a week-long educational trip to Spain. Emoni meets a new classmate, Mateo, who is adding a new thing to balance. She wants so badly to give her daughter a different life than she has and also has huge trust issues, stemming back to her father who left her with her abuela while he returned to the Dominican Republic after her mother's death during childbirth.

It was so easy to be inside Emoni's brain as she tries to figure out what she wants for her life instead of what others want for her. Watching the journey from her distrust of men to the realizations she has come to by the end are so hopeful.

The characters in this book are seniors in high school. Be aware that language and sexual content is appropriate for high school students.

Content Warnings

ran_sophia's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The story is amazing and brilliantly created and executed. The twists in the story were well written and placed. The style of writing and storytelling is great. It was easy and fast to read. The author's style made the reader feel the emotions.

Content Warnings