A review by kim_j_dare
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

4.0

An absolutely delicious read. I fell in love with Emoni, and appreciated her efforts to balance her responsibilities as a teenage mother with her dreams for the future. Acevedo’s foray into prose rather than free verse works beautifully. Emoni is fiercely loyal— to her abuela, her best friend, her young daughter—and most of the secondary characters are fully fleshed. My one small quibble is that Chef Ayden, the culinary arts teacher, is a bit too good to be true (is manic pixie dream chef a thing?). Overall, though, this is a lovely exploration of family and identity and stepping into adulthood and taking risks, and it’s sprinkled with just enough magical seasoning to stay with readers for a long time.