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

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

if i haven't said it before, i very rarely read the synopsis of books. i go off the vibe of the cover and word of mouth mostly. with the addition of this being the @bookdbrunch march botm, i definitely didn't take the time to see what the plot was and knew nothing other than that it's YA. in a way, i think it helped. meeting emoni, a teenage mom with a passion for cooking, under no pretenses was a little shocking but i loved it. she's a spitfire girl who has a lot of baggage, but carries it well. with the help of her 'buela, her best friend, and the encouragement from a few

chefs and a sweet, new transfer, she's more than alright. 

i loved this book! it was heavy, but hilarious and sweet. elizabeth acevedo wrote the hell out this book. the way each character is so distinctly their own is chef's kiss (pun intended). her world setting is better than average and really enjoyed the dialogue. there were some parts of this story that made me want to throw my ipad across the room, but by the time i finished it, i was hugging it so close. i think this story is one a lot of people can resonate with. even if you aren't a teen parent from philly, there's so much here about growing up, relationships, and fear that everyone can find themselves in this story. 

with the fire on high gets 4.7⭐️s from me and i would recommend it ten times over.