5 Reasons to Love With the Fire On High [YA Review]

With her daughter to care for and her abuela to help support, high school senior Emoni Santiago has to make the tough decisions, and do what must be done. The one place she can let her responsibilities go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Still, she knows she doesn’t have enough time for her school’s new culinary arts class, doesn’t have the money for the class’s trip to Spain — and shouldn’t still be dreaming of someday working in a real kitchen. But even with all the rules she has for her life — and all the rules everyone expects her to play by — once Emoni starts cooking, her only real choice is to let her talent break free.

Goodreads

Preamble

As someone who doesn’t read a lot of YA or contemporary, I’m late to the Acevedo party but I made it! I decided to read With the Fire on High instead of The Poet X because it’s written in prose.

I’d been toying with the idea of writing a review in this structure. I know they’re an enjoyable and easy to read format, because that’s been my experience reading posts like this on other blogs. I also thought it might help me organize my thoughts on a flawless books that I loved, so I don’t just uselessly gush. Chatting with Nandini @ Novels and Nebula about her post “5 Reasons to Read the Aru Shah series” motivated me to finally give it a go.

Review

1) Emoni!

I love Emoni. She shines in this story. Emoni stands out among the protagonists of young adult literature, for a variety of reasons. She became pregnant at 14 years old. She raises her own daughter, Emma. She’s Black Puerto Rican. She thinks ahead and considers her actions and how she can provide the best life for her Babygirl, but she also makes mistakes and takes ownership because life is hard and she’s still just a teen.

Emoni narrates her story in first person. This includes many retrospective sections. Something will happen in the current story line which prompts her to reflect and comment on past experiences. This is a style of storytelling I haven’t encountered in YA fiction before. I really enjoyed these candid looks into Emoni’s thoughts and experiences.

Emoni doesn’t get into why she decided to keep Emma; that’s not what this story is about. I appreciate that there is no praise or condemnation of that extremely personal decision. It is a story about a teen girl raising a baby while figuring out her own life. Emoni describes feelings and experiences that are too often faded to black in YA fiction including: how she felt about sleeping with Tyrone, how she visited a doctor and got information, how being pregnant affected her school experience, and how the entire experience influenced her views on romantic and sexual relationships.

“So much of my decision to have sex had more to do with being chosen than it did with any actual sexual attraction”

With the Fire on High, 13%

Emoni is 17 when she tells this story; she became pregnant at 14. I know there’s discussion about too many older protagonists in YA, but I think this could be an important read for younger teens as well.

2) Diverse and Complex Relationships

Emoni has a number of relationships (some positive and supportive, some stressful and challenging) with both peers and adults in With the Fire on High. These include her own family, her best friend, a new boy at school, her culinary teacher, and a chef at a local restaurant. Acevedo takes care to ensure the supporting characters in Emoni’s story are fully developed persons independent of Emoni, with their own story arcs. In fact, Emoni realizing that is part of the narrative. This includes Emoni’s grandmother (who is her guardian), Emoni’s father (who flits in and out of her life), and Tyrone (who fathered her child).

3) Slice of Life Narrative

With the Fire on High takes place over Emoni’s final year of high school. She’s thinking about her future, dealing with everyday challenges, and navigating the relationships noted above. It’s essentially a slice of life story. Usually I’m not interested in such stories, but Emoni’s voice makes this an engrossing read.

The next paragraph contains spoilers re: something that doesn’t happen in the book, if you consider that a spoiler…

Twice I felt my chest tighten while reading because I thought Acevedo was setting up for a major conflict (at the fundraising dinner and when Emoni meets Tyrone after returning from Europe). But nope! This is not a book about drama. There’s tension, there’s uncertainty, but there’s no ridiculous drama for the sake of story. That was a relief. It made the story even more real to me, like a friend was sharing their experience.

4) Delicious Food Everywhere

Emoni’s deeply personal recipes introduce the three sections of the book: sour, savory, bittersweet. She cooks at home and at school, in a new culinary class. She apprentices for a week in Spain with her culinary class, which is a incredible experience to read about. Other reviewers have noted hints of magical realism, because of the way characters react to Emoni’s cooking, but personally I just think that is the experience when you eat truly wonderful, made with care food.

“Emoni, the food? I’ve had your cooking a dozen times, but there was one point where Laura and I both put our forks down and just grinned like little kids because we were so happy. And I think the meal had something to do with it because I had some of the leftovers last night and I just felt all warm and fuzzy and loved inside. If I ever have that chimi-chimi sauce again, I’ll think of that night.”

With the Fire on High, 48%

5) A Black Latinx Experience

As a white reader, I don’t have a personal connection to this identity and I can’t comment on authenticity, so I the only thing I want to say on this point is: I’m glad Acevedo was able to publish a story that’s about a girl raising a baby and pursuing her dreams, and that girl happens to be Black Puerto Rican. Emoni’s identity is an important part of the story, but it’s not the only thing the story is about.

The Bottom Line

With the Fire on High exemplifies the best of contemporary YA fiction. An excellent read for teen readers of all ages who enjoy the genre.

Further Reading

• Author website
• Interview @ Bustle
• Interview @ Publisher’s Weekly
• Review by Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense
• Review by Lili @ Utopia State of Mind
• Review @ Washington Post