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"Brimming with flavor and comfort, this story centers around Emoni Santiago, a young Afro-Latina struggling to keep it all together-- school, work, motherhood. Fortunately she has the support of her ‘Buela and her best friend Angelica, plus she can always relieve some stress in the kitchen, where she feels most at home. National Book Award winner Elizabeth Acevedo brings us another beautifully crafted story about love, family, and the value of hard work and determination, with a main character that is--to put it simply-- real. I adored this book, and I hope young readers will be inspired to try out some of Emoni’s recipes, which are sprinkled throughout its pages. I know I was!"
— Eugenia
“The only word I can use to properly describe this book is ‘delicious.’ I first fell in love with Acevedo’s poetry in The Poet X, and now I’m even more in love with her prose in With the Fire on High. This gorgeously relatable story of a teen mom who dreams of life as a chef will rip your heart out, season it, fry it up, and serve it back to you in the tastiest of ways. My only warning is this: Do not read it while hungry.”
— Emelie Burl, Hickory Stick Bookshop, Washington Depot, CT
From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award-winning 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.
Plus don't miss Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land!
Elizabeth Acevedo is the author of The Poet X—which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award—as well as With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land. She is a National Poetry Slam champion and holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo lives with her partner in Washington, DC. You can find out more about her at www.acevedowrites.com.