Books › With the Fire on High
With the Fire on High
506 pages
A warm, sensory-rich journey about balancing heavy responsibilities with the simmering pursuit of a dream.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a bustling, aromatic kitchen where every dish tells a story of heritage and heart. The narrative moves at a steady, deliberate pace, mirroring the careful simmering of a complex recipe. It wraps the reader in a vibrant, sensory-rich mood, where the scent of sofrito and the warmth of family bonds practically radiate off the page. The prose is conversational yet deeply lyrical, grounding you in the protagonist's resilient, earnest voice as she navigates the heavy realities of premature adulthood. It is a deeply comforting but honest emotional experience, tracing a path from quiet sacrifice to the bold reclamation of personal ambition. This is a perfect match for anyone who loves character-driven stories that celebrate food, culture, and the messy, beautiful process of carving out your own future.
- Mood
- sensory
- vibrant
- mouth-watering
- tender
- Tone
- earnest
- warm
- resilient
- hopeful
- grounded
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- balancing duty and ambition · the magic of cooking · Afro-Latina identity · unconventional family structures · coming of age
- The writing
- Conversational and deeply sensory, blending everyday teenage vernacular with lyrical, mouth-watering descriptions of food.
- The arc
- Moves from the heavy burden of premature adulthood to a hopeful, confident embrace of personal talent and future possibilities.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave grounded, character-driven YA that celebrates food, culture, and the messy beauty of finding your own path.
Content notes
- teen motherhood
- financial stress
- absent parent
About the book
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
Description from Open Library.
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