With the Fire on High

Summary: High school senior Emoni Santiago has a lot on her plate...she has a young daughter to provide for, a new job, and she has to get through her senior year. Through it all, she has her abuela and her best friend to support her, but troubles still arise when it comes to money, dating, working things out with her daughter’s father, and her own father, who still lives in Puerto Rico, far away from Emoni’s Philadelphia. Emoni’s biggest passion is cooking, and when she’s in the kitchen she is able to forget her troubles and create masterpieces enjoyed by all who taste them. When a new culinary arts class is introduced at her school, she may finally have the opportunity to pursue her dreams, if only she’s brave enough to follow her heart. 

Critical Evaluation: In With the Fire on High, poetic descriptions of character, place, and theme carry the novel, making even the most mundane scenes feel beautiful and elevated. Elizabeth Acevedo holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland, and is a National Poetry Slam champion, and this certainly shines through in her prose writing. 

With the Fire on High is set primarily in North Philadelphia, and the novel acts as a love letter to the city. Emoni states, “This part of North Philly has one of the highest crime rates in the city, or at least that’s what the newspaper reports. They call us part of the Badlands, but when you stay here, you know there’s a lot more goodness than is reported in the news” (Acevedo, 2019, pp. 85-86). Acevedo’s story captures an honest view of the city that can be appreciated by all who have lived there and certainly by a Philly native, with frank talks about crime and gentrification. Gentrification, which is often a topic danced around by those uncomfortable with its implications, is explained to teens through the novel without even using the term. 

With the Fire on High is written in short, digestible chapters, which may be appealing to readers who have trouble focusing. This style also reflects that of poetry. Acevedo uses realistic language when her characters speak, making them jump off the page. This use of language also opens the reader’s eyes to the idea that any language, whether “grammatically correct” or not, can be beautiful and carries history. When discussing her ethnicity, Emoni says, “but it’s like I’m some long-division problem folks keep wanting to parcel into pieces, and they don’t hear me when I say: I don’t reduce, homies. The whole of me is Black. The whole of me is whole” (Acevedo, 2019, p. 70). 

Acevedo’s use of poetic tones to discuss topical, but heavy issues such as race and teen pregnancy not only humanizes the people actively experiencing these things in real life, but also showcases to teens that they are not alone. 

Reader’s Annotation: Emoni, a high school senior, is trying her best to excel at school, raise her daughter, and support her family. She isn’t sure of what her future holds, but a new culinary arts class may change her story for the better.