With the Fire on High

From the Publisher:

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.

My Thoughts:

My waiting list is months long on my Hawaiʻi State public library e-book queue so I do not always remember what a book is about until it pops up months later and I start to read it. That initial excitement about finding a book I want to read and knowing what I was searching for at that time is elusive. Books start to blend together. I look at this cover and maybe I was in the mood for minority literature, girl power, something from the islands. Maybe I was looking for a book by the author of The Poet X. But based on my last post and the way these books fell into my inbox at the same time, I was definitely on a quest for new foodie fiction.

Like Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim, this is a book where food is magic and talent is tied to innate ability rather than schooling. What makes this different is it is foodie fiction- magic realism breaking into the YA contemporary market. So yes to girl power, minority characters struggling and thriving with very adult responsibilities. 

If you liked Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival and are looking for something more contemporary and less adult steamy, this one is for you.