Contemporary · Young, New adult/College

With the fire on high – Elizabeth Acevedo

38739562| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: 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.

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My thoughts:

What a gorgeous, lovely book cover. If only the storyline would be as gorgeous. I know it is a highly popular book and very up-to-date when it comes to YA contemporary. It did however not impress me much. I did not connect with it at all and it did not touch me emotionally in any way. I can appreciate it and I do understand why it is so highly liked but it didn’t do much for me. It’s quite repetitive and the same things happening over and over again throughout the book. Maybe it was more apparent since I listened to the audiobook. And the avid use of the characters names was almost driving me crazy. Specially “Baby Girl”. A little more him, her, them would have lighten the text.

Anyway. I  see the value and appeal but it just did not live up to the hype and anticipation the bookish community has created for it. And to be honest, the plot is way too easy. She is 17 years old with a child in a pretty poor household. And every setback around her is nice and neatly resolves by them self’s within a chapter or two. It just gave me a non-realistic picture and I feel it probably would have had a bigger impact if not so “dreamy”.

One thought on “With the fire on high – Elizabeth Acevedo

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