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Book Reviewed by:From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award 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.
Part One
The Sour
EMONI'S
"When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemon Verbena Tembleque"
RECIPE
Serves: Your heart when you are missing someone you love.
Ingredients:
Two cans of coconut milk
Handful of white sugar
Four shakes of cornstarch
Pinch of salt
Bunch of lemon verbena leaves
Bunch of vanilla beans
Cinnamon, enough to garnish
Directions:
1. In a saucepan, heat coconut milk until it comes to a boil. Muddle a bunch of lemon verbena leaves and vanilla beans and add to the heated coconut milk. Let steep.
2. After fifteen minutes, mix the infused coconut milk, salt, sugar, and cornstarch. Stir the mixture until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Let the combined ingredients come to a boil and keep stirring until the mixture begins getting pudding thick.
3. Pour into a big cereal bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for five hours.
4. After removing the mixture from the cereal bowl mold, sprinkle with cinnamon.
*Best eaten cold while daydreaming about palm ...
Teen parenthood is not a new subject in YA novels, but With the Fire on High offers a refreshing perspective. The author is as much a master of language as Emoni is a master of food. Acevedo has created a strong, creative, resourceful urban Latina whose story will resonate with both teen readers and adults...continued
Full Review
(486 words)
(Reviewed by Catherine M Andronik).
In With the Fire on High, protagonist Emoni has a baby at the end of her freshman year of high school and makes some life-changing choices. Her strong support system, which not every teen mother has, gives Emoni an excellent chance at keeping both her life and the life of her daughter on a positive track.
With her mother dead and her father living in Puerto Rico, Emoni lives with her grandmother. Their living arrangement is not unusual; in the United States, approximately 2.6 million grandparents are raising their grandchildren. With the birth of Emma, Emoni's grandmother also shares a significant responsibility for the care of her great-granddaughter. With such strong family support and a good daycare program, ...
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