With the Fire on High is my third book by Elizabeth Acevedo, and the first in prose. I loved it! Just like The Poet X and Clap When You Land, it meets difficult, controversial situations head-on, with courage and optimism.Emoni Santiago's life is not easy. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father, whom she calls Julio, is an escapist. He fled to Puerto Rico at the first available opportunity, leaving Emoni to be raised by his mother, Emoni's 'Buela. When Emoni finds herself pregnant in her freshman year, she knows she must decide what to do, and live with the decision she makes every day. And she decides to keep her baby.Yet, courage and love are only one part of the story; another significant part is the magic of food, the kind you may find in a book like Chocolat. Emoni's fingers are magical and the food she makes, guided by instinct, makes people cry, warms them up, or … [Read more...]
The Poet X
I've been meaning to read Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X ever since I read Clap When You Land and discovered that she had another, more famous verse novel. I borrowed this one from Kahaani Box (may libraries prosper forever!), and I loved it. A powerful, moving story told from a young Hispanic girl's point of view, The Poet X is about rebellion, love, and making your voice heard.Xiomara, the protagonist of the story, keeps her poetry to herself. Only her twin Xavier, whom she calls Twin, has listened to her work.But that is until she meets Aman, who, it seems, wants to hear her voice, wants to hear her poetry. Slowly, she begins to unfurl. But coming out of her cocoon may require more than she bargained for. Unlike her best friend Caridad, she questions the faith she is expected to follow blindly. She cannot find it in herself to listen to her mother and be a model … [Read more...]
Clap When You Land
A YA verse novel told from two points of view? Yes, please. And one with a secret at its core? Always. Clap When You Land was a stunning read, one that made my heart ache even as I rejoiced with all the women in the story who emerged triumphant, and stronger than ever.Yahaira, who lives in New York City, knows her father's secret. But she thinks she needs to keep it from her mother.And Camino, who lives in the Dominican Republic, knows nothing. She does not know that her father does not live in the United States only for work. He has a family there - another wife and another daughter.When he dies in an air crash, all the secrets come tumbling out. How can Camino accept a sister, who monopolised her father right through the year? How can she come to terms with the huge wealth divide between her father's two families? And worst of all, how is it that she is the only one who never … [Read more...]