With the Fire on High is a coming of age story about an Afro-Latina girl, Emoni, a naturally talented cook in her senior year of high school, who is also a mother. Emoni faces many challenges with balancing her classes, baby, the father of her baby, and the dreams she feels she can’t achieve. The only place Emoni is able to feel entirely herself is in the kitchen. At the beginning of the book, her school announces they will be offering a culinary arts class, which also includes a week long trip to Spain. Emoni struggles to decide if she can take this class, as much as she wants to, since she already has so much on her plate. Throughout the story Emoni must make decisions about her life, knowing they will also impact the lives of her Babygirl, and her ‘Buela, who raised her. Emoni navigates relationships with her baby’s father, the cute guy at school and her occasionally present father. She must decide if she will put her life on hold and hope to make a better life for just her baby, or chase her dreams and risk failure. This novel would be best read in a high school setting.
This novel shows the reader the life of a young girl in poverty who must make hard decisions regularly. Emoni must constantly analyze every choice given to her to see if she can reasonably achieve with the resources she has. As a young mother, she is responsible for her child and often has to set aside her own wants for Babygirl. Her ‘Buela' gives her full responsibility but helps out when she can. The reader is often cheering Emoni on to chase her dreams, take the culinary class, go to Spain, go to college, even though Emoni is not sure she’ll be able to handle everything. This novel shows us what it is like for many Americans in poverty. Even though Emoni has dreams and wants, she has to set them aside as she has no way to pay for college, a trip to Spain, or other desires in a way that will not directly take away needs from her daughter. She does not want to rely too heavily on the people around her, as it was her choice to have her daughter, and her responsibility to raise her. While Emoni has many people supporting her, she must make decisions herself.
This novel is a mirror for many Americans who live in poverty and feel they have little choice in their futures. Emoni often feels like she needs to graduate and get a job to support her daughter. She feels like college is outside the realm of possibility due to her grades, and due to money. She appreciates her ‘Buela for helping take care of her daughter, but knows she can’t do it forever. Many people in situations like Emoni’s, even if they do not have their own children, feel they cannot chase dreams they have because they need to support their families and help make ends meet for other people they love. If Emoni were to get a degree it would help her family greatly, as she could make more money, but the road to getting it is full of sacrifice that families who can apply for loans or afford to send their kids college, do not have to cross. This book is a window for children who never had to think twice about college or what options are available to them after high school. Many children struggle with deciding what college to pick or what degree to get, but the idea of going to college is still very much in reach. This novel shows the struggle many people experience in being first generation college students.
This novel would best be used in a high school classroom. With the Fire on High could be used in a financial unit for students. Students could research the cost of college, what it takes to get a loan, how much they can save in 2 years working minimum wage while going to school, and explore the cost of having a child. Students would need to come up with a plan to get through college with some federal funding and no loans. This would help students to gauge how much it costs to get an education, and explore the additional barriers for individuals in poverty. This novel could also be used to engage students with language. This novel combines African American Vernacular (AAV), Spanish, Spanglish, and English. Students could take this opportunity to study AAV to see how the English language is used differently in AAV, where AAV comes from and the history of it. Students could explore their own vernacular and regional dialects in the United States as well.
This novel shows the reader the life of a young girl in poverty who must make hard decisions regularly. Emoni must constantly analyze every choice given to her to see if she can reasonably achieve with the resources she has. As a young mother, she is responsible for her child and often has to set aside her own wants for Babygirl. Her ‘Buela' gives her full responsibility but helps out when she can. The reader is often cheering Emoni on to chase her dreams, take the culinary class, go to Spain, go to college, even though Emoni is not sure she’ll be able to handle everything. This novel shows us what it is like for many Americans in poverty. Even though Emoni has dreams and wants, she has to set them aside as she has no way to pay for college, a trip to Spain, or other desires in a way that will not directly take away needs from her daughter. She does not want to rely too heavily on the people around her, as it was her choice to have her daughter, and her responsibility to raise her. While Emoni has many people supporting her, she must make decisions herself.
This novel is a mirror for many Americans who live in poverty and feel they have little choice in their futures. Emoni often feels like she needs to graduate and get a job to support her daughter. She feels like college is outside the realm of possibility due to her grades, and due to money. She appreciates her ‘Buela for helping take care of her daughter, but knows she can’t do it forever. Many people in situations like Emoni’s, even if they do not have their own children, feel they cannot chase dreams they have because they need to support their families and help make ends meet for other people they love. If Emoni were to get a degree it would help her family greatly, as she could make more money, but the road to getting it is full of sacrifice that families who can apply for loans or afford to send their kids college, do not have to cross. This book is a window for children who never had to think twice about college or what options are available to them after high school. Many children struggle with deciding what college to pick or what degree to get, but the idea of going to college is still very much in reach. This novel shows the struggle many people experience in being first generation college students.
This novel would best be used in a high school classroom. With the Fire on High could be used in a financial unit for students. Students could research the cost of college, what it takes to get a loan, how much they can save in 2 years working minimum wage while going to school, and explore the cost of having a child. Students would need to come up with a plan to get through college with some federal funding and no loans. This would help students to gauge how much it costs to get an education, and explore the additional barriers for individuals in poverty. This novel could also be used to engage students with language. This novel combines African American Vernacular (AAV), Spanish, Spanglish, and English. Students could take this opportunity to study AAV to see how the English language is used differently in AAV, where AAV comes from and the history of it. Students could explore their own vernacular and regional dialects in the United States as well.