Many adults (especially Millennials) and older teens can identify with this feeling. Emoni is stepping into what it feels like to be her own boss and it is simultaneously terrifying and satisfying. She longs to be guided in the appropriate direction for her life, to be told what to do, but she is starting to realize she no longer has the luxury of someone else planning her life. “ still wish someone would look at the pieces of my life and tell me how to make sure they all fit back together” said Emoni during her time of uncertainty. Regardless of whether or not you had a child in your teens, Acevedo perfectly articulates the feelings many people echo in times of transition. Emoni’s coming of age story is so relatable.He has #Blackboyjoy and it is so wonderful to read how his smile illuminates the room. He’s ambitious, thoughtful, unapologetically Black, intelligent, and compassionate. However, his character is quite the opposite. He experienced an extremely traumatic event that could have easily set him down a dark path.

I love how he is the anti-archetype of Black teenage boys portrayed in the media. Malachi is everything you’d want in a teenage heartthrob and more. Here are just a few reasons why you need to add this title to your shelf or the shelf of the beloved readers in your life.Įmoni’s love interest, Malachi, is from Newark, NJ and he represents Brick City well. I read With the Fire on High not long after its debut in 2019 and was blown away by the expert storytelling of District-based, Afro-Dominicana author Elizabeth Acevedo. Young adult fiction is such a rich genre that any fiction reader can enjoy no matter how seasoned. The myth that YA is just for teens is just that: a myth. Today, with authors like Elizabeth Acevedo, Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, Jason Reynolds, and Tiffany Jackson the youth of today have so many more options than were ever available before. I recall reading YA throughout my tenure in grade school and finding Black books was a rarity.

Best part? These are authentic stories with multi-dimensional characters of color doing and feeling things Black and Brown children aren’t always given permission to do. If you weren’t already a fan of Young Adult Fiction you‘re missing out! Within the last ten years, an explosion of wonderfully written Black & Brown YA stories has emerged.

Book with the fire on high