82 pages 2 hours read

Elizabeth Acevedo

With the Fire on High

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019

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Introduction

With the Fire on High

  • Genre: Fiction; young adult; coming-of-age
  • Originally Published: 2019
  • Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 810L; grades 9-12
  • Structure/Length: 3 parts; 113 chapters; approx. 400 pages; 7 hours, 27 minutes on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Emoni Santiago, a teenage mother with a passion for cooking, enrolls in a culinary arts class during her senior year of high school and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.  
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Sexual references; alcohol; teen pregnancy

Elizabeth Acevedo, Author

  • Bio: Lives in Washington, DC; graduated from The George Washington University with a BA in Performing Arts and from the University of Maryland with an MFA in Creative Writing; is a National Poetry Slam Champion
  • Other Works: Clap When You Land (2020); The Poet X (2018)
  • Awards: Golden Kite Award (2020); Michael L. Printz Award (2019); Pura Belpré Award (2019); Walter Award (2019); National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2018)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • Heterogenous Identity, Prejudice, and Roots
  • Rules, Recipes, and Self-Creation
  • Colonialism, Coexistence, and Integration

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

  • Gain an understanding of the cultural and social contexts regarding the prejudice that Emoni faces.
  • Read and study short paired texts and other resources to make connections on themes of Heterogenous Identity, Prejudice, and Roots; Rules, Recipes, and Self-Creation; and Colonialism, Coexistence, and Integration.