With the Fire on High easily is one of my favourite books that I read this year. Emoni loves to cook and dreams of becoming a chef. That’s all I needed to know in order to borrow the audiobook. With the Fire on High offers so much more than a trope I can’t get enough of, though. It brings to light complicated relationships, the difficulty of balancing responsibilities and ambitions, and a huge dash of heart.
MARGOT & ME by Juno Dawson
Margot & Me, while set in contemporary times also grapples with the past set during World War II through a diary. What I loved about this book was how the stories of three generations knitted together. Fliss and her grandmother, Margot, were so at odds that Fliss’s mother was the only reason they put up with one another. Watching that relationship develop throughout the pages was immensely touching. Although, how Fliss came to read Margot’s diary didn’t entirely sit well with me. But you know, curiosity and what not…
WING JONES by Katherine Webber
In many ways, Wing Jone is the book that I’ve been searching for for half my life. (I’m in my mid-twenties, so that’s not an exaggeration.) See, I’m of biracial descent. Even though I’ve sought books with biracial protagonists all my life, I’ve come across very few. Combine that with sports, one of my many passions, and odds of finding such a book plummet to near zero. Then Wing Jones came along and that book made my heart sing.
THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER by Leslye Walton
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender and I developed a love-hate relationship of sorts. The promises made in the prologue was wondrous and I was so excited to continue reading. By the time I reached the end I felt empty. I loved the style of writing adopted in the prologue. It captured my attention so vividly, I fully expected to fall in love with the rest of the story. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
