With the Fire on High

Part 1, Chapters 1-22

Reading Check

1. Babygirl (Chapter 1, “Day One”)

2. Angelica (Chapter 3, “Sister Friends”)

3. Burger Joint (Chapter 5, “The Authors”)

4. Chef Ayden (Chapter 10, “The New Guy”)

5. Spain (Chapter 7, “Immersed”)

Short Answer

1. Emoni feels frustrated that they are learning knife work instead of cooking. (Chapter 18, “An Art Form”)

2. Emoni rejects his attempts to talk to keep a distance between them. (Chapter 19, “Malachi”)

3. Angelica is fiercely loyal and supportive of Emoni, especially through her pregnancy and motherhood. Angelica is extremely artistic and hopes to attend an arts school after graduation. (Various chapters)

4. Emoni and Julio have a strained relationship because he left not long after Emoni’s mother died. Julio has a social and political awareness that he tries to instill in Emoni, yet this sense of civil responsibility conflicts with his abandonment of his fatherly duties. (Chapter 17, “College Essay: First Draft” and various chapters)

Part 1, Chapters 23-41

Reading Check

1. Santi (Chapter 25, “Exhaustion”)

2. Get ice cream (Chapter 32, “Santi”)

3. Her many doctor appointments (Chapter 34, “Phone Calls”)

Short Answer

1. Emoni thinks Tyrone’s family is spoiling Emma, resulting in her having temper tantrums. (Chapter 23, “Tantrums and Terrible Twos”)

2. Chef Ayden makes Emoni throw her dish out because she did not follow the recipe exactly as she should have. (Chapter 38, “Basura”)

3. Despite ‘Buela and Emoni’s pleas, he decides to stay in Puerto Rico to help his community through the hurricane and its aftermath. (Chapter 41, “Hurricane Season”)

4. Pretty Leslie asks Emoni how Emma is doing to inform Malachi that Emoni has a child, as well as to try and drive a wedge between Malachi and Emoni. (Chapter 32, “Santi”)

Part 2, Chapters 42-68

Reading Check

1. She ditches his class (Chapter 42, “Skipping”)

2. Macaroni and cheese (Chapter 47, “Anniversary”)

3. Watch TV at Emoni’s house (Chapter 48, “Netflix, No Chill”)

4. Lisa Williams, the chef from Café Sorrel (Chapter 65, “A Numbers Game”)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Emoni and Angelica’s friendship grew stronger during Emoni’s pregnancy and eventual motherhood, as well as when Angelica came out as a lesbian. (Chapter 44, “Sisterhood”)

2. Malachi changed schools after his brother was killed due to gang violence. (Chapter 46, “Sous Chef”)

3. Tyrone calls because one of his friends told him that Emoni was with another boy. Emoni is angered by his hypocrisy and that he is trying to control her. (Chapter 49, “Ramifications”)

4. Chef Ayden, after Emoni returns to his class, asks her if she would like to oversee fundraising for the class’s trip to Spain. (Chapter 52, “New Beginnings”)

Part 2, Chapters 69-91

Reading Check

1. Disney on Ice (Chapter 69, “On Ice”)

2. Sevilla (Chapter 79, “Spain” and various chapters)

3. Pretty Leslie (Chapter 81, “Roommates”)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. ‘Buela reveals that she hasn’t been going to the doctor and simply needed some alone time. (Chapter 74, “Blood Boil”)

2. Emoni rises to the challenge of preparing a meal of hen for the lunch crowd. Many customers compliment her on the quality of the meal. (Chapter 84, “Cluck, Cluck”)

3. Emoni thinks of her father’s lessons about colonialism. She reflects on the fact that no one thinks of the slaves who mined the gold to build the statue; they just focus on the colonizer Christopher Columbus. (Chapter 89, “Gilded”)

Part 2, Chapters 92-107

Reading Check

1. Five Euros (Chapter 92, “Children”)

2. Drexel University (Chapter 103, “Acceptance”)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. After Leslie drinks too much in a bar with the other students, Emoni helps her home, cleans her up, and gets her into bed. This caring act opens the lines of communication between the two for them to be able to get beyond their preconceptions. (Chapter 98, “Heart-to-Heart” and various chapters)

2. Emoni is wary because of her experience with Tyrone. He became neglectful of her during her pregnancy and then started seeing other girls. (Chapter 97, “Boys Will Be”)

3. Julio, Emoni’s father, cries when he learns of her acceptance. While he has chosen to live far away and remove himself from her life, he still cares deeply for her and is proud of her accomplishments. (Chapter 105, “Just Fine”)

Part 3, Chapters 108-113

Reading Check

1. He wants to see her more. (Chapter 109, “Accepted”)

2. Café Sorrel (Chapter 113, “Moving Forward”)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Julio did not like eating Emoni’s food because it reminded him of his late wife and her cooking. (Chapter 111, “The Rising”)

2. She enrolls in the culinary arts program at Drexel, but only part time. She’ll balance that with working in the kitchen part time at Café Sorrel and continuing to care for Emma. (Chapter 113, “Moving Forward”)