Paradise on Fire
Girl heals from trauma, beats fears in triumphant novel.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Paradise on Fire by Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Jewell Parker Rhodes (Ghost Boys and Black Brother, Black Brother) is about Addy, a Black teen growing up with her Nigerian grandmother in the Bronx, who goes to a three-week outdoor adventure program with five other Black teens from New York City. While camping, they're caught in a California wildfire. Addy lost her parents in a fire years before, and she's suffering from post-traumatic stress. Still she draws on her leadership gifts and her love of maps, mazes, and puzzles to try and save her group. There's no violence, but the story gets a little scary when wildfires destroy property and the natural environment. The teens spend about a quarter of the story in danger.
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What's the Story?
When PARADISE ON FIRE begins, Addy and five other Black teens are on an airplane in New York City, bound for Los Angeles, California. They're headed for a camp that exposes city kids to the outdoors, with time on a ranch and camping in the forest. Addy shares with the others all the puzzles, mazes, and maps she creates as a hobby. When they arrive, the teens bond with each other, with Leo, the landowner who started the wilderness program, and with their counselors, two White college students. After a few fun days of camping and hiking, the group gets trapped in a wildfire.
Is It Any Good?
Packed with suspense and practical lessons, this story makes readers think. Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Jewell Parker Rhodes wrote Paradise on Fire in response to her own lived experiences. A resident of the West Coast, she witnessed wildfires that blanketed her city of Seattle with smoke. And in raising her children, she observed that her White husband had experience with the natural world that she lacked. This book addresses both of those issues. Occasionally, long passages about natural science seem to slow down the story. The fire scenes are thrilling and not too scary.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about legacies in Paradise on Fire. What have you inherited from the earth? From your ancestors? From your friends?
Do you have a special talent or skill? What is it?
Who would you most trust in an emergency? What traits make that person trustworthy?
Book Details
- Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Activism, STEM, Adventures, Friendship, Great Girl Role Models, History
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Little Brown and Company
- Publication date: September 14, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 256
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (abridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: January 6, 2022
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