Paradise on Fire by Rhodes, Jewell Parker

From award-winning and bestselling author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age survival tale exploring issues of race, class, and climate change.​

Addy is haunted by the tragic fire that killed her parents, leaving her to be raised by her grandmother. Years later, Addy's grandmother has enrolled her in a summer wilderness program. There, Addy joins five other Black city kids--each with their own troubles--to spend a summer out west.

Deep in the forest the kids learn new (and to them) strange skills: camping, hiking, rock climbing, and how to start and safely put out campfires. Most important, they learn to depend upon each other for companionship and survival.
But then comes a devastating forest fire...

Addy is face-to-face with her destiny and haunting past. Developing her courage and resiliency against the raging fire, it's up to Addy to lead her friends to safety. Not all are saved. But remembering her origins and grandmother's teachings, she's able to use street smarts, wilderness skills, and her spiritual intuition to survive.

BCALA 2021 Best of the Best Book
A Cadmus Children's Fiction Award for the Green Earth Book Award winner

Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 09/14/2021
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.20w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780316493833
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.3
Point Value: 4
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 513752 / Paradise on Fire


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2021
Publishers Weekly 08/02/2021
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2021
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2021 pg. 103
School Library Journal 09/01/2021 pg. 92
Shelf Awareness 09/17/2021
Booklist 09/15/2021 pg. 52
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2021 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author

Jewell Parker Rhodes is the author of Ninth Ward, winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor; Sugar, winner of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award; and the New York Times-bestselling Ghost Boys; as well as Bayou Magic; Towers Falling; Black Brother, Black Brother; and Paradise on Fire. She has written many award-novels for adults, including, MAGIC CITY, a novel about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Jewell is the Virginia G. Piper Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at Arizona State University.