Clap When You Land
When two young women receive the news that their father’s plane has crashed, they know that their lives will never be the same. Just like that, these two girls are thrown into a reality where their father is dead and it seems their dreams are quickly slipping away.
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Community Reviews
Wonderful story written in verse that demonstrates the complexity of family relationships, particularly when a family member disappoints us.
This book tore me up in a way that was not expected. Acevedo’s writing and storytelling is so raw and beautiful. This story was so complex and full of beautifully complicated Afro Latinas. Loved how dynamic each character was and how they moved through so much pain and trauma with deep thoughtfulness for each other. Can’t wait to see what story Elizabeth Acevedo conjures next!
I really enjoy the authors writing style. The characters draw you in and I love how she weaves her culture in the story to make her characters authentic.
Acevedo makes reading in verse so accessible. Her characters, their stories, their struggles; it's all palpable. I loved going on this journey with Camino and Yahaira.
This was a gorgeous and rewarding quick read. If you are looking for a book to lose yourself in for a day or two, this would be a great pick. Clap When You Land is raw and poetic. It follows the lives of two teens who have so much in common, yet live worlds apart. It explores so beautifully and tenderly the emotions of loosing a loved one suddenly, and having to deal with huge secrets from their past which only come to light after their death.
For me, personally, this was a special find. I lived in the Dominican Republic for five months when I was in my early twenties, and even spent time in Sosúa. Some scenes took me straight back: like hearing about how obsessively Dominicans will sweep and mop to keep mud out of their homes; how they applaud the plane as it touches down on their home soil; and how the power goes out regularly so those with generators are lucky. Coloured houses, fried fish and tostones, la playa, ladies dressed in larimar – these images incorporated into the story all celebrate the culture of the D.R. and its people and serve to educate the reader of the world the two protagonists are so strongly connected to.
I also loved the English-Spanish hybrid narrative. I listened to the audiobook which is powerfully, but sensitively, read by the author and Melania Louisa Marte, an American-Caribbean poet who lives in the D.R. Their voices really help immerse the reader in Cammino and Yahaira’s story. If you don’t know much about Dominican culture, you should give this book a go – it will expand your world.
For me, personally, this was a special find. I lived in the Dominican Republic for five months when I was in my early twenties, and even spent time in Sosúa. Some scenes took me straight back: like hearing about how obsessively Dominicans will sweep and mop to keep mud out of their homes; how they applaud the plane as it touches down on their home soil; and how the power goes out regularly so those with generators are lucky. Coloured houses, fried fish and tostones, la playa, ladies dressed in larimar – these images incorporated into the story all celebrate the culture of the D.R. and its people and serve to educate the reader of the world the two protagonists are so strongly connected to.
I also loved the English-Spanish hybrid narrative. I listened to the audiobook which is powerfully, but sensitively, read by the author and Melania Louisa Marte, an American-Caribbean poet who lives in the D.R. Their voices really help immerse the reader in Cammino and Yahaira’s story. If you don’t know much about Dominican culture, you should give this book a go – it will expand your world.
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