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“They don’t do that as much anymore. This must be a plane of Dominicans returning home; when you touch down on this soil, you must clap when you land. Para dar gracias a dios. Regrezamos.”

Release Date: May 5th 2020

Genre(s): Young adult, contemporary, LGBT, poetry

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Pages: 417

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Synopsis

Clap When You Land is a young adult contemporary written in verse by Elizabeth Acevedo. This book follows two sisters Camino and Yahaira, living in the Dominican Republic and New York City respectively when they find out their father was killed in a plane crash. The story navigates their grief and discovery of not only their father’s secrets, but the biggest secret of all – learning about each other.

Review

This is my first book by Acevedo, and from here I am absolutely looking forward to reading her other books as well. I know that she often writes books in verse, and while I don’t read books in verse often, I thought this was perfect for the story that was being told. There were also so many layers to this story and both of the girls’ experiences, and this was overall such a moving story.

While I don’t have that much experience with poetry or books in verse, I can’t see Clap When You Land being written any other way. I thought that the way this book was written made the characters’ emotions and thought processes that much more personal. In this way, you really got to see and feel what they were thinking and going through and how they were processing the tragedies that were happening to them. It also gave the opportunity to focus on the more emotionally prominent scenes of this book, rather than putting unneeded emphasis on other scenes that aren’t as important to the progression of the story.

While much of the themes of this story revolve around grief and family, there are other topics discussed that brought so much dimension to the story and conflicts faced overall. One of these addressed the differences in class between Yahaira and Camino, and is further discussed when the sisters begin to make assumptions about the others’ lives. For Camino and her loved ones, there is also the emphasis on access to public health and safety resources, and the dangers that Camino faces for doing as little as taking a short walk to the beach. In one scene, we have a character give birth to a premature baby with breathing problems. This is something treatable with the proper access to healthcare, but the lack thereof in this situation causes a more serious situation. It’s scenes like these that, while take up so little time in the book, still have a long-lasting impact on the reader.

Another scene that I found memorable involved Yahaira’s perspectives on her heritage and where she stands within that. Upon reading this section I felt that this was something that a lot of readers likely relate to:

“Can you be from a place you have never been? You can find the island stamped all over me, but what would the island find if I was there?

Can you claim a home that does not know you, much less claim you as its own?”

 The only thing that really prevents me from rating this book five stars was the way the perspectives change. While Camino and Yahaira are two distinguishable characters, the way that Clap When You Land switches between characters in the second half did make the book a bit confusing to follow. This was moreso the case when the book explores their thoughts on the same topic, even when, again, their characters are distinguished. 

But overall, I thought that Clap When You Land was an incredible read. I don’t re-read books very often, but I do think this is one that I’d want to return to for when I do. I wouldn’t shy away from this book because of the verse either if you’re not used to that format. I thought that it worked so well for the context of the book and it’s something that I’m definitely interested in exploring more now because of it. I recommend reading this one if you haven’t already.