Clap When You Land Hardcover – May 5, 2020

This is a good book for teens. The poetic format makes it an easy read and the storyline is very compelling. I loved listening to the audiobook of this as well.

“…When you touch down on this soil, you must clap when you land.”“Clap When You Land” was my most anticipated book of 2020. Elizabeth Acevedo is one of my favorite authors so I could not add this book to my TBR list fast enough. This review will not give the book justice. I have no words. It was a beautiful story, with beautiful characters all told in Acevedo’s amazing prose. The subject matter is one that often goes untold, especially in YA books. Family secrets, grief, resentment. There were just so many elements that made this story whole; poverty, class, and colorism being among them. I enjoyed the alternating point of views as well as the secondary characters. This book touched my heart in ways that were both heartbreaking and uplifting, devastating but also hopeful.I love the fact that in each book I have read by Elizabeth Acevedo I close the book and know that I have taken something away from its pages. This time was no different. In addition to this, I was not at all familiar with Flight AA587 ( the second deadliest plane crash in American history) prior to reading. Absolutely heartbreaking.

Camino lives in the Dominican Republic with her aunt who works as the community healer. Camino has been dealt a difficult hand with her mother dying when she was young, though she is fortunate that her father lives in the United States and is able to provide for her and her aunt. But when her father dies in a plane crash on his annual trip to the DR to spend the summer with Camino, her entire world is upended. Losing her father equates for so much more for Camino. It means the loss of safety, an education, and possibly even her next meal.Yahaira lives in New York City with her mother and father. Yahaira found out last year that her father has been having an affair with a woman in the DR and that his annual work trips are actually to visit her. Angry and confused, Yahaira has shut down and pushed her father away. As he leaves again for his annual trip, Yahaira debates asking him to stay. Asking to reconcile when he returns, Yahaira chooses to brush him off again. When he dies on his way to the DR in a plane crash, Yahaira loses any opportunity she had to get answers or make amends.It is only after Papi's death that Camino learns that Papi had another family in the States. When she finds her half sister Yahaira online, she's shocked and hurt at the undeniable similarities between them. She decides to make contact with Yahaira, if for nothing more than to tell Yahaira she exists and is ultimately entitled to some of the money from airline for Papi's death.The two girls connect and Yahaira even chooses to fly out to the DR to bury her father and meet her sister. What unfolds is a powerful and moving story of love, family, and forgiveness in the wake of tragedy and deception.Based on the true story of Flight AA587 that crashed in November 2001 on its way from NYC to the DR, this was an emotional and powerful story. Though Papi led a double life while he was alive, his death brought upon a merging of the two families. This book explored so many deep themes such as love, loss, grief, lies, deceit, heritage, and the bonds of blood.Written in prose form, I was intimidated at first that it would read too much like poetry, where every word is a double meaning and nothing can be overlooked. However, Acevedo did an exquisite job of letting the language flow and tell its own story. No detail was overlooked. From the chapter separators, to the literal type on the page, the amazing cover (with or without the jacket!), and the unnamed main character, the intention and execution were utter perfection.I did struggle at times because I felt like Yahaira and Camino had quite similar voices. I would often have to flip back and check which girl was narrating. Additionally, the story felt rushed (the entire story takes place over two months) and I was left with so many questions and a longing for more.I read this book with a buddy read and highly recommend it for a book club. There are many story lines and deeper themes to explore, questions to be raised, and issues to hash out. I can't recommend this one enough.

This book is controversial, I am sure, because one of the main characters is gay. Oh how sad that fact will keep so many from reading it. Beautiful story of family connections across the oceans. Original format, every word printed is vital. Excellent read. Highly recommend.

This book touched on so many issues in the Caribbean and wider diaspora in a very relatable way. It was a great read, the author did a fantastic job exploring different perceptions to a complex issue

TW: trafficking, molestation, attempted rape, stalking,4.5⭐⭐⭐⭐This book is told entirely in verse from two different perspectives. Camino, who lives in the Dominican Republic and Yahaira, who lives in New York. They know notthing of one another until tradgety takes their father away. They are half sisters with the same father.This book tells of the hardships that girls in the Dominican Republic face and Camino is one of the lucky ones because her father works in the states and can provide for her. Several years earlier her mother died and now she is being raised by Tia. Camino dreams of going to the states and going to college to become a Doctor.Yahaira is native to New York and lives with her mother. She receives support from her long time girlfriend and lives in a good neighborhood.This book was really intense in its poetic poise and insightful into the minds and lives of our main characters. It was hard hitting and truly wonderful.My only complaint is the voices of the two girls were not distinct. While I appreciated the perspective of both Camino and Yahaira, it was often hard to tell them apart in this alternating narrative.

Came just in time and in good condition. I recommend.

Loved it, easy read, beautifully executed. Poetic in exactly the right way it needed to be. Great for adults and teens

This was my first contact with any of Acevedo's books, I knew all of them, but it was also my first experience with a book in verse.These verses are pretty simple and not hard to read, Acevedo writes beautiful and poetic verses, with lots of amazing descriptions about food, religious ceremonies, hobbies and sisterhood.It made me tear up a few times, one thing that I didn't like was how long it took for the two sisters to finally meet, but when we got there it stopped bothering me because it was so well written. I was so immersed in this story of these two sisters and all the lies their dad kept and their personal issues.

Its good

"I was 13 years old when flight AA587 crashed to the ground in Queens, New York. It was on its way to the Dominican Republic. Two hundred sixty people, plus five people on the ground, died. More than 90% of the passengers were of Dominican descent. Many were returning home. It completely rocked New York Dominican community. I have wanted to write about that flight for as long as I can remember. I was a writer even then. I think even at 12 or 13. I was trying to write through what that meant—or keeping track of the news and writing down different dates or when new research came out. I will say that in college, the idea of "Clap When You Land" came to me. I was an undergrad, and I remember wanting to capture the joy of that moment when the plane first skids right against the runway, and you know you made it. We are okay, but that's a celebration, that almost communal exhalation on the plane, releasing the breath that you didn't know you had been holding. At some point, these two ideas kind of came together. It is that exhale. It is that joy. But also, what does it mean to my memory to think through the days and the moment that they didn't end up in celebration. And can we honour the morning? "- Elizabeth Acevedo.When I first came across this book, I was not aware of the backstory of what led to this incredible book. I had casually picked it up and started reading without sparing much thought. The pain, and the hope the book has given me, are difficult to bind within a few words. But still, I'll try.I'm someone who doesn't have the slightest idea of the New York-Dominican community, but still, it reaps my heart in every possible way. I was able to feel each and every word of Camino and Yahaira.Clap When You land is the story of two sisters, Yahaira and Camino, who do not know about each other until their father dies in a plane crash. It is loosely based on events that happened in the 2011 New York-Dominican plane crash (two months after the attack on World Trade Centre). I feel this book is very personal to the author, which is why it struck those chords in your heart even more vividly.It is a book about loss. It is a book about gain. It's about what it means to have to reconfigure ideas of family.-"The old lady in the seat beside me said in Spanish,"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." & I smiled back."

Never did I ever think that a book written in verse would be my cup of tea. The first few chapters, I was confused as I didn’t know what a story in verse was, but the story Intrigued me that I powered on through. I couldn’t put this down and finished it within a few hours.The story of Yahaira and her sister Camina is one I will take with me forever. A beautifully written story about two sisters who have never met - the realistic trials and tribulations that come with the loss of a parent as well as the shock and anger at finding out you have a sister.Elizabeth Acevedo does herself an incredible justice with this novel. I felt as though I was experiencing everything these two young girls did. Her depiction of the family members and locations - the split lives the two girls lead was breathtaking.I would highly recommend this book to EVERYONE.