May 5th 2020 | Quill Tree Books
Source: Library
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.As I sit down to write this review, I really don’t know if I have words that will do this book justice. Elizabeth Acevedo is one of the best writers in young adult fiction today and an even bigger powerhouse when it comes to poetry. Clap When You Land is such a powerful story and I loved reading it.
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.
And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
Clap When You Land challenged me in unexpected ways. For one, I was challenged to really understand why empathy means when it comes to this plot. A man who had two families? It's hard to find kind words for him. But Acevedo doesn't make it so black and white, and that's so important here: life isn't black and white. We live so often in the gray moments in-between. A man could very easily make a mistake but still be a good man. If there is one thing Camino and Yahaira have in common is their love for their father. He was a good father to them, even if he was a very flawed man. But even more so, there is something to be said about calling what he did a mistake. Is it a mistake to have two families in two different countries? That's something to consider and Acevdeo doesn't take the easy way out with this story.
I will say that I loved the immigrant story and the fight for your identity when you're an immigrant--or even when you're the child of immigrants. For Yahaira, it's not knowing much about the Dominican Republic, a culture she is aware of but doesn't know as well. Camino, on the other hand, has always known about New York City and has always fantasied about living in the big city. For both girls, they are tied to geographical locations in ways that are not easy to define. That push and pull both girls feel was so relatable to me. As an immigrant from India, who grew up there, but has lived mostly in the US, that push and pull between my identify and where I live (but where my culture is from) is so strong. I don't know if anything I have said makes sense, but I really loved this part of the story.
If there is one criticism I have of Clap When You Land, it would be the struggle of telling the difference between Yahaira and Camino. While there are some differences--aside from where the girls live--I found that it was still hard for me to tell them apart. There were so many moments where I felt as though I was reading the thoughts from one sister when it was actually the other sister.
All of that said, I have to admit that I still loved this story and it's so incredibly well written. Elizabeth Acevedo really knows how to pack a punch in poetry. It's not an easy feat to achieve but there is no one else in YA today that I think can do it the way she can.
Add your comment