I had this book on pre-order since early April after seeing it crop up on Instagram. The cover is stunning, and the synopsis just pulled me in. It did not disappoint, I loved this book.
Elizabeth Acevedo’s talent for written free verse is outstanding, I didn’t think of myself as “in to Poetry” and then came across Elizabeth and Jason Reynolds. So, I stand corrected, I love me some Poetry and these two authors have inspired me to go and find out more about a genre it would seem I held a prejudice against.
GCSE English Lit did not do the genre of Poetry any justice, just saying.
Inspired by the very real plane crash of flight AA587 on its way to Santo Domingo back in November 2001. Killing 265 people, 90% of them were Dominican or of Dominican descent. Similar to how it’s described in the book, the crash had a large impact on the New York Dominican community.
This book is largely about grief, Clap When You Land is the story of two girls, Camino and Yahaira. One from New York, the other the Dominican Republic. They’ve never met, never spoken, in fact they don’t even know the other exists. But they are sisters. When their Father dies, their journey through grief leads to each other.
It is heart breaking and super relatable to if you’ve ever lost someone you’ve loved. You experience the black holes being created in both girls chests for the Father their worlds revolved around now gone forever, the pain of life never being the same. This is deffo a book you need to have tissues nearby for.
The journey that leads to the girls discovery of each other is deep and sincere and something you can imagine being a natural process in real life. I liked the representation that although these girls had lived 16 years and never knew the other existed that they were able to see their grief reflected in each other and although unsure of each other, were able to gain comfort from that. In a moment of hell, it spat out their saviour, a little piece of the Father still living in each of them.
Written in a dual narrative we spend a lot of time with both girls and learning of the impacts of the loss of their Father in both environment. The writing is so descriptive and detailed that you truly get a feel for life in the New York Dominican Community and life in the Dominican Republic, especially for a young woman. One of the things we see is the risk to young women being taken advantage of by men resulting in owing a “debt” or needing to go to certain lengths to survive, seeing Camino trying desperately to avoid that life for herself after losing the protection her Father had provided her during his life was eye opening to the culture most of us aren’t aware of. This story also taught me more about the culture of the Dominican from the representation of Camino’s Aunt who is a local healer relying on the spirits and knowledge to help those who can’t afford healthcare.
I really enjoyed Yahaira’s contemplations on her sense of identity that was covered in the book, both her parents are Dominican, but she has been born and raised in New York. She thinks on how she can belong to somewhere she’s never been. Questioning her claim to her parents roots. Yahaira’s identity is also referenced by Camino when thinking on her sister later in the book.
Although, the book is based on his death, the girl’s spend some time focusing on understanding and unravelling the complexities of their Fathers unusual way of life. Splitting his time with his two families, 9 months in New York and 3 months in the Dominican Republic. It was touching to see the parental love he had for both his children but the complexity and the impacts on other areas of his life. This really added to the book for me as I had sooo many questions about their Father and how this would impact both girls.
Overall, the writing is beautiful, descriptive and real. It takes you on a journey of emotion. Elizabeth Acevedo is high up in my top authors. I have another of her books on Audible which she narrates herself I’m dying to listen too. I really enjoyed the character presented and how everything connected. Grief is such a sobering topic and not one that I would normally gravitate towards but I’m so glad I ordered this book. The topics of grief, identity and love are presented with care but also with the raw emotion expected. The journey this book takes you on is so valuable, a story of loss, perseverance and change. Losing a love and finding a new one. Light in the darkness.
The only thing I wish was different is I want to know more about what happens after the end!!!
I 100% recommend!!
Elizabeth Acevedo’s talent for written free verse is outstanding, I didn’t think of myself as “in to Poetry” and then came across Elizabeth and Jason Reynolds. So, I stand corrected, I love me some Poetry and these two authors have inspired me to go and find out more about a genre it would seem I held a prejudice against.
GCSE English Lit did not do the genre of Poetry any justice, just saying.
Inspired by the very real plane crash of flight AA587 on its way to Santo Domingo back in November 2001. Killing 265 people, 90% of them were Dominican or of Dominican descent. Similar to how it’s described in the book, the crash had a large impact on the New York Dominican community.
This book is largely about grief, Clap When You Land is the story of two girls, Camino and Yahaira. One from New York, the other the Dominican Republic. They’ve never met, never spoken, in fact they don’t even know the other exists. But they are sisters. When their Father dies, their journey through grief leads to each other.
It is heart breaking and super relatable to if you’ve ever lost someone you’ve loved. You experience the black holes being created in both girls chests for the Father their worlds revolved around now gone forever, the pain of life never being the same. This is deffo a book you need to have tissues nearby for.
The journey that leads to the girls discovery of each other is deep and sincere and something you can imagine being a natural process in real life. I liked the representation that although these girls had lived 16 years and never knew the other existed that they were able to see their grief reflected in each other and although unsure of each other, were able to gain comfort from that. In a moment of hell, it spat out their saviour, a little piece of the Father still living in each of them.
Written in a dual narrative we spend a lot of time with both girls and learning of the impacts of the loss of their Father in both environment. The writing is so descriptive and detailed that you truly get a feel for life in the New York Dominican Community and life in the Dominican Republic, especially for a young woman. One of the things we see is the risk to young women being taken advantage of by men resulting in owing a “debt” or needing to go to certain lengths to survive, seeing Camino trying desperately to avoid that life for herself after losing the protection her Father had provided her during his life was eye opening to the culture most of us aren’t aware of. This story also taught me more about the culture of the Dominican from the representation of Camino’s Aunt who is a local healer relying on the spirits and knowledge to help those who can’t afford healthcare.
I really enjoyed Yahaira’s contemplations on her sense of identity that was covered in the book, both her parents are Dominican, but she has been born and raised in New York. She thinks on how she can belong to somewhere she’s never been. Questioning her claim to her parents roots. Yahaira’s identity is also referenced by Camino when thinking on her sister later in the book.
Although, the book is based on his death, the girl’s spend some time focusing on understanding and unravelling the complexities of their Fathers unusual way of life. Splitting his time with his two families, 9 months in New York and 3 months in the Dominican Republic. It was touching to see the parental love he had for both his children but the complexity and the impacts on other areas of his life. This really added to the book for me as I had sooo many questions about their Father and how this would impact both girls.
Overall, the writing is beautiful, descriptive and real. It takes you on a journey of emotion. Elizabeth Acevedo is high up in my top authors. I have another of her books on Audible which she narrates herself I’m dying to listen too. I really enjoyed the character presented and how everything connected. Grief is such a sobering topic and not one that I would normally gravitate towards but I’m so glad I ordered this book. The topics of grief, identity and love are presented with care but also with the raw emotion expected. The journey this book takes you on is so valuable, a story of loss, perseverance and change. Losing a love and finding a new one. Light in the darkness.
The only thing I wish was different is I want to know more about what happens after the end!!!
I 100% recommend!!