Elizabeth Acevedo has gotten tons of acclaim for her first two books - her debut in free verse, The Poet X, won multiple awards, and With The Fire on High has gotten great reviews also. So I was excited to read Clap When You Land, as it sounded like such an interesting concept. Yahaira and Camino, two teenage girls, both lost their father in the disappearance of a plane which crash-landed as it flew from New York to the Dominican Republic. What neither girl knows, prior to this book, is that their father is the same person, a man with two families, two lives, whose death will place them on an inevitable collision course.
Two very different girls, one living in DR and one living as a child of immigrants in New York, both dealing with trauma and grief as they adjust to their new normal after the loss of their father. The jarring disconnect between Camino's life in DR, and the poverty around her, compared to Yahaira's relatively comfortable life in New York, perfectly highlights the juxtaposition inherent in economic migrants.
The novel is written in free verse, each page a new and fluid section. It can lead to some feelings of disjointedness as each point is kept relatively short. That said, though, the lyrical gorgeousness of Acevedo's writing shines through in every poem. There are wonderful thoughts and musings on family, identity, flawed parents, and embracing who you are. There is so much love pouring through every page from the writer towards New York, DR, and the Dominican-American community, and the writing style here is beautiful.
The two sisters sometimes have overlapping styles of writing, which I think is intentional, as it highlights the parallels between these two girls, although it can be a tad confusing if you forget whose chapters you're in. That's probably my fault for not paying enough attention though. The other thing I found slightly difficult in the book was the frequent sprinkling of Spanish words. I realise that this is because the book isn't written for me, although of course I enjoyed reading it, so I don't necessarily think this is a weakness of the book itself, but it did make it more difficult for me. I spent a fair amount of time googling Spanish translations.
Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this gorgeous verse novel, and will likely hunt out some of her earlier books as well, as Acevedo's writing is really very beautiful.
Two very different girls, one living in DR and one living as a child of immigrants in New York, both dealing with trauma and grief as they adjust to their new normal after the loss of their father. The jarring disconnect between Camino's life in DR, and the poverty around her, compared to Yahaira's relatively comfortable life in New York, perfectly highlights the juxtaposition inherent in economic migrants.
The novel is written in free verse, each page a new and fluid section. It can lead to some feelings of disjointedness as each point is kept relatively short. That said, though, the lyrical gorgeousness of Acevedo's writing shines through in every poem. There are wonderful thoughts and musings on family, identity, flawed parents, and embracing who you are. There is so much love pouring through every page from the writer towards New York, DR, and the Dominican-American community, and the writing style here is beautiful.
The two sisters sometimes have overlapping styles of writing, which I think is intentional, as it highlights the parallels between these two girls, although it can be a tad confusing if you forget whose chapters you're in. That's probably my fault for not paying enough attention though. The other thing I found slightly difficult in the book was the frequent sprinkling of Spanish words. I realise that this is because the book isn't written for me, although of course I enjoyed reading it, so I don't necessarily think this is a weakness of the book itself, but it did make it more difficult for me. I spent a fair amount of time googling Spanish translations.
Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this gorgeous verse novel, and will likely hunt out some of her earlier books as well, as Acevedo's writing is really very beautiful.