Clap when you land has an interesting premise- a dual POV told in verse. Normally I find novels in verse to have a surface level narrative, but Clap When You Land quickly falls into a deep rhythm of emotive and evocative language. The novel follows sisters Yahaira and Camino who are oblivious to each other's existence until the man they admire and love, their father, dies in a plane crash. Soon Yahaira travels from her home in New York to the Dominican Republic to meet her hidden family and learn more about her mysterious father.
In PR the sisters must learn to live together in grief, and mourn the father they love while exploring their deep anger towards their situation.
I loved the characters of this book. I felt the deep grief in Yahaira's chapters as well as wanting so badly to hug Camino. The characters are well developed and how they come together to support each other despite the secrets and differences which naturally pit them against each other is beautiful.
The setting of New York and Puerto Rico was an interesting premise and I like how it served to explore nature vs. nurture and the multifaceted identities we all carry with us. The island is written about so passionately the author's love for PR shines through.
Despite my love for the book it did have some downsides. Occasionally the writing veered into purple prose and scrambled to carve deep meaning out of nothing. While the format of verse did allow for connection with the characters to a great extent it was a VERY internal narrative- sometimes being difficult to know the surroundings or what was actually going on outside the character's mind. Despite enjoying the book while reading it it wasn't particularly memorable, I quickly forgot character's names and major plot points. The setting and nuanced female leads make the book but the occasionally fanfic like writing jarred me out of the story.
Overall 3/5 stars, I look forward to what Elizabeth Acevedo comes up with next.
In PR the sisters must learn to live together in grief, and mourn the father they love while exploring their deep anger towards their situation.
I loved the characters of this book. I felt the deep grief in Yahaira's chapters as well as wanting so badly to hug Camino. The characters are well developed and how they come together to support each other despite the secrets and differences which naturally pit them against each other is beautiful.
The setting of New York and Puerto Rico was an interesting premise and I like how it served to explore nature vs. nurture and the multifaceted identities we all carry with us. The island is written about so passionately the author's love for PR shines through.
Despite my love for the book it did have some downsides. Occasionally the writing veered into purple prose and scrambled to carve deep meaning out of nothing. While the format of verse did allow for connection with the characters to a great extent it was a VERY internal narrative- sometimes being difficult to know the surroundings or what was actually going on outside the character's mind. Despite enjoying the book while reading it it wasn't particularly memorable, I quickly forgot character's names and major plot points. The setting and nuanced female leads make the book but the occasionally fanfic like writing jarred me out of the story.
Overall 3/5 stars, I look forward to what Elizabeth Acevedo comes up with next.