Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land was an insta-buy for me back when it came out. The Poet X is one of my favorite young adult novels, so I was pretty sure that I'd love this one too. There's no grand story behind why I finally chose to pick it up now - it just happened to be towards the top of a towering stack of books that I'm trying to make my way through. I was excited to finally give it a shot though, and see if I would like it as much as I liked the author's first book.

The novel is written in verse and switches perspectives between two teen girls, Camino and Yahaira. Camino lives in the Dominican Republic and Yahaira lives in New York City. As the story begins, they don't know each other. They are brought together, however, when their father dies in a tragic plane crash. His death brings all the secrets he was keeping out in the open. He had two families on different sides of an ocean. Camino and Yahaira are sisters.

Suddenly united in grief, the girls must work to come to terms with their new reality. Both loved their Papi deeply, and he was a good, caring father. At the same time, he lied to both of them for their entire lives. He betrayed their mothers. He caused a great deal of pain. Reconciling those truths and figuring out if they want a relationship with each other is difficult, emotional work. When Papi's funeral  finally brings Camino and Yahaira face to face, they must decide if they want to come together and make a new family, or if the pain of loss and betrayal will stand between them forever.  

This novel was excellent, of course. It had an interesting premise, well-developed characters, and thoughtful themes about family, love, and grief. Acevedo's beautiful verses were easy to read and felt emotionally genuine. Much like in her first novel, Acevedo's Dominican heritage helped lend authenticity and richness to the story. I was invested in Camino and Yahaira and was rooting for them to work through their pain throughout my reading. This is one of those books feels wise and important and good. It's easy to like. I really don't have any criticisms for it. It didn't hit me quite as hard as The Poet X did, but that's just down to a matter of personal preference I think. This is well worth reading for both teen and adult audiences. 

I don't have much to say beyond that, so this will be an oddly short review! This is simply a very good book from a very good author and it should be enjoyed on its own terms. I do have another Acevedo novel on my shelves, With the Fire on High, and I look forward to checking that one out sometime in the future too. 

Challenge Tally

Total Books Read in 2022: 72