Megan (thebookishtwins)'s Reviews > Clap When You Land

Disclaimer: I received this free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Camino Rios can’t wait for summer, because it is when her father comes to visit her in the Dominican Republic. But when she gets to the airport to meet her father, she is met by crowds of crying people. In New York, Yahaira Rios is called out of class and into the principle’s office where her mother is waiting for her. Her fathers plane has crashed and he, unfortunately, has died. Clap When You Land is an emotional and moving story about two sisters learning of the existence of each other.

content warning: plane crash, death of a parent, grief, threat of rape, attempted sexual assault

rep: Dominican m/c’s, lesbian m/c, black LI

Clap When You Land is my first Elizabeth Acevedo novel, but I’ve heard phenomenal things about her as a writer — my co-blogger Lauren has read both The Poet X and With The Fire On High and has nothing but good things to say. I went into Clap When You Land kind of expecting to love it and oh boy, it did not disappoint. Clap When You Land is told in verse and I love verse, but don’t read it often.

Clap When You Land has an emotive narrative; it’s sharp and it’s poignant. It’s heartwarming and heart-breaking at the same time. It is about uncovering secrets, finding the truth, discovering family and community, and also it’s a story about discovering yourself in the darkest of times. It’s about loss but it’s also about gaining something too – hope, love, family. At its heart, it is a story of sisterhood.

I loved both Camino and Yahaira and I really loved their relationship. It’s a complicated one, for obvious reasons, but I enjoyed watching them discover each other, share their grief and their anger, and also come to realise that their father was not perfect, but he loved them both unconditionally.

They each both had their own struggles. Yahaira had never visited her parent’s country, and she struggled with what that meant for her identity:

‘If you asked me what I was,
& you meant in terms of culture,
I’d say Dominican.
No Hesitation,
no question about it.
You can find the island stamped all over me,
but what would the island find if I was there?
Can you claim a home that does not know you,
much less claim you as its own?’

There was also a f/f romance with Dre. It was only a small part, but lovely – supportive and cute and it was best friends to lovers!

Camino also had her own struggles in the Dominican Republic. With her father’s protection gone, the local pimp sets his eyes on Camino. He’s cruel and predatory. All Camino wants is to escape – to study pre-med in the United States.

Like I mentioned earlier, I loved the relationship between Camino and Yahaira, but I also loved the role that both Camino’s aunt and Yahaira mother played in both the girls lives. I loved the community spirit and I loved how it highlighted the endurance and strength of women.

Clap When You Land is a story of two girls seperated by countries but brought together by tragedy. A novel I would highly recommend if you enjoy verse novels and if you enjoy powerful and emotive stories.