Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Summary from Goodreads:

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

Review:

This was my first book by Elizabeth Acevedo. I think I actually own two of her other books, but haven’t gotten to them yet. I saw that this book won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction of 2020, and I took it out of my library immediately. I love books in verse and there’s something so haunting about this cover. It keeps drawing my eyes back to it.

I see why people love Acevedo’s writing. It’s filled with such emotion and punch. There were some pages I re-read over and over. Her words are meant to be read out loud. I related to these girls because I also lost my father (rather young). And I felt their grief in my bones. But, this was more than a book about grief. It’s also a book that tackles a socioeconomic divide, sexism, rape culture, and family betrayal. While it’s clear that one sister has it a lot easier than the other sister, it’s also clear that sexism and rape culture is alive and well on all sides of the universe. This isn’t a light read.

But, it’s also powerful. There’s this element of strong women standing up for each other and fighting together for what’s right. A father is gone, but in a lot of respects, he’s been gone for a while. It’s the story of the woman survivors and how they live and prosper without him. There’s family drama, love, chess, plants, swimming, friendships, and video chats.

I sometimes got a little confused by whose chapters I was reading. I’d have to “rewind” and go back a few pages to see whose point of view I was supposed to be in, and I found this annoying. I almost wish there were clearer markers on each page. But, maybe that’s my own fault for not always looking/paying closer attention at the chapter beginnings. I’m also not sure some of the things Yahaira did would have been so easy. She got a lot of money for her sister, travels very far, and accomplished quite a lot, with little to no problems….but, all in all, I get there’d be no story without a little suspension of reality.

I really enjoyed this, especially the writing style. I will most definitely be reading Acevedo’s other works soon. I give this one a 9/10.