Review: Clap When You Land

I am so excited to share with you all today my Review of Clap when you land by Elizabeth Acevedo. This month I found new favorite author! I am definitely a fan and can’t wait to read all her books.

Synopsis

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.

Why did I choose to read this book

I’ve seen this book everywhere on Instagram and the cover is gorgeous. Underneath the dust jacket the actual hard cover is so pretty (see below for a picture of it!). I know we’re not supposed to judge books by its cover but I can’t help it!

Rating

5 Stars (An absolutely amazing book!)

My Thoughts

I don’t know how to write a review that would do this book justice. From the beautiful writing, to the complex characters this book is my definition of a 5 star book. I hugged it when I finished and I automatically ordered a copy of With the fire on High because I need more from Elizabeth Acevedo.

This is the first book written in verse that I read and I loved it! I don’t think this style is for everyone but I personally really enjoyed it and found that I read the book really fast because of the format. The story is breathtakingly beautiful. The topics addressed include love, loss and family.

The book is set part in the Dominican Republic and part in NYC. I loved experiencing the Dominican culture both at the Dominican Republic and NYC. It is very similar to Puerto Rican culture so it always takes me home when I read books set there. As a Latinx it reminded me that home is with me no matter where I go and it made me nostalgic.

Learning about the true events that inspired the story made it even more special. I wasn’t aware of the plane crash of flight 587 in 2001 which crashed in Queens, NY on its way to the Dominican Republic. It happened just a few months after 9/11. What a great way to pay tribute to that terrible accident and the people impacted by it.

In this book Acevedo addresses the various layers of Latinx identity that I deeply connected with and I am thankful to have found her. Not only did I find a new favorite author but I’ve recently discovered a new love for the YA genre. This month I read two 5 star YA books and I can’t wait to read more. Let me know if you have any recommendations in the comments.

Characters

This is my favorite character template I’ve done to date! There aren’t a lot of characters in this book but I hope this is still helpful.

Content Warnings

Plane crash, death of a loved one, abandonment, grief, sexual harassment, sexual assault, racism

Who I recommend this book to

This is a must read for YA fans but also for people that aren’t sure about YA. The book deals with some heavy topics so even though it is a YA book it is something Adults would enjoy too.

Get the book!

Did this review of Clap when you land for convince you to read it? You can get the book from Bookshop.org here. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.