Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

Reviewed by Abby

Camino and Yahaira are only two months apart in age but lead very different lives in two different countries.  In the Dominican Republic, Camino does healing work with her mother and swims in the ocean in her free time. She is only able to afford school with the money her father leaves her family but dreams of going to medical school in the United States one day.  Meanwhile, in New York Yahaira has a caring girlfriend and loves to play chess competitively. She never has to worry about money.  Camino and Yahaira do have one thing in common, though:  they each love their papi, their father, very very much.

And it’s the same papi.  Yes, he has two families, but neither daughter knows. Other family members do know, but they had decided not to tell the girls to avoid having them view their papi in a negative light. 

Then Papi dies in a plane crash on his way from New York to the Dominican Republic to visit Camino’s family. First there is the shock of losing their beloved papi, followed by the shock of learning about his double life.  The girls feel confused and betrayed by their families for hiding such a huge secret. They are also jealous of each other and begin to question why papi chose to travel so often. Who did he really love more?

Clap When You Land showcases the development of grief and familial bonds. Acevedo’s powerful way with words has resulted in a beautifully narrated Young Adult novel that will appeal to adult readers as well. Acevedo was a slam poet before she began writing books. She chose to write this novel in poetic free verse, which makes for a lighter read. It is astonishing to me how she was able to capture the emotions within this story so easily with her use of poetry. I finished it quickly even with its 432 page count!

(Not so fun) fact: This plane crash was actually based on a true event. On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 was set to travel from New York to the Dominican Republic. The plane ended up crashing before it departed the city and left no survivors. This was a significant date in Dominican and American history that was unfortunately overshadowed by the events of 9/11 once people learned it was not caused by a terrorist attack.

I would highly recommend this book, especially because of its tie in with the true historical event. I had not heard about the Flight 587 plane crash until after reading Clap When You Land, even though it was a truly monumental incident in U.S. history.