Clap When You Land - Book Review

 

Clap When You Land

by Elizabeth Acevedo

What is it about:

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.

Papi's death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Camino and Yahaira are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.

In a dual narrative novel in verse that brims with both grief and love, award-winning and bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

What did I think of it:

There's one thing that can be a problem when reading a story that's written in verse:

Sometimes I get lost in the beauty of the verse so I have to reread parts because I lost track of the story.

And yes: that happened a few times while reading this book.

If you're not used to poetry and books written in verse this book might be hard to get into. The sentence structure and the way the text is set up might drag you out of the story, but I can tell you it is totally worth it to read on and get used to the cadence of this story. 

The chapters switch between Camino and Yahaira and you get to know them as their world is falling apart. I was totally engrossed in the story (apart from the times the verse managed to trap me) and felt for both of them. They lost their father in more ways then one: not only is he dead, but the secrets that get exposed make that the picture they had of him gets destroyed as well. 

I think the verse works really well to capture the emotions and enhances the mood of the story. Once I started on this book I was drawn in and read it in one sitting. What a beautiful book!

You bet I'll investigate what other books Acevedo has written.  

Why should you read it:

It's a beautiful and emotional

bu read.y from bookdepository