CLAP WHEN YOU LAND By Elizabeth Acevedo

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Published by Quill Tree Books on 5/5/20
Genres: Contemporary, Poetry, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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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.

Short and Sweet Review

Camino and Yahaira live very different lives, Camino is in the Dominican Republic and Yahaira is in New York City, but both of their lives are changed when their father dies on a plane crash. Now both girls have to navigate life without their dad and learn about the secrets he kept. Camino lives with her aunt in the Dominican Republic and her father only visits her during the summer. Camino has big dreams she wants to be a doctor and move to the states.

I felt for Camino without her father around she had more of a burden on her shoulders, she couldn’t afford to go to school and she had to watch out for one of the guys in the neighborhood who wouldn’t leave her alone. Yahaira on the other hand felt like she had to keep her fathers secrets but come to find out everyone knew except for her, Yahaira didn’t leave on the best terms with her dad especially because she found out one of his secrets, I feel like she had a lot of guilt about that. Yahaira had spent more time with her dad growing up than Camino did and one thing Yahaira always mentions is how he taught her to play chess. I loved Yahaira’s girlfriend Dre she was levelheaded and was always there when Yahaira needed her.

Yahaira on the other hand felt like she had to keep her fathers secrets but come to find out everyone knew except for her. I liked reading from both girls POV it showed their grief and how they tried to come to terms with everything it was also interesting because Camino and Yahaira didn’t know about each other. When Camino and Yahaira met it wasn’t a happy reunion they were basically strangers but I did like seeing how their bond was developing.

The writing was beautiful and portrayed all of the emotions both girls were feeling at any given moment. I loved having Camino and Yahaira together, they were both amazing characters in their own ways. Clap When You Land was beautiful and heartbreaking but having two sisters unite over tragedy was also heartwarming.