Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Clap When You Land

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

468 reviews

bookishevy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Friends, I continue to celebrate #pride and #readcaribbean Month with this tale of secrets, loss, and forgiveness.

Camino lives in the Dominican Republic with her Tia. Yahaira lives in New York City with her parents. The two teens learn they have the same father when his plane crashes while traveling from NYC to the DR. Like The Poet X and some of her other books, Acevedo uses poetry instead of prose to tell this story.

Thoughts while reading: Even though their father Yano spent most of his time in NYC with Yahaira and her mother, he was his authentic self in DR because that was home. Camino and her father seem to have more in common with their love of swimming and shared spirituality. A spirituality that is highlighted through Camino's Tia.

Yano toiled in the U.S. not just to care for his wife and Yahaira, but to send money back to Camino so she could have luxuries others in her village do not. He had big dreams for both of his daughters. He split himself in two and gave each of them a different version of himself. Now that he's gone, they must grapple with his secrets and the jealousies that come with sharing a father they didn't know they were sharing.

Camino is dealing with the resentment she feels toward Yahaira, who had Yano most months out of the year and doesn't have to worry about money. Camino is desperate to get out of the DR, where she has limited opportunities, and men will prey on her. Yahaira is dealing with the guilt of being more privileged than her sister. A privilege that allows her to explore her sexuality without the complications she might have faced in the DR.

Losing a loved one and then finding out they kept parts of themselves from you is like losing them a second time. Camino and Yahaira grieve Yano but are rightfully angry at being kept in the dark. The girls and Yahaira's reluctant mother, Zoila, must learn to forgive Yano and fulfill his wish of bringing his two girls together.

This is a complex family drama that I could not put down.

Content Warnings

leirarae's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It is now weeks later that I write this review and I still think about this book! It made me feel just about every emotion. It made me reflect on my life and not many books make me do that because I like to escape. This was my first Elizabeth Acevedo book and her real and rawness sucked me in like a tornado in the night!

I sympathized with Camino and Yahaira the entire book. Their bond that kept growing warmed my heart. They lost their hero and dealt with the secrets and pain far better than the adults. I wished things happened differently but this book reminded me that everything isn’t glitter and gold.It also taught me life is full of heartache and loss but, there is love in unexpected places and you can choose to do things differently despite the cards you are dealt.

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leslie_c's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

jordanreads24's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

md_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

gwenswoons's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beautiful. I loved the audiobook, as I did with The Poet X - Elizabeth Acevedo’s reading of her own words is just so exquisite, vivid and just full of so much inflection and color. I didn’t love the other narrator in this quite as much as Acevedo herself, but I did really love that there were two voices to highlight and differently shape the two POVs here. Anyway - the writing itself is so incredibly beautiful, with such complexity and layering; and what an amazing thing to read a fictionalized version of this huge tragic event that so many of us don’t know about. As with The Poet X, I love the detailing and care that Acevedo gives to the very specific voice and perspective of teenage girls - just really rare and special.

Content Warnings

befthhh's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Beautifully written, heartbreaking story about the aftermath of a father's long-standing deception of his two daughters coming out. Acevedo's prose is so impactful. I loved hearing from both girl's perspective in their very different homes.

Content Warnings