Scan barcode
sdavis17's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Lesbophobia
erenreads's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
this is an absolutely gorgeous book and i could not put it down. the struggle of knowing staying will hold you back but leaving is just as difficult. i get it. i really do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
nannahnannah's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Even though I haven’t exposed myself to much poetry, I adore novels in verse. But I had trouble with this one feeling more like split bits of prose until I looked up a video of the author reading an excerpt, which really made things clearer. I strongly suggest you check it out if you struggle with that similar issue, too!
Representation:
- the main characters are all (Afro-?)Dominican
- one of the two sisters is also a lesbian/bi
- a secondary character is a lesbian/bi
Camina from the Dominican Republic and Yahaira from New York have just learned that their father has perished in a plane crash. They had no idea each other even existed until the crash unearths truths about their father and changes how they see him, the rest of their family, each other, and themselves.
I don’t read (or find?) novels in verse all that often, but when I do they tend to be some of my favorites. Words are chosen with such care, and I tend to read the books slower to savor them. While I initially struggled with the poetry here, the author reading from the text cleared that up pretty quickly. The opener, too, is especially gorgeously written, where Camina talks about the mud that makes up her island.
I also read that initially the book was written in one sister’s PoV instead of both, which makes sense because one is much stronger than the other’s and their voices are very similar. But Camina’s chapters give me such a great sense of place and emotion. The secondary characters of her world are fleshed out, despite the few words that are allowed to them. Camina’s aunt, her Tía, particularly stands out. But Yahaira’s girlfriend, Dre, is also strong and remains well defined many days after finishing the novel.
Even though my opinion is overall positive, there’s a few things I dislike about Clap When You Land, though they’re mostly small. For a book with a fairly small word count compared to others in its category, there is a large amount of typos, which stood out even more so because of it. Sometimes the Spanish peppered into the English conversation becomes jarring to read, because there's lines of dialogue like, ”Pero if this is what he wanted, then take him back. But we won’t be the ones there to see him buried,” (“pero” and “but” mean the same thing). But complete lines of dialogue written in Spanish don’t have that same jarring effect, and I’m glad they aren’t translated.
And then there are just some other nitpicky things that I wish aren't included due to personal opinion, like Dre taking issue with the way Yahaira was coming out, me wishing the girls were a little bit more critical of their cheating father, and me wishing the book spent more time on Yahaira and Camina’s relationship after they finally met.
But overall it's a beautiful, poignant book dealing with a lot of heavy themes.
Representation:
- the main characters are all (Afro-?)Dominican
- one of the two sisters is also a lesbian/bi
- a secondary character is a lesbian/bi
Camina from the Dominican Republic and Yahaira from New York have just learned that their father has perished in a plane crash. They had no idea each other even existed until the crash unearths truths about their father and changes how they see him, the rest of their family, each other, and themselves.
I don’t read (or find?) novels in verse all that often, but when I do they tend to be some of my favorites. Words are chosen with such care, and I tend to read the books slower to savor them. While I initially struggled with the poetry here, the author reading from the text cleared that up pretty quickly. The opener, too, is especially gorgeously written, where Camina talks about the mud that makes up her island.
I also read that initially the book was written in one sister’s PoV instead of both, which makes sense because one is much stronger than the other’s and their voices are very similar. But Camina’s chapters give me such a great sense of place and emotion. The secondary characters of her world are fleshed out, despite the few words that are allowed to them. Camina’s aunt, her Tía, particularly stands out. But Yahaira’s girlfriend, Dre, is also strong and remains well defined many days after finishing the novel.
Even though my opinion is overall positive, there’s a few things I dislike about Clap When You Land, though they’re mostly small. For a book with a fairly small word count compared to others in its category, there is a large amount of typos, which stood out even more so because of it. Sometimes the Spanish peppered into the English conversation becomes jarring to read, because there's lines of dialogue like, ”Pero if this is what he wanted, then take him back. But we won’t be the ones there to see him buried,” (“pero” and “but” mean the same thing). But complete lines of dialogue written in Spanish don’t have that same jarring effect, and I’m glad they aren’t translated.
And then there are just some other nitpicky things that I wish aren't included due to personal opinion, like Dre taking issue with the way Yahaira was coming out, me wishing the girls were a little bit more critical of their cheating father, and me wishing the book spent more time on Yahaira and Camina’s relationship after they finally met.
But overall it's a beautiful, poignant book dealing with a lot of heavy themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Stalking, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape
also: adultery, sex traffickingm_loves_books's review against another edition
5.0
Phänomenales Buch 💛💛💛
In einem Tag als Hörbuch durchgehört
Trauer wird unglaublich echt und glaubwürdig dargestellt
Beide Perspektiven sind für mich gleich interessant
Die Beziehung zwischen Yahaira und ihrer Freundin steht nicht im Vordergrund, sticht aber durch ihre nicht Toxität hervor und ist einfach herzerwärmend.
Generell die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen haben mir sehr gut gefallen und waren meines Erachtens sehr realistisch.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Minor: Emotional abuse
yayokay's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
elizabeth acevedo, are you okay? anyways, so good. the evocation of grieve is well written. i've noticed that with acevedo's books, the plot seems dragged on for a while; until it is resolved at the end. i would say that 75% into the book, the storyline seems repetitive for about 50 pages. after those fifty pages, i find myself excited to continue. this might be for suspense, or just something i've noticed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Rape
bgirl1214's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape, Stalking, and Sexual violence
Minor: Cancer and Infidelity
ashley_1206's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
4.5-5⭐️
i’m stuck between these two ratings because the book was something i didn’t expect. like yes we learn about two daughters that found eachother but honestly this book was so much more.
this book was so heavy. and the writing style made it the book so easy to fly through but also gave it so much emotion. i’m in love with these characters bc i connected with them on so many levels.
being dominican, this book was such a huge representation for the community. and having family in DR, the story really portrayed everything it was so realistic that it hurt.
i love this book because of the representation, the characters, the story. just yes. (my favorite quotes belong on pages 323 and 416!)
i’m stuck between these two ratings because the book was something i didn’t expect. like yes we learn about two daughters that found eachother but honestly this book was so much more.
this book was so heavy. and the writing style made it the book so easy to fly through but also gave it so much emotion. i’m in love with these characters bc i connected with them on so many levels.
being dominican, this book was such a huge representation for the community. and having family in DR, the story really portrayed everything it was so realistic that it hurt.
i love this book because of the representation, the characters, the story. just yes. (my favorite quotes belong on pages 323 and 416!)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Rape, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, and Sexual assault
jazminnnnnnn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, and Rape
courtneyhollyy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Stalking, Rape, and Sexual assault
bash5617's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Trafficking, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual assault, Cancer, and Rape