A review by beckyyreadss
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

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? It's complicated

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I’ve enjoyed Elizabeth previously work and wanted to read more. I went into this book blind having no clue what it was about as it was on Kindle Unlimited. This book was a difficult but sweet read.  

This book is based on Camino Rios, and she lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the way 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.  

This book was a difficult read due to the nature of separate lives, separate economies and the grief surrounding these young girls. I enjoyed the style of writing and how it wasn’t a lot of paragraphs and with the different point of views. It made the grief journey more real with the short paragraphs and the wording and how some of them were slow and some of them were longer. I liked the dual POV and how it shows both Camino and Yahaira finding out about each other and how they processed it. I liked how the storyline showed that the grief was different, one was angry, one was in shock. With the way this is written, it is a very easy read, and you don’t really need to think only feel during this book. 

I would have liked more from the relationship before their dad died, I know it was broken with Camino because she found out about the other family before he died, and Yahaira only found out after her father died. I would have loved maybe some prequel chapters about how Camino and Yahaira’s mum met and fell in love with the same man considering they were friends! I was so gobsmacked about that and yet it was just brushed over. It also took me a while to realise it was dual POV, reading this from my kindle, I didn’t notice that the names were bold when it was their POV, and I was getting confused at the start. 

I would love a sequel maybe with a third family or how the sisters are getting on now that Camino is in the states.  
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