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A review by andra_mihaela_s
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.5
4.5 stars!
This is the second book I read by Elizabeth Acevedo and I must say that hers is the only poetry I'm interested in!:)))
We follow 2 sisters finding out about each other due to their tragic connecion to the second deadliest plane accident in the history of US.
Content Warnings: death of a parent; infidelity; attempted rape; sexual harassment; traumatic childbirth.
This novel in verse is amazing in it's contruction...how seamless the story is written and how easy is for the reader to experience the Dominican Republic through Camino's, and later on, Yahaira's eyes; it's a great homage to the people lost in the real accident and thier families, being inspired by secrets and shattered hero images as the author mentiones in her note; and more than that...it's a beautiful story of family growing stronger through loss.
I instantly loved the 2 girls! They have distinctive voices, one being silent in her grief over her hero vanishing in the smoke of lies uncovered-one that failed her when it mattered most, and one...an angry sort of quiet, a stubborn refusal of sharing and receiving, a rock that lets the nature scream for her!
It's quite impressive how using the same characteristic...the silent sort of girl...Acevedo creating such different people!
I think I can safely say all these characters are comunicating without words, from the girls, to the aunt (tia Solano) and Yahaira's mother, Zoila (for whom I have a deep respect. I truly could not put up with what she did >...>) and the dead. This is a book based on listening with your other senses.Fascinating!
Still...I would have enjoyed this even more if our 2 sisters comunicated a little bit more, if they would have had another bonding moments before the climax.(This may not be what you'll think...after all I usually want more emotions from my characters...even the silent ones who have a pretty solid reason to not want to share themselves with others..>..>...so take this with a grain of salt...)
As much as I like our main cast, the pivotal part - the MC in absentia - the faher "Papi" is not on my list. I quess this is because I won't ever forgive such a person no matter what. I understand that maybe this has a different weight for every human, but betrayal is not easily forgiven or forgotten in my book. This is way I couldn't understand how the 2 sisters could move so fast (for me! mind you we have a period of shock, denial, anger and sadness for each girl!) to acceptance and beyond.
Don't get me wrong! I'm perfectly happy how the book ended and how the girls dealt with the news of a sister previously unknown, but the constant lamenting over a man that failed every woman in his life was not something I could agree with....especially when Yahaira needed him and he showed her only contempt, and Camino was left in such a dangerous situation.
About this situation...I will not address it being a spoiler, but it's definetely a negative for me...how come he did not speak about this issue with tia???? or Zoila??? how come they don't find evidence for this "attempt at protection" after his death??? ..and WHY ON EARTH YOU WILL LET YOUR DAUGHTER IN SUCH A UNCERTAIN SITUATION WHEN YOU'RE GONE????
For those of you that read the book..I'm referring to El Cero.
In terms of plot and atmosphere... I was a little bit surprised about the type of heavy in encountered here..sure, we have grieve and anger/ betrayal as main focus, but also feelings of abandonment to the fates (exemplified by Carline's story and hardship in life), of fighting a loosing battle when you feel everybody tells you no, it's not meant for you...safe to say, I resonated a lot with Camino! ^^
The plot was also complemented with surprises..one of them being Carline's journey..I just wanted a little bit more when it come to the climax of the story...high emotions can and will take over you under constant pressure, but Camino's decision put her in a danger she wasn't prone to taking...
As themes discussed we have: sex tourism, infidelity and how that affects family, parallel families in Dominican culture and how accepted they are by older generations, the importance of family and heritage in Dominican culture.
In conclusion, despite my personal gripe with how such a father can be forgiven and how the danger was dealt with, this book is an unique coming of age story about family and loss, grieve and the process of acceptance, that also tackles what it means to be Dominican, life on the island and everyday hardships of women of that culture everywhere in the world.
If you enjoy/are interested about any of this, please pick up the audiobook!( The author herself reads it and that is a major plus when it comes to poetry!)
Enjoy
This is the second book I read by Elizabeth Acevedo and I must say that hers is the only poetry I'm interested in!:)))
We follow 2 sisters finding out about each other due to their tragic connecion to the second deadliest plane accident in the history of US.
Content Warnings: death of a parent; infidelity; attempted rape; sexual harassment; traumatic childbirth.
This novel in verse is amazing in it's contruction...how seamless the story is written and how easy is for the reader to experience the Dominican Republic through Camino's, and later on, Yahaira's eyes; it's a great homage to the people lost in the real accident and thier families, being inspired by secrets and shattered hero images as the author mentiones in her note; and more than that...it's a beautiful story of family growing stronger through loss.
I instantly loved the 2 girls! They have distinctive voices, one being silent in her grief over her hero vanishing in the smoke of lies uncovered-one that failed her when it mattered most, and one...an angry sort of quiet, a stubborn refusal of sharing and receiving, a rock that lets the nature scream for her!
It's quite impressive how using the same characteristic...the silent sort of girl...Acevedo creating such different people!
I think I can safely say all these characters are comunicating without words, from the girls, to the aunt (tia Solano) and Yahaira's mother, Zoila (for whom I have a deep respect. I truly could not put up with what she did >...>) and the dead. This is a book based on listening with your other senses.Fascinating!
Still...I would have enjoyed this even more if our 2 sisters comunicated a little bit more, if they would have had another bonding moments before the climax.(This may not be what you'll think...after all I usually want more emotions from my characters...even the silent ones who have a pretty solid reason to not want to share themselves with others..>..>...so take this with a grain of salt...)
As much as I like our main cast, the pivotal part - the MC in absentia - the faher "Papi" is not on my list. I quess this is because I won't ever forgive such a person no matter what. I understand that maybe this has a different weight for every human, but betrayal is not easily forgiven or forgotten in my book. This is way I couldn't understand how the 2 sisters could move so fast (for me! mind you we have a period of shock, denial, anger and sadness for each girl!) to acceptance and beyond.
Don't get me wrong! I'm perfectly happy how the book ended and how the girls dealt with the news of a sister previously unknown, but the constant lamenting over a man that failed every woman in his life was not something I could agree with....especially when Yahaira needed him and he showed her only contempt, and Camino was left in such a dangerous situation.
About this situation...I will not address it being a spoiler, but it's definetely a negative for me...how come he did not speak about this issue with tia???? or Zoila??? how come they don't find evidence for this "attempt at protection" after his death??? ..and WHY ON EARTH YOU WILL LET YOUR DAUGHTER IN SUCH A UNCERTAIN SITUATION WHEN YOU'RE GONE????
For those of you that read the book..I'm referring to El Cero.
In terms of plot and atmosphere... I was a little bit surprised about the type of heavy in encountered here..sure, we have grieve and anger/ betrayal as main focus, but also feelings of abandonment to the fates (exemplified by Carline's story and hardship in life), of fighting a loosing battle when you feel everybody tells you no, it's not meant for you...safe to say, I resonated a lot with Camino! ^^
The plot was also complemented with surprises..one of them being Carline's journey..I just wanted a little bit more when it come to the climax of the story...high emotions can and will take over you under constant pressure, but Camino's decision put her in a danger she wasn't prone to taking...
As themes discussed we have: sex tourism, infidelity and how that affects family, parallel families in Dominican culture and how accepted they are by older generations, the importance of family and heritage in Dominican culture.
In conclusion, despite my personal gripe with how such a father can be forgiven and how the danger was dealt with, this book is an unique coming of age story about family and loss, grieve and the process of acceptance, that also tackles what it means to be Dominican, life on the island and everyday hardships of women of that culture everywhere in the world.
If you enjoy/are interested about any of this, please pick up the audiobook!( The author herself reads it and that is a major plus when it comes to poetry!)
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
Moderate: Death of parent and Trafficking
Minor: Infidelity