Clap When You Land

Outstanding verse novel. On the death of their father in a plane crash, two girls grappling with grief - one in New York and the other in the Dominican Republic - learn of their father's other family. A very sensitive portrayal of grief, family secrets, relationships and forgiveness.

Camino and Yahaira live on different sides of the world, Yahaira in New York and Camino in the Dominican Republic. Every summer, Yahaira's father leaves her for Camino. And Caminos father left her for her entire life.

They have the same father.

As I read this book, I felt as if I knew the characters, I could feel the grief and the pain as I discover Papi's death. The wonder and not as two sisters find each other. The hardship of bottling it all up inside. I could feel the sand under my toes, see the balcony in the tower. It was brilliantly written, elegant and moving. I would definitely recommend.

Written in verse form, this is a beautiful book to read. It deals with themes of identity, grief, loss, and coming of age.

Amazing.
Elegant poems describe the events with surprising reality.

lovely style, effectively written as poetry.

Another verse book. A great story which has themes of secrets, loss and forgiveness. I struggled with the Spanish dialogue on occasion, but loved it otherwise.

I loved this book! I raced through it quite quickly as it is set out in verse and in a dual narrative. Elizabeth Acevedo has written another great book. I liked both sisters in the story as there characters were both strong and determined. Great themes of trust ,culture, family and identity. The two girls meet for the first time when their father dies in a plane crash, they were unaware of each others existence. Unusual story based upon a real plane crash. I would recommend this book to 13 year old and upwards as there is a little swearing.

I really enjoyed this book. The dual narrative works well to provide the reader with the experiences and perspectives of both young female protagonists. A book that very much offers a diverse view of life, growing up, loss and identity. It's also about family and what that means, how to deal with what life deals you and how you respond. Recommended for 14+.

Fabulous! The verse is so beautiful. The two lead characters are fascinating and the overlaps between the two perspectives is seamless and allows the narrative to feel fluid and fluent. At times, the writing is powerful and moving, at others, it is like reading a conversation with a dear friend. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and lapped up every word.

Verse novel which tells of 2 teenage sisters, one brought up in New York and the other in Dominican Republic, who eventually meet each other for the first time at their father’s funeral. Emotional read.

Amazing read about a part of the world I knew nothing about, written in a poetry narrative, 2nd choice in our Carnegie Shadowing Group.

A beautiful book!

I was lucky enough to be given a manuscript of Clap When You Land and was engrossed from the outset. The dual narrative creating the gentle forming of new relationships makes this novel an absolute stunner. Reflecting on the real life tragedy of American Airlines flight 587, the novel deals with grief, loss, disparity of opportunity and the convergence of two cultures. A stunning read!