Justice for Amiya Braxton: https://www.change.org/p/bre-jackson-justice-for-amiya-braxton
Trigger warnings: Grief, harassment,
Synopsis: In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day 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.
Review: Clap When You Land is Elizabeth Acevedo's 3rd YA book, and the 2nd told in verse. I loved the crap out of this book. First off, if you aren't listening to the audiobook for Elizabeth Acevedo's books, you are missing out in the worst way. Clap When You Land is a dual-perspective story about two girls who don't realize they're related until the dad they share dies in a plane crash. Camino and Yahaira live in two different countries, and the way they manage grief is different. That was, easily, my favorite element to this story. As someone who lost her dad, I always appreciate seeing how characters are able to navigate grief when it comes to losing a parent. Especially when the relationship with that parent is complicated.
Another, obviously, important story element is family. Camino and Yahaira both have to decide if they want to have a new sister in their lives. In general, there are two ways this story could have gone. Camino and Yahaira could have hated each other and cut each other off. Or they could have embraced each other as family and adjusted their lives to accommodate a new sister. Decisions are not as cut and dry as I made these two choices out to be, but those are usually how these stories play out. I'm not going to say what happens, as Elizabeth Acevedo does have hints of jealousy and love between Camino and Yahaira. Like I said, not really cut and dry. One scene that stood out to me was when the sisters were sharing stories about their dad. Camino mentions something about beads, and Yahaira said that she never saw him wore beads. The girls realized that their dad changed himself to fit the environment he was in. Whether that's in regards to his family in DR and America, or the cultural expectations from the countries themselves, I can't say. It made me think a lot about conversations surrounding code-switching. The code-switching conversations I've seen have been mostly in regards to Black people who feel like they need to change how they talk/act depending on who they're around. Clap When You Land could introduce conversations about cultural code-switching and what that looks like. Especially in America. I also don't know if the term code-switching is meant to just be used in the context of Black people and their behavior, or if I used the term correctly in my explanation.
Wonderful story and I absolutely can't wait to see what Elizabeth Acevedo writes next.
5 howls
If you enjoyed Clap When You Land, consider checking out the following books:
The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk (YA story about grief that centers music and a fictional band)
The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds (YA story about a kid who starts helping out at a funeral home)
The Black Flamingo (YA book written in verse about identity and being proud of your entire self)
Synopsis: In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day 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.
Review: Clap When You Land is Elizabeth Acevedo's 3rd YA book, and the 2nd told in verse. I loved the crap out of this book. First off, if you aren't listening to the audiobook for Elizabeth Acevedo's books, you are missing out in the worst way. Clap When You Land is a dual-perspective story about two girls who don't realize they're related until the dad they share dies in a plane crash. Camino and Yahaira live in two different countries, and the way they manage grief is different. That was, easily, my favorite element to this story. As someone who lost her dad, I always appreciate seeing how characters are able to navigate grief when it comes to losing a parent. Especially when the relationship with that parent is complicated.
Another, obviously, important story element is family. Camino and Yahaira both have to decide if they want to have a new sister in their lives. In general, there are two ways this story could have gone. Camino and Yahaira could have hated each other and cut each other off. Or they could have embraced each other as family and adjusted their lives to accommodate a new sister. Decisions are not as cut and dry as I made these two choices out to be, but those are usually how these stories play out. I'm not going to say what happens, as Elizabeth Acevedo does have hints of jealousy and love between Camino and Yahaira. Like I said, not really cut and dry. One scene that stood out to me was when the sisters were sharing stories about their dad. Camino mentions something about beads, and Yahaira said that she never saw him wore beads. The girls realized that their dad changed himself to fit the environment he was in. Whether that's in regards to his family in DR and America, or the cultural expectations from the countries themselves, I can't say. It made me think a lot about conversations surrounding code-switching. The code-switching conversations I've seen have been mostly in regards to Black people who feel like they need to change how they talk/act depending on who they're around. Clap When You Land could introduce conversations about cultural code-switching and what that looks like. Especially in America. I also don't know if the term code-switching is meant to just be used in the context of Black people and their behavior, or if I used the term correctly in my explanation.
Wonderful story and I absolutely can't wait to see what Elizabeth Acevedo writes next.
5 howls
If you enjoyed Clap When You Land, consider checking out the following books:
The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk (YA story about grief that centers music and a fictional band)
The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds (YA story about a kid who starts helping out at a funeral home)
The Black Flamingo (YA book written in verse about identity and being proud of your entire self)
Comments