Author: Elizabeth Acevedo.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is the novel-in-verse you need to pick up ASAP.
For Camino and Yahaira Rios, life without their father is unimaginable. Yahaira Rios lives in New York City. Her anger with her father has been filled with silence for the last year. Camino Rios spends her time in the Dominican Republic dreaming of becoming a doctor and waiting for the time each summer that her father will come home. When their father dies in a plane crash on his way to the Dominican Republic, both Camino and Yahaira's lives are upheaved.
This is one of those few rare books that has an unparalleled expression of grief. It's challenging to find a book that captures grief in its rawest form while still telling a story that encompasses life beyond that loss. Camino and Yahaira lead very different lives. To have seen each of them struggle in their own ways and face grief together was so emotional. I especially loved both Camino and Yahaira’s families and getting to see their different day-to-day lives. As the story progresses, Camino and Yahaira come to figure out what family means for each of them in the wake of discovering the existence of each other. It was easier to separate their point of views given how different each character was. I appreciated the dynamics between Camino and Yahaira as well as how full fleshed out both the setting and the side characters were. I was able to vividly picture each setting despite the short verses that Acevedo wrote in. And I can’t say enough about how beautiful the writing itself was – absolutely exceptional. I’m not usually a fan of novels-in-verse, but this one was so well done. If you’re looking for a shorter read with an emotional impact, Clap When You Land is perfect. This quickly became one of my favorite YA books on the topics of loss and grief. While these might be heavier subjects, I do feel this book is an important one to read.
Kaitlin S.