I remember the emotions I felt while reading the summary for Clap When You Land. I thought about shedding tears, and had I not been in the university library, I would’ve cried for real. It took a little while for me to arrive at reading the book, but when I did, I knew I was in for a very good story. Let me highlight the story synopsis right now.
Synopsis: From the same author of With the Fire on High (read that book review here), Elizabeth Acevedo wrote Clap When You Land based on the American Airlines Flight 587 plane crash. Two months and one day after 9/11 on November 12, 2001, the plane was en route to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic when the plane crashed in Queens, New York shortly after takeoff. None one on that flight survived, and with the vast majority of passengers being Dominican, it took a toll on many Dominicans, especially since some of them knew someone on that flight, whether they were family, friends, neighbors, or acquaintances.
The book is not a fictional retelling of that day. Rather it’s a fictional story about a plane crash and its aftermath in contemporary times. It follows two teenage half-sisters, Yahaira and Camino, who both lost their father in a plane crash. They had never met each other. In fact, they never even knew about each other’s existence. Yahaira had always lived in the U.S., while Camino had always lived in the Dominican Republic. In the weeks following the crash, both girls try to cope with the loss of their father, which consisted of mixed emotions. They have pleasant memories of him, but they also feel angry at him for not telling them the truth about their personal lives. Through grieving and dealing with their given circumstances, they try to find themselves, each other, and cope with their emotions as they continue navigating life.
Review: First of all, I love the book cover! There is a different cover, but the cover shown in this article illustrates the premise better in my opinion. As you can see, both girls are brown-skinned, and their skin colors are mentioned in the book, especially with their father calling Yahaira “negra” and Yahaira describing Camino’s skin as lighter. Their father was dark-skinned and Dominican, and I would like to take a moment to mention that Afro-Dominicans do exist and it is not uncommon nor weird to see Domincans with dark skin. I remember being on HelloTalk, and when searching users from the Dominican Republic, many of them had dark skin. With how the media has promoted light-skinned Latinos and how colorism has been perpetrated in the U.S. Latino community and throughout Latin America, it is easy for people to ignore and look down on dark-skinned Latinos. Thus, I like how the two main protagonists are Afro-Dominican, because it’s time to bust the misconceptions that Latinos are only light-skinned and that being Black and Latino are mutually exclusive.
Though second, the execution of showcasing internal and external struggles is really good! From the sisters’ Dominican identity to mourning to interactions with their family, friends, and the outside world, I like how the characters are multidimensional despite the story’s poetry format.
Speaking of the poetry format, it was a little hard to get into the book during the first few pages, though I managed to follow along fast. I don’t normally read stories in the form of poems, so that was why it took a few moments for me to catch on. The main critique I have about this book was that during the last 100 pages, it was difficult to figure out which sister was speaking. The speaker transitions were shown in the previous 300 pages, which was great. However, within those last 100 pages, there were a few times when I thought Yahaira was speaking, but it was really Camino speaking and vice versa. The plot had really advanced at that point, though I will not spill on what those last 100 pages were about so as to not spoil the story for anyone.
Other than that, the story itself was great! I felt connected with the characters and could envision the story settings. Lots of emotion, the story had a lot of emotion and in a way that you could feel like you’re witnessing the story in real life. When I can envision myself in the story and feel for the characters, that is a big bonus!
Also, I had never heard of the Flight 587 crash before. I had always heard about 9/11 and 9/11 only, so researching that event was eye opening and really made me think about biases when it comes to covering world affairs. In other words, race, ethnicity, and nationality play a role as to who gets sympathy, who gets ignored, and who gets villainized. That varies by event, but it is still something to think about. I appreciate Acevedo for mentioning the flight in the Dedications section, because I learned something new from that!
Final Verdict: I won’t lie. It may be a little hard to follow along at first if you are not into poetry. However, Clap When You Land is still written like a story, so you don’t have to worry about overthinking the dialogue like you would in a Language Arts class (ugh, my worst subject). I am taking half a star away, because like I said, it was hard to determine which and when each sister was speaking during the last 100 pages. But again, it is a really, really good story! Great plot, and with the poetry format, the writing is vivacious without being overly complicated! I love reading stories that push the envelope and make me envision different situations in my mind.
I highly recommend this book! It’s a great read to help you pass time. Go get it!
