📖 Novel of the Week: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Camino e Yahaira should have nothing in common: the former live in a barrio in the Dominican Republic while the latter lives in a nice apartment in New York City.

Camino lost his mom when she was younger and has only her Tia as a constant adult presence while Yahaira is loved by both her parents.

One would spend her entire day swimming in the ocean and dreams of attending Columbia's Med School, the other is a chess master (even if she quit competing in tournaments) and has no idea of what she wants to do after high school.

Two completely different girls, two strangers...and yet they actually DO have something in common: their dad.

Yano Rio tried to hide his secret from both his daughters, but somehow Yahaira found out his father's marriage certificate with a Dominica woman and has given him the silent treatment ever since...but it doesn't matter anymore, because Yano died in a plane crash while flying to the Dominican Republic, like he did every summer.

What will happen if when and if the two girls eventually meet? Will they blame each other for being the reason why their father died? 

Or will they form an unlikely sisterhood bond precisely because they have both been lied to by the person they loved the most?

👍👎My Thoughts

It's immediately clear that the author is a poetess: the way the phrases are composed and structured, the almost total absence of direct dialogues, the stylistic choice of using '&' instead of 'and'...

To be honest, this kind of writing style is not my cup of tea, but it surely helps to understand the two protagonists' feelings, thoughts, and backgrounds.

The story is sad, tragic when it comes to Camino's one, and that's why I found it somehow uplifting and inspiring the way the two girls, who are barely teenagers, react to the news of their beloved father's death and yet bravely put their grief aside to be of support to what's left of their families.

Another aspect I didn't like was that SPOILER the two girls' first encounter happens well beyond half of the book and, personally, don't think all the events narrated before that are needed, plot-wise...

I still think it's a good story, definitely worth reading, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes to vary from the common writing style and narration methods.

As for me, I don't think I'll read immediately the author's other books immediately...

My vote: 7¾/10

Ph: goodread.com