'like grains of rice in boiling water, / the bodies outside our little teal house expand. They stand there in shorts & caps, / in thong sandals, the viejos held up by their bastones, / they scramble onto the balcón, / they wrap their fingers around the barred fence, they watch & wait & watch & wait an unrehearsed vigil.'

Camino Rios is waiting at the airport for her father's annual visit to the Dominican Republic when she gets the news of the plane crash. In NYC, Yahaira Rios is in the principal's office when she is told that her father has died in an aviation accident. As events following their Papi's death unfold to close the gulf caused by his lies, these girls find out what happens when a stranger becomes a sister.

You can tell Elizabeth Acevedo is a spoken word poet because her writing demands to be read aloud. It's now my tradition to listen to the audio while I read along to her novels; there's something about her voice that makes the language sing. I never highlight as much as I do when I read Elizabeth Acevedo's writing. There's always so much I want to savour, reread, letting her words tumble around in my mouth like a boiled sweet - Acevedo is entirely in her bag writing in verse and her prose has a powerfully poetic quality. Paperbacks are out of stock everywhere in the UK at the moment but when mine finally arrives, the first thing I'm going to do is reread it armed with my stabilo.

Though the story is told from two perspectives, this isn't a book where you're going to have favourites. Both Yahaira and Camino are treated with such care I feel like Acevedo is writing about her own sisters. She writes young women so so well - their bodies are tapestries of vulnerability, pride and consent - and the way food and feelings are intwerwined in her writing resonates and sends me right back to my grandmother's kitchen.

Xiomara will always have my literary heart, but CLAP WHEN YOU LAND might be her best magic yet.

This was a book that excited me because I love Acevedo’s work so I was keen to read her new book. The book is all written in verse and it just tells the story so beautifully. I thought the story was unique and I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the different cultures. I was engrossed in this story and managed to finish it in a couple of hours.
4/5 stars

full review:
https://isobelsbookishthoughts.wordpress.com/2020/05/05/book-review-clap-when-you-land-by-elizabeth-acevedo/

Thank you Netgalley and Hot Key Books for the ARC.

This book was heartbreaking, it was breathtaking, it was everything and even more.
It's no secret I love Elizabeth Acevedo and her books give and take away pieces of my heart every time I read them.
But this one really touched my heart more than anything I've ever read from her.
If I would give it a realistic rating it would be all the stars in the universe.


"Never, ever, let them see you sweat, negra. Fight until you can't breathe, & if you have to forfeit, you forfeit smiling, make them think you let them win."

Camino and Yahaira are both extremely compelling, imperfect but absolutely realistic voices. I adored how we see them going through different but similar stages of grief. How the different cultures and relationship made them who they are. It was so beautiful seeing them connecting and trying to know each other. I love how the author touched cultural differences, sexualities, prejudice and privilege. As usual it felt organic. It wasn't a show-off lesson, it wasn't written to woke people up, it's not her job to do so. But it felt so natural to have those discussions and that's how you do it.

I also appreciated how each parent wasn't perfect, because that's not real life. People are messy, people make mistakes. Even a father who looks like the hero for these two girls reveals himself to be a terrible husband for both of their mothers. And the pain and grief for his loss mixed with the anger and betrayal of what he did was so well crafted.


I will definitely reread this book as an audiobook because Elizabeth's narrating voice is incredible, and I'm sure I will adore this book even more.


trigger warning: death of a parent, grief, sexual assault.

Clap When You Land was truly excellent, the formatting meant that for me the verse did not come across completely clearly but once I listened to her perform a section (found in a tweet) the pace and balance of the words shines through. I highly recommend you do too if you are new to novels in verse - or just because it is a compelling performance.

This is my first novel in verse (although I have The Poet X on the TBR) but I recently read With The Fire on High and I can safely say I will read anything Elizabeth Acevedo puts into the world. She translates her experiences and knowledge of the world into her character's experiences of the world with a deft hand. And she makes them so damn fantastic that you will stay up way past your bedtime for just a little moment longer with them.

A truly stunning read from the author of Poet X.

A fast-moving, absorbing verse novel which delves into the very different lives of half-sisters Camino and Yahaira. One lives in New York, one lives in the Dominican Republic. Both are unaware they share a father, until he is killed in a plane crash while travelling between the two.

The blank verse format allows Acevedo to really pull out the emotions of this - the shock, the struggle for identity and the acceptance of a new family. There are some great stand out scenes, and we really feel for Camino as she struggles to be true to herself and her own desires.

Powerful, engaging and absorbing.

Clap When You Land is award-winning poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s second novel written in verse and is loosely inspired by the real-life event of American Airlines Flight 587. In 2001 Flight AA 587 was travelling to the Dominican Republic and crashed in Queens, New York, killing two hundred and sixty people; over ninety per cent of the passengers were of Dominican descent and returning home. This dual-narrative story follows the lives of half-sisters Camino and Yahaira Rios, neither of whom know of the other's existence until the sad demise of their father on board the doomed jetliner. Camino resides in the Dominican Republic with her aunt whilst Yahaira lives in New York City and spends a lot of time with her father. Camino only sees her father once a year when he travels to the Dominican Republic to share her birthday with her. As their father's secrets slowly but surely unravel post-death, a deeply emotional, moving and completely compulsive story comes together.

Ahh, don't you just love it when a book that is hyped to high heaven pre-publication manages to outdo itself and surpass everyone's expectations?! That is certainly the case here. I am always amazed by how Acevedo manages to craft a really simple tale but one that grabs your attention and heart from the start. Using a real-life tragedy and embellishing it with a fictional story and characters made this all the more captivating and compelling to me. Whichever way you look at it Elizabeth Acevedo is one hell of a writer whose lyrical prose flows effortlessly and sweeps you up into the story without any trouble whatsoever. The dual-narrative works beautifully to highlight the difference in cultures and in differentiating the lives of the two daughters. It explores the issues of loss, death, grief, sexual harassment, cultural differences, stalking, secrets and the coming together and importance of family and familial bonds.

A truly stunning read and one I implore you to pick up. If you are someone that enjoyed Poet X I guarantee you'll love this too. Many thanks to Hot Key Books for an ARC.

Elizabeth Acevedo has created another story to shine a light on an experience, and to paint a picture that celebrates a certain place/culture. This is the kind of book you’ll pick up and find yourself reading...then look up to realise time has passed, you have finished and the images in your head are as vivid as the moment you read them.
The story focuses on two characters, both girls. One lives in the Dominican Republic and the other in America. Neither knows about the other. But when their father - on his way to stay with his second family - is killed in a plane crash their lives become intertwined in ways they’re not prepared for.
The verse is quite sparse, yet it conveys precisely the mood and experiences of these two girls. The depiction of grief was sensitive, yet there was a positivity to this with regard to how the girls change that I wasn’t expecting.
This was a genuine pleasure to read, and thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it prior to publication.

I devoured Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X last year, so I was delighted to be approved for her latest release on NetGalley. Clap When You Land is another verse novel with high emotion, so expect to whizz through this emotionally-charged family story.

Aspiring doctor Camino Rios lives with her aunt in the Dominican Republic and spends all year waiting for her father to arrive for the summer. However this year, the airport is full of tear-stained faces and Camino learns that her father’s plane has crashed. Chess champion Yahaira Rios is living with her mother in NYC, when she is called into the principal’s office and told that her father has died in a plane crash. Papi’s death unravels the secrets of his life, which has spanned across the Atlantic for years, and brings a multitude of new challenges and blessings into the lives of both of his girls.

Yahaira has a girlfriend called Dre and their relationship is so wonderfully pure. Of course, it’s not the focus of the book but I would have loved some more scenes with just the two of them. In fact, I’d quite like a whole companion novel! Again, Acevedo’s lyrical talents come out in full bloom and I couldn’t help but get the warm fuzzy feels when they were together. It’s exactly how I feel about my own relationship so perhaps that’s why I formed a special attachment to them as a couple.

Camino’s story has an extra heartbreaking dynamic, when she realises that without her father’s money, she may have to sacrifice her dream of attending medical school and becoming a doctor. As Papi was married to Yahaira’s mother first, his New York family are the ones who automatically get his inheritance, leaving Camino at the mercy of them. It’s through her determination that the sisters connect and form a friendship that becomes stronger and stronger.

The chess imagery makes several appearances in the narrative and I loved how Acevedo used it to reflect Papi’s double life. His daughters each inhabit two very different parts of his life and in turn, perhaps they represent two very different sides of him. Camino is the conventional homely Caribbean girl whereas Yahaira breaks all the ‘rules’ of a traditional Dominican daughter by being an intellectual queer American. Papi wanted to make it big in the States but not enough to leave his homeland behind and this conflict materialised in the stark differences between his daughters.


The last 10% of the book ties up some loose ends and reiterates the importance of the sisters finding each other. I finished it full of hope and faith in their sisterhood and friendship. After the hundreds of pages of grief and heartbreak, closure was what was needed and it’s what was delivered. I metaphorically clapped when I landed!

This is a quick, emotional, beautifully written YA family drama that explores the ideas of loss, sacrifice and the strength that can come from them. It’s also an excellent opportunity to sample a Caribbean culture which isn’t featured too often in popular fiction. I predict that this will be another hugely successful book for an author who is becoming a fast favourite.

Steeped in culture, with two strong voices of blooming women who have to deal with world changing grief and a secret that might just be the thing to help them heal. There’s a poetry to the way the narrative flows that makes you want to curl up and let the raw emotion in this book overtake you.

I loved this story, this is the second book i have read from Elizabeth Acevedo and it definitely won’t be the last. Following the story of two girls from totally different worlds coming to terms with loosing their father and the secret he kept. The writing really hits you in the feels.

Yahaira i would say is the better off of the the two, still having her life with her mother in New York and her girlfriend. She still has options available to her. Where as Camino Rios a girl who will get what she wants no matter what, has more of a hard time with her Father passing, her life as she knows it may take a turn for the worst. They’re characters you root for and want to see have the life of their dreams.

Fight until you can’t breathe, & if you have to forfeit, you forfeit smiling, make them think you let them win.

This book delves in to loss and the discovery of not only the character but discovery of how things you think you’ve known all along can be challenged, can be wrong and can make your life unravel. That queens are made everyday through, tragedy, love, loss, family, friends and a will to go after everything you want.

The only downside i had was sometimes i got confused with narrative, the voices were just a little to similar. Sometimes i found myself looking for markers to make sure i knew who i was reading from. This took me out the story a little. Never the less, this book is amazing and you should definitely give it a try if you like a book that makes you feel.

Yahaira Rios and Dre are everything and i would read a whole book about them and how their future unfolds.

One day we were best friends, & the next day we were best friends who stared at each others mouths when we shared lip-gloss. (awwww)

"[...] to walk this world you must be kind but also fierce."

Elizabeth Acevedo's 'Clap When You Land' is a powerful and complex story written in verse, about family, grief and sisterhood. It is a culturally rich and fluid read, with raw & complex protagonists, and an incredible cast of strong female characters, which I absolutely loved!
The book deals with a number of difficult topics, from loss of a family member to sexual assault, in a powerful & unflinching way. But at the same time, this is also a book that is full of hope, love & compassion. I feel as though this really is one of those YA books that transcends genres, and can be enjoyed by both YA and adult readers.
Despite being written in verse, I found it to be a smooth and beautiful reading experience, and I think this would be a great place to start for anyone that is unfamiliar with novels written in this format.

4 stars!

This is a contemporary fiction that features two narrators that of Camino Rios and Yahaira Rios who are estranged half sisters.

Camino Rios lives with her aunt in Dominican Republic while her father works in New York City and gives them money. He visits them once ever summer.

Yahaira Rios lives in New York City with both her mother and father.

However, tragedy strikes when their father's plane crashes but in their grief they discover each other.

I liked how the author had two first person narratives because it makes you understand what the characters are feeling, thinking, saying and what's happening around them. I liked how it's written in verse and has Spanish words or phrases so it's authentic. It would've been even better if these had a translation in the footnote so it didn't feel like I missed part of the reading or understanding of the storyline.

I received an ebook from Netgalley.

This book has been very much hyped and, in my opinion, it is worthy of every bit of hype that it has received. I finished this book in a single day as I was sucked into the vibrant world that Acevedo has created.

This book is heart-warming as we follow the dual perspectives of Yahaira and Camino Rios following the death of their father on the the flight that was meant to take him to the Dominican Republic. Neither sister knew the other existed but, the wake of his death, their father's secrets begin to unravel.

I initially found this book a little challenging as it contains a very liberal sprinkling of Spanish however I do not in the slightest fault Acevedo for this as it is unrealistic that their wouldn't be any Spanish in a book where almost every character is Latinx (not to mention that likely some of the flavour of the language and culture would be lost in translation). If you think that might be an issue for you, do not let it stop you reading this book... instead purchase the eBook version and get familiar with the translate feature on your Kindle!

I have no words to explain how much I loved this book. This was the first book I’ve read by Acevedo, and I hope it’ll be the first of many!

This is a book whose story or characters I can’t relate to in any way in terms of my own personal experience, but I still connected with it so much that I felt every emotion that the words were trying to convey. I genuinely think this is one of the strongest, most powerful verse novels I’ve read.

I have both The Poet X and With The Fire on High on my shelf, so they’re definitely going to be launching right to the top of my TBR pile!

I think this format, of free verse, doesn't entirely work for me. I can appreciate it as a form, and can appreciate that other readers will get a lot from it, but I don't unfortunately. It makes me feel very detached from the story and the characters, which was probably a blessing as the subject matter is very heavy in this book. I didn't know this was in verse when I requested it, and I didn't love Acevedo's novel With the Fire on High, so I think this author just isn't for me unfortunately.

Another book in verse (with many cultural references that I had to go and look up) in Elizabeth's beautiful, poignant and insightful, yet concise phrasing. Her words send you straight to the heart of the person with descriptions so vibrantly delicious and evocative you can almost taste the emotions.
While this was not an easy subject, it was intriguing.
A loss of a father, a discovery of an unknown sibling brought up in a different country and culture, secrets and confusion.
The differences were greater than the similarities. At the end of the day, life goes on, but results of the loss of support and security can seem insurmountable.

If you enjoyed Poet X, you'll love this.

Having previously read The Poet X, I was really excited to pick this up and even more excited that it was written in verse. The story follows the two perspectives of two sisters, who don't actually know that the other exists. I thought that this was a really clever format to take with a book and I loved the dual narratives.

The two interchanging narratives worked well, and it was really clear to see how each was feeling, and reflect this over to how we knew the other was feeling. This really did throw you in at the main plot points very early on and I'd say trigger warnings for death and grief.

The portrayal of grief and suffering was done extremely well and doing this through prose meant that it was dealt with very beautifully and with such elegance.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is my favourite book I’ve read so far this year. Such a beautiful story about family, lies, love, forgiveness and grief. These characters came alive, as did the different lives of both main characters Camino in the Dominican Republic and Yahaira in New York as the grief over the death of their father unearths bigger family secrets. It reached a certain point in the story and I felt like I couldn’t contain all the complicated feelings coming off these pages and crying seemed to be my only option. Crying over the beauty and truth of this story. Especially in the face of the incredible love between Dre and Yahaira and between Camino and Tia. I’m still welling up thinking about it. Anyway, if it’s not clear, I’m recommending this one. Publishes in the UK 5th May.

3.5/5 I was hooked by the premise of this story and love Elizabeth Acevedo's writing, however, this book has a very slow start and doesn't go much beyond the blurb. Perhaps the premise gives too much away, or perhaps the story needed to continue on beyond that a bit more, but I felt like very little information was revealed as I read on. It was the writing that kept me going, with lots of classic Acevedo beauty. The pacing was also very strong thanks to the split perspective structure, except the expression did become a bit repetitive and could've been made more distinct. Overall, not the perfect, beautiful book I was hoping for but still great!

*I will also discuss the book in my April wrap up*

There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to love this book. After reading The Poet X and With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo and rating both as five star reads, I was fully expecting Clap When You Land to join their ranks. What I wasn't expecting was the emotional journey this novel took me on and the tears I shed towards the end!

I've said it before but I'll say it again verse novels are the most powerful form of literature to me, I discovered verse novels by reading The Poet X and I have loved them ever since. I feel such an instant and deep connection to the characters emotions through verse, their trauma and pain is heartbreaking whilst their hope and love is so utterly uplifting.

Clap When You Land was introduced to me through the synopsis at the back of my copy of With The Fire On High, I read about two sisters who were strangers to each other but who would combat their trauma together. I've been desperate to start reading the book since finishing the synopsis, I knew it would be the most beautiful story of discovery.

It's quite difficult for me to process my thoughts into a detailed review when it comes to Elizabeth Acevedo books because all I want to do is scream about how much I love them! What I particularly liked about CWYL was the solidarity between women, there were times when relationships were strained and lines were crossed but ultimately when it was needed, women stood beside other women to support and empower them!

The dual narrative worked perfectly to represent each sisters individual trauma and to explain their backgrounds and personalities. I thought Elizabeth Acevedo managed to make both narratives sound completely different from one another, representing their varying upbringing.

One other point I need to make is.. have you seen the UK cover of this book? I'd hope you have since it's at the top of my review, but isn't it beautiful?! Incase you're still wondering I would most definitely recommend Clap When You Land.

This book was amazing! I love Elizabeth Acevedo. She is amazing.

I heard the synopsis of this book a while back and it was one of the most intriguing stories I'd heard in a long time. Yahaira lives in New York, Camino lives in the Dominican Republic. The girls are sisters but don't know about each other, their dad spending most of his time in NY with family, only going to see Camino once a year on her birthday.

Camino is waiting at the airport to meet her dad for his annual visit when she learns that his plane crashed. What follows a tale of heartbreak, sorrow and grief as the girls come to terms with what happened and learn about each other's existence. As always, I loved Acevedo's writing style and how she differentiated between the two character's perspective.

I highly recommend this. Despite being a sad book, it was very bittersweet and heartwarming.