Young Adult Fiction: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

We have come to the end of another YA Fest, and while Elizabeth Acevedo’s With the Fire on High may have opened last year’s YA Fest, this year she will close it with her latest novel, Clap When You Land. What do you do when you find out your hero has been lying to you your entire life? This is the question the two heroines of this novel must deal with. And to make matters worse, neither is able to confront the man that has broken their heart, but instead must deal with the new reality of never being able to speak to him again.

The Situation: Camino and Yahaira have a few things in common. They are both 16 years-old, attend high school, and adore their father. For the most part, the similarities end there, as Camino lives in the Dominican Republic with her Tia, and Yahaira lives in New York City with her mother. For nine months out of the year, Yahaira’s father also lives with them, but for the months of June through August, he stays in the Dominican Republic and takes care of Camino, his other daughter. The two girls know nothing about each other, and they soon realize they also do not know much about the man who has split himself between two families. It is only when tragedy strikes, and a horrible plane crash unsettles everything they know, that the truth begin to come out. And the one person they would love to ask questions about it all is no longer alive.

The Problem: Life in the Dominican Republic can be hard, but Camino knows she has it better than most. Because of her father, she goes to a great school, the apartment she lives in with her Tia is paid for, and she has protection from those who would rather she work for them instead of going of to school. But after the plane crash, nothing is certain, especially Camino’s dream of studying at Columbia University in New York and eventually becoming a doctor. Yahaira was able to enjoy her father’s presence for the majority of the year, though she recently learned a little more about why he would take his annual trip to the Dominican Republic. After the plane crash, even more secrets come out, including that he had another daughter the same age. Now the two girls must decide what they want to do with the information. Yahaira’s mother has vowed to never set foot in the Dominican Republic again, but not only does Yahaira wish to attend her father’s funeral, but she wants to meet this girl who looks kinda like her, and has lived a life so different from her own, despite being her half-sister.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction novel set in both the Dominican Republic and New York City as it follows Camino and Yahaira Rios. Written completely in verse, the novel is narrated by both Camino and Yahaira in alternating chapters. And the verse is always different from section to section, even if the speaker has remained the same. Both narrations are lyrical, mostly set apart by the setting and people around them. Camino’s chapters are full of water, and family, and an unsettling sense that danger that is always close by. Yahaira’s sections seem more strategic, perhaps reflecting her background in chess. The two girls are eventually brought together when the person they shared dies tragically in a plane crash. In the author’s note, Acevedo expresses her desire to pay tribute to the passengers of the real American Airlines flight 587, which crashed two months after September 11, 2001, and therefore received little media attention since it was not linked to terrorists. Grief is of course a big theme, but so are family, trust, deception, and what it means to really know someone, especially those we see as heroes.

My Verdict: I have never been good at poetry, either writing it or reading it. With that being said, I have enjoyed both this book and Acevedo’s previous novel-in-verse The Poet X. I struggle to write only one poem, so I am in awe of someone who can write enough to turn them into a full-length novel that is complicated, and beautiful, and unnerving, and sad, and hopeful, and simply fun to read. Some of my favorite novels are the ones that attempt to answer difficult questions, this time being the question of what would you do if you found out one of your parents was essentially living a double life and had been lying to you for years. So many other questions come from that, mostly what else is the person hiding, and who else knew? Acevedo navigates this difficult landscape well, and in poetry! There is not much more I can say really. I can only encourage readers to pick it up for themselves.

Favorite Moment: When Camino stays determined to fight back against a danger from which she no longer has her father’s protection.

Favorite Character: I like both Camino and Yahaira fine, but I found myself leaning more towards Camino and wanting to know what her future will shape up to be.

Recommended Reading: Both of Acevedo’s other novels are excellent, but I also recommend another novel-in-verse, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.