Friday Reads: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

This novel is told in free verse and in the alternating voices of two almost 17-year-olds, who find out about each other and that they are half-sisters only after their father dies in a plane crash.  Yahaira lives in New York with her parents and misses her father when he travels to the Dominican Republic every summer, she thinks it is for business.  Camino lives with her aunt in the Dominican Republic and loves the summer since that is when her father is with her.

It includes their shock and grief at the loss of their father. The pain of overcoming the disappointment & betrayal they feel as they learn about his secret families; and realizing their futures are now at risk too.

It is also a celebration of family, and of the path to a hopefully better future for both daughters.

The author explains that it is a Dominican custom to clap when the plane lands the passengers back in the Dominican Republic.

Acevedo, Elizabeth. (2020). Clap When You Land. Quill Tree Books.

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