Book Review: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Buy Clap When You Land:

| Bookshop | Libro.fm |

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It started like any other day. The weather was nice, the route was perfectly routine. And then flight AA1112 crashed into the ocean en route from New York to the Dominican Republic, killing everyone on board. When her father’s plane went down, Camino Rios was waiting to pick up her father from the airport in Santo Domingo. Yahaira Rios was going about her school day in NYC. In the wake of a tremendous tragedy that changed both of their lives, the last thing they expected to discover was the existence of each other.

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“How can you lose an entire person, only to gain a part of them back in someone entirely new?”

-Yahaira Rios, Clap When You Land

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♟️♟️♟️♟️♟️ (five stars as rated in strategically placed chess pieces that will make you think they let you win)

What first must be said about this book is that it is an absolute delight to listen to. I am blown away by the talent that is Elizabeth Acevedo. Both her voice and style of writing generated such tangible imagery for me that I was literally move to tears at moments. This book is truly stunning on all counts. I love that Acevedo narrates her own work. I think it gives a different sort of depth to a novel when the author does that. Also, I can’t find any other completed audio book projects by Melania-Luisa Marte but I certainly hope there are a few on the horizon because her portrayal of Yahaira was outstanding!

But one thing I learned from the Saints,

when the crossroads are open to you, you must decide a path.

I will not stand still while the world makes my choices.”

-Camino Rios, Clap When You Land

Buy Clap When You Land:

| Bookshop | Libro.fm |

Elizabeth Acevedo

Elizabeth Acevedo is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Carnegie medal, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High—which was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal—and Clap When You Land, which was a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor book and a Kirkus finalist.

She holds a BA in Performing Arts from The George Washington University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo has been a fellow of Cave Canem, Cantomundo, and a participant in the Callaloo Writer’s Workshops. She is a National Poetry Slam Champion, and resides in Washington, DC with her love. (Copied from the author’s personal website.)

Elizabeth Acevedo (the author)

Other audio books narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo: With the Fire on High, Poet X, Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Dominicana

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Melania-Luisa Marte

Melania Luisa Marte is a Black writer, poet, and speaker from New York living in the Dominican Republic. Marte’s poetry explores many subjects including her Caribbean roots, Black feminism, and self-love.

Her most viral poem “Afro-Latina” was featured by Instagram on their IG TV for National Poetry Month and has garnered over 9 million views. Her work has also been featured by Ain’t I Latina, The Root, Teen Vogue, Facebook, Telemundo, and People En Español.

When she’s not writing or performing, you can find her resting in her hammock or meditating as a self-professed ‘nap queen.’ Marte’s current writing project is exploring Black preservation through land cultivation, herbal-ism, and naps as a bridge to connect to ancestral knowledge. (Copied from the narrator’s personal website).

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Happy Sunday, friends!

Sarah