I've heard so much about how much of a tear-jerker/heart destroying book this is over the last year or so, and knew I had to read it. Whilst the book didn't *actually* make me cry (I was feeling particularly hard hearted at the time), I did enjoy it and can definitely see why it came with this reputation. The use of a verse narrative made it a quick read that was easy to dip in and out of.
Clap When You Land is told from two perspectives: Camino lives with her aunt in the Dominican Republic, and Yahaira lives with her Mum and Dad in New York City. Both are devastated when they find out their father was killed on a flight to the Dominican Republic and shocked when they find out they have a half sister in another country. With their world's turned upside down, Camino and Yahaira are faced with the tough decision of whether to learn more about their father's second life in exchange for getting to know a sister they never thought they had.
I always have a favourite when a book is told by more than one narrator and in this I felt much more connected to Camino. I enjoyed learning about Yahaira's story and life, but just not quite as much. The book obviously focused on loss, but it also focused on family, growing up and had LGBT elements. I felt like the two girls learning more about themselves and each other through the loss of their father was very poignant and I loved seeing them both really start to come into their own.
I would recommend this if you enjoyed the writing style of Girl, Woman, Other, or for fans of Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard, as both books are YA but don't focus on girlfriend/boyfriend relationships at their core.
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