Clap When You Land

I was recently looking for new books to read and was checking for audiobooks that won the Odyssey Award (best audiobooks for children and young adults). I saw Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevado on the list, but when I looked it up and saw it was written in verse, I decided I'd rather read that one than listen to it--so I got it from the library. The book description reads,  "Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people… In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other."

This was a good read. I thought it was a super engaging premise, and Camino and Yahaira were both really well-developed characters. It was interesting to consider their father as a person and why he did the things he did. Like he was a good dad to both girls but definitely lived a double life, which is not something I'd consider "good." Anyway, I liked the engaging story and liked how the author pulled things together in the end. The book does have some language and other stuff in it, so I'd say it's definitely an older young adult book.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)