If someone had grown up an only child and then found out suddenly they had a sibling they had never met, their life would be completely changed. For Yahaira and Camino, their lives had already been turned around by their Papi’s sudden death. Their Papi had been the center of both their lives, but still hardly present in either one. Each with different mothers and in different countries (the United States and the Dominican Republic), the two girls had no way of knowing about their father’s split life - until Yahaira finds a marriage certificate that did not have her own mother’s name on it. Then, several months later, their father dies in a plane crash flying between the two countries. In the aftermath of his death, both families reeling, the sisters discover each other first online and then in person. Yahaira flies solo to DR for their father’s ceremony. While navigating the rules of sisterhood, each girl must measure what their fathers presence in their life really meant to them and how they can reconnect with themselves through their new other half. Clap When You Land explores the meaning of family through a complicated and poignant story that also addresses the topic of sexual assault and, on the sidelines, unplanned pregnancy and queerness. For me, this was a really good read because I had not been expecting that and I wouldn’t have read this book were it not for this assignment. As Acevedo experiments with point of view, the reader learns from both of the girls’ perspectives. She leads up to when their paths finally cross and you see how their surroundings set them apart from one another. It makes me curious to know how similar they would be if they both grew up either in the U.S. or in DR. This book definitely taught me the importance of those people in your life who you might not see on a daily basis, but are still just as important as the ones you do. The fact that it’s written in verse makes it easier for me to connect with the characters, because the author is not afraid to say the things that are often deemed bitter and uncomfortable in normal conversation. I relate to some of the content easier because of this. I think I am more empathetic after reading this book because we, living in rural Iowa, are hardly ever exposed to what life is like in poor countries and what life was really like for Camino. By Elsa J.
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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November 2022
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