I was a little intimidated to read Clap When You Land. It's a YA but it's written in verse. Whenever I try and read classic novels written in verse, I end up daydreaming rather than focusing on the words and wind up missing so much of the story. But the lyrical writing is done perfectly. It speeds up the story at times. Slowing it down at others. The verse really heightens the moods of the story and feelings of the characters.

Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic with her aunt. She lives for the summer months when her father visits. But this year, rather than meeting her father at the airport she is met by crowds of crying people.

Yahaira Rios lives in New York with her parents, with a father who travels home to the Dominican Republic once a year. Soon after her Papi leaves, her mother meets her at school with the devastating news that Papi has died in a plane crash.

Dealing with their own grief and loss, the girls soon discover the secret that's been kept from them. Each other. 

Told from the perspective of each girl, we seem them reeling with the sudden loss of their father and the unsettling discovery of their half sister. 

The story is fiction, but inspired by the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in November 2001. Largely ignored by the media, the deadly crash left the Dominican Republic and the Dominican community in New York in mourning. Elizabeth Acevedo explores the grief and uncertainty experienced by the victims' family in this book.

The story also explores financial insecurity, family bonds, the culture of the Dominican Republic, and a queer relationship.

There's a whole lot of grief wrapped up in a whole lot of love. I really enjoyed Clap When You Land. It's a quick read that I didn't want to put down.