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A review by clovetra
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i do truly adore the message of this book. the language, the ending, the story in general is quite touching.
this book was already going to be a tough one for me, as my dad passed away whilst i was a child, so i could relate a lot to the feelings in this story. reading about zoila's grief was especially hard, as although i dont remember my own grief as a child, i do remember my mums.
i loved yahaira & her story, i felt i very much related to her, esp with her anger towards life. also shout out sapphics i love herrrrrrr
now camino..... im sorry i found her insufferable. and that was probably one of my biggest issues with this book. her anger towards yahaira unfair. realistic? yes. did it also annoy me? yes! like this girl did nothing to you. its realistic but idk it felt like i had to pick a side, and i will always align with the gay bitch sorry.
i wont lie tho i didnt like camino from the beginning 🫣 she just didnt grow on me, and then was just a dumb character with her decisions. most of her plot followed her & el cero, but im sorry why didnt she just tell someone. literally at least one person. yahaira made dumb decisions sure but they were relative to grief. camino's dumb decisions were as a result of pride and idk i cant stand that shit.
the story felt rushed in a lot of places but also what do i want this is a poetry book. ofc its gonna be short. theres like 4 words on a page.
the ending was sweet, i will admit. but honestly when half the story is following camino and i dont really like her, its hard. i do overall like the story, i did find it good, god i just couldnt stand camino at all. maybe its because i decided to be number one dick rider for yahaira cuz shes sapphic & camino was angry at yahaira for like 60% of the book. idk. its 3am and all i know is that i didnt like camino. i might come back in the morning & write more but yeah. this was a book! nothing too good, but nothing too bad either. perfectly average
edit: ok im back. more proper thoughts:
- plot needed more fleshing out imo, but also im not too mad about this seeing as this is a poetry-based story
- characters felt one-dimensional
- i didn’t grow to care about anyone really except yahaira but even then i wasn’t worried for her
- predictable story
- i loved the language used but my ass had to google like half this book cuz i don’t speak spanish
- poetry itself was lovely and very relatable
i sound like i hated this book but it was perfectly average (for me)
this book was already going to be a tough one for me, as my dad passed away whilst i was a child, so i could relate a lot to the feelings in this story. reading about zoila's grief was especially hard, as although i dont remember my own grief as a child, i do remember my mums.
i loved yahaira & her story, i felt i very much related to her, esp with her anger towards life. also shout out sapphics i love herrrrrrr
now camino..... im sorry i found her insufferable. and that was probably one of my biggest issues with this book. her anger towards yahaira unfair. realistic? yes. did it also annoy me? yes! like this girl did nothing to you. its realistic but idk it felt like i had to pick a side, and i will always align with the gay bitch sorry.
i wont lie tho i didnt like camino from the beginning 🫣 she just didnt grow on me, and then was just a dumb character with her decisions. most of her plot followed her & el cero, but im sorry why didnt she just tell someone. literally at least one person. yahaira made dumb decisions sure but they were relative to grief. camino's dumb decisions were as a result of pride and idk i cant stand that shit.
the story felt rushed in a lot of places but also what do i want this is a poetry book. ofc its gonna be short. theres like 4 words on a page.
the ending was sweet, i will admit. but honestly when half the story is following camino and i dont really like her, its hard. i do overall like the story, i did find it good, god i just couldnt stand camino at all. maybe its because i decided to be number one dick rider for yahaira cuz shes sapphic & camino was angry at yahaira for like 60% of the book. idk. its 3am and all i know is that i didnt like camino. i might come back in the morning & write more but yeah. this was a book! nothing too good, but nothing too bad either. perfectly average
edit: ok im back. more proper thoughts:
- plot needed more fleshing out imo, but also im not too mad about this seeing as this is a poetry-based story
- characters felt one-dimensional
- i didn’t grow to care about anyone really except yahaira but even then i wasn’t worried for her
- predictable story
- i loved the language used but my ass had to google like half this book cuz i don’t speak spanish
- poetry itself was lovely and very relatable
i sound like i hated this book but it was perfectly average (for me)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Classism