While Yahaira reels from the news, hoping against odds for survivors, Camino is stalked by a street hustler named El Cero. Papi’s death sets events into motion that will lead both Camino and Yahaira to uncover their father’s many secrets, and one another. Their father, Papi, is traveling between them when his plane, flight 1112, drops suddenly into the Atlantic ocean, killing him and everyone else on board. Her half-sister, Yahaira Rios, is a talented chess player who lives with her mother, Mami, in Queens, New York. This summary guide is based on the 2021 Kindle edition of this book.Ĭamino Rios lives in Sosúa, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic with her aunt, Tía Solana, a powerful healer. Using her lyrical poetry, National Poetry Slam Champion Elizabeth Acevedo delivers a story of sisterhood, mourning, and coming of age that offers insight into the Dominican American community. When the plane their father is on crashes, Camino and Yahaira’s lives are upended, and they are put on a path that will inevitably lead them to one another. Girlfriends kiss during the story, and characters use variations of 'ass,' 'f-k,' 's-t,' 'hell,' and 'bitch.' There are some insults in Spanish, plus brief mentions of cigars, beer, Johnnie Walker, rum, and whiskey.Clap When You Land follows Camino and Yahaira Rios, sisters living on different continents and who are unaware of one another’s existence. Yahaira is a lesbian, and her girlfriend is African American.

The story delicately handles the death of a parent, a plane crash, stalking, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The title is based on the Dominican tradition of clapping when a plane safely lands at its destination, and the book is dedicated to the lives lost on American Airlines flight 587, which was headed to the Dominican Republic and crashed in Queens, New York, in 2001. Parents need to know that Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo ( The Poet X), is a moving novel in verse about two half-sisters who find out about each other after their dad dies in a plane crash. Camino sometimes smokes cigars, and Yahaira tries it once.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Brief mentions of cigars, beer, Johnnie Walker, rum, whiskey.

Clap when you land by elizabeth acevedo