Clap When You Land, a review

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is the second audiobook I’ve listened to by this author and I definitely think that their audiobooks are the way to go! Acevedo read’s them herself and with both Clap When You Land and The Poet X being in verse it’s great to hear it read specifically how she intended.

Not only is this narrated by Acevedo, but it’s actually dual narrated with a narrator for each sister. I loved this as it made sure that each was kept clear and distinct and they had their own style.

I also really enjoyed that this book not only covered Flight 1112 to the Dominican Republic from NYC (the primary focus of the book), but it also delved deeper into the cultures. It delved into being Dominican American and how that differs from being Dominican in both the cultural identity and simply how the girls grew up. Both financially and culturally.

It also doesn’t skirt away from the incredibly complicated relationship that is present between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and how this has real life impacts on people. Adding to that, this book just doesn’t hold any punches at all when it comes to tough topics. I adore Acevedo for this. She’ll dive in the deep end and take you with her, a comforting hand to guide you, but you’ll be told the harsh truth.

In CAWPILE I rated this book: Characters: 7, Atmosphere: 9, Writing: 8, Plot: 8, Intrigue: 7, Logic: 8, and Enjoyment: 7 which gives a score of 7.71 and a rating of 4*s.

I think With the Fire On High isn’t written in verse like this book and Poet X, but I’m still excited to delve into it and see how I feel about Acevedo’s writing in a different medium!

Highlight here for trigger warnings: assault, attempted rape, attempted sexual assault, cheating, death (parent), grief, parental death, parental separation, plane crash, premature labour, risk of child death (neonatal), sexual assault, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, threat of forced sex work.

Have you read anything by Acevedo? What did you think? Let me know!

Listen to some slam

This is a YA book which has been quite hyped online, and because of that I had avoided it for a while. Also because contemporary isn’t really my thing. But in the end I picked it up, in audiobook format, and damn am I glad I did.

The Poet X is a powerful book, written in poetry and the audio is narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo herself. I felt my own teenage years within this, it was so raw and powerful and relate-able. Our Afro-Latina main character has had such a different life to my white British self, with such different struggles, different goals and aims. Yet here I was, on the bus home, tears streaming down my face.

This is definitely a book where you should listen to the audio. As it’s written in verse, having Acevedo read it out to you in the way she intended is powerful and it makes Xiomara’s slam poetry feel even more intense and raw.

I one million percent recommend listening to this amazing book. I’m so glad that I randomly picked this up and I definitely need to read more from Elizabeth Acevedo in the future.