Clap When You Land

Sixteen-year-olds Camino Rios, of the Dominican Republic, and Yahaira Rios, of New York City, are devastated to learn their father died in a plane crash and stunned to learn of each other's existence. Each must confront sudden bereavement and the wrenching realization that the life she knew did not include the other daughter, forcing both to reassess their memories of their father and the ties that defined them. Told in verse and written as two distinct voices, the novel alternates between Camino's perspective in the Dominican Republic and Yahaira's perspective in New York City. The spare, lyrical poems capture how shock and grief propel the two girls toward one another, exploring family secrecy, identity, and the fragile emergence of a complicated sisterhood.