When I first read the synopsis of this book I thought it was going to be a book focused on grief, love and how there are some bonds that deeply shape our lives. At first you may think it’s the story of two girls who lost their father and found each other amidst their loss, but there is so much more.

The two main characters are Camino and Yahaira. From Camino’s POV this story is a love letter to her island, where she grew up, and made her who she is today. She also sees the island as something flawed and stopping her from reaching her full potential. It’s the place her father loved and the place that took her mother. Her life on the island is all she knows, but there’s a life outside of it that she craves to taste it.

Then there’s Yahaira, who dreams of her island, an island that is all over her but she doesn’t know. An island that it’s hers, and her father’s, the island that takes her father from her each summer, the island that made them but pushed them away too andt led them to New York.

Dominican Republic is a character in this story, as is the Atlantic Ocean. They bring people together but also tear families apart. Clap When You Land is a book about dreaming and wishing. It’s a book about love, family and grief. It’s a book about two sisters that among their differences find each other.