Hi Everyone!
This is another post about Clap When You Land, my YA Book Of The Month for January. This book has so much to unpack in it so I thought I would write about all that as a series of short discussions. These are spoiler free, but if you are wanting to read this book but haven't got to it yet, maybe save it for after you have read it so that it will mean more. I have been careful to avoid spoilers so if you want to read it, go ahead! If you have no intention of reading the book, then you can still read this post because it approaches themes in the novel that you may be interested in.
To learn more about this book, click here!
Yahaira's Girlfriend
Homosexuality in Dominican Republic, how we think people will react based off assumptions, coming out/family bonds
There is a very telling page, where Yahaira (the American one) introduces her girlfriend to Camino.
"She says this firmly. Looking me in the eye.
I know what she thinks. I will condemn her
for being gay. Homosexuality is complicated here."
I then did some research, and this is what I found:
'Public displays of homosexual affection are illegal in the Dominican Republic, carrying sentences of up to two years in prison.' - Wikipedia
'Members of the LGBT Community in the Dominican Republic are victims of hate crimes, extortion by the police, and discrimination when it comes to resources and employment services. They also face discrimination when seeking treatment from health care systems.' - Wikipedia
I also found other websites, including those of museums, talking about the dictatorship and how accusing someone as gay would be used to cover up murder or other acts of violence. This explains Yahaira's attitude.
There is also this idea of how people react based on assumptions because Yahaira assumed that Camino would not be supportive, but also was comfortable enough in herself to tell Camino and not hide that part of herself. I like this idea a lot and the way that Yahaira is up front and is cautious about how she phrases it.
There is another passage where Yahaira says the following about how she "came out";
I told her I wasn't hiding,
I just wasn't making
a loudspeaker announcement,
to my parents or anyone.
People who know me, know.
I also really like this passage and what it symbolises in her relationship with her mother (she mentions that her father never knew).
I love the way this is included in the book and it just adds another layer to the cultural differences between the sisters and how they have been bought up.
How Their Father's Death Affects them differently
How financial differences impact grief, how different cultures grieve
Of course both the sisters loved their father, but he meant different things for their lives. For Camino, her father sent money meaning she could live a more privileged life than her neighbours. So her father's death means that she doesn't get this money and this impacts her life in a bigger way than it impacts Yahaira. Camino is not only grieving the person her father was but also the financial stability that gave her and how it protected her from certain spoilery things! This quote is very telling of this;
without his help life as we've known it has ended
There is also the point of how different cultures grieve. Camino and Tia have many rituals and ceremonies which is very different to the way that Yahaira would be used to. The way Camino and Tia pray and everything was also fascinating from my point of view because my lifestyle is very much like Yahaira's. This added yet another layer to this book that just made it so compelling!
Appreciating how perfect the title is
I don't want to mention too much for spoiler reasons, but if you read it or know a bit about the Dominican Republic, you may realise how utterly perfect the title is and I just wanted to mention this because I LOVE IT.
I think I always appreciate when titles are perfect to me and another perfect example is All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman (review linked here), which is also such a wonderful title! Actually, I think all of Elizabeth Acevedo's books have great titles now I think about it!
The title of a book obviously doesn't really matter but it does add a special something when you realise why a book is called what it is.
Thank you so much for reading this and if you have read this or are reading it as part of YA Book Of The Month then do let me know what you think!
Happy Reading!
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