I wasn’t sure where this book was going... but I wanted a light hearted read whilst I was studying and that’s what I got.

On November 12, 2001 flight AA587 crashed to the ground in Queens New York. It was on its way to Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. 260 people and five people on the ground died. More than 90% of the passengers were of Dominican descent and many were returning home. It completely rocked the New York Dominican community and it is the second deadliest aviation crash in United States history.

This is the set up for a story that emerges of two sisters, unbeknown to each other from two separate mothers and a father in common, who is a victim of the plane crash.

What made me really like this book was the note the author made at the end.
She wanted to write a story that considered a matter that deserved more attention in the media than it got, as well as a more intimate portrayal of what it means to discover secrets, to discover family and to discover the depths of your own character in the face of great loss and gain.

As for the title of the book; “Clap when you land”, it is a praise for a higher being for allowing a safe arrival, a reaction to the pilots performance, applause for having finally returned, touching down onto the island