Mock Printz 2026 discussion

Let's talk about Elizabeth Acevedo's new book.

I loved Clap When You Land! You can tell Acevedo is a poet; her works in verse are powerful. I read an arc, but if I get a chance I’m also going to listen to the audio; it’s narrated by the author and she is so. good. I loved that Camino and Yahaira were so very different, with vastly different lives, relationships with their parents, and experiences. But, they also had so much in common: their drive, the magnetic pull towards the other, and their strength. I was SO fist-pumping-in-the-air jubilant that this ended up bring a story about women supporting women, period. 💜💜💜💜💜

Loved it and will also listen to it on audio. I put it on so many of our lists #ownvoices, #weneeddiversebooks, BLM, Coming of Age, Books About Consent...most importantly I think teens will love it too.

Acevedo did it again. This is a moving and amazing book about two girls who discover they are sisters in the midst of a terrible tragedy. Their voices stand out and resonate. As someone whose father was never there, I can feel their pain in some ways and totally not understand in others. An interesting book to finish on Father's Day.

The character development in Clap When You Land is so strong. I definitely think it’ll be a contender this year.

Agree with all of the above. I listed to the audio and loved this from the first words. She makes you think and feel and sucks you into her characters' worlds.

Much as I love Elizabeth Acevedo's work, this just didn't feel like her strongest novel so far. I felt it was more predictable than its predecessors. And, while the two protagonists were strong and well-characterized, I didn't LIKE them as much as I did the girls in the first two novels. I did not listen to the book, and I have a feeling that makes a difference--which, for the Printz, it shouldn't. Maybe the Odyssey?

Enjoyed it very much, but it is definitely not as strong as Poet X. I don’t think it’s going to get to the top.