Dominican writer Elizabeth Acevedo’s third book, Clap When You Land, is considered one of the best books of 2020, and now it’s being adapted into a television series, Deadline reported. Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories has acquired the rights to the bestseller which was released in May and quickly became a bestseller. Made Up Stories “produces content with women squarely at the center of its stories and behind the camera” which is the case for the book itself featuring two girls of color in the lead.
The story unfolds through the dual narratives of sisters Camino and Yahira who unknowingly share a father. Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic and awaits her dad’s usual summer visit while Yahaira Rios lives with her parents in New York. When their dad goes to visit DR, his plane crashes and their worlds unravel in the aftermath of his death and the secrets that come to light. As the sisters individually grieve their loss, they find their way to each other and learn about forgiveness as they bond along the way.
The novel is inspired by and dedicated to those who died on American Airlines Flight 587, the Dominican Republic-bound flight that crashed into Queens, NY in 2001 and considered one of the deadliest aviation accidents in U.S. history.
The novel is the first of her books that draws from a real-life event with her previous best-selling works being The Poet X, in development at Netflix, and the novel With The Fire on High. Picturestart acquired the rights for the latter for the big screen with Acevedo writing the screenplay, Deadline reported. With this latest news, we’re sure to see more Afro-Latinx representation on film and TV both in front and behind the camera.
Acevedo will executive produce and write the pilot for Clap When You Land and shared the news on Instagram saying, “El oh el at the very first person who ever gave me an inch, ya girl is coming for every mile. LFG!”