I won a copy of this book from Goodreads Giveaways. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
American Dirt
by Jeanine Cummins
Published by Flatiron Books
on January 21, 2020
Genre: Adult, Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository
Synopsis:
Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath of our times" and "a new American classic," American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.
Lydia Quixano Perez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.
Even though she knows they'll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city enters her shop to buy four books. When Lydia's husband's tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
My Thoughts:
When Lydia's journalist husband does a full expose on the jefe of the local drug cartel, her entire family, except her young son, Luca, is murdered at her niece's sixteenth quinceanera. Lydia and Luca might have survived but she knows the jefe, Javier, won't stop until she and Luca are dead, so she quickly grabs what she thinks they might need and immediately leaves town. Her only hope is to travel and escape to el norte. Lydia knows that many have made the journey before her and she will do whatever it takes to keep Luca alive and safe, but there are plenty of people working for and with the cartels throughout Mexico and Lydia must always look over her shoulder and stay one step ahead.
The first chapter of this book (in which Lydia's entire family is murdered) was hard to read. It hit hard, made me tear up, and I had to set it down but knew I would keep reading. Once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. I got caught up in Lydia and Luca's plight to survive. I worried and hoped for their safety and that of their companions, Soledad and Rebecca. I tracked their journey on a map. I praised the helping heroes and celebrated when their journey was finally behind them. I haven't been this emotionally invested in fictional characters in a while and I'm pretty sure they will stick with me for a while. It was an eye-opening story for me in many ways.
I've seen a lot of negativity towards this book and the fact that the author is not a Mexican immigrant or of Mexican descent. I am neither and do not claim a spot in that debate but I think it's important to know that the author is not claiming that this is an "own voices" story and if we all only wrote what we have experienced there would be a lot less fiction in the world. And that is all that this book is.
Cummins addresses in the author's note that she is a U.S. citizen from a family of mixed cultures and ethnicities (her grandmother emigrated from Puerto Rico), she married an undocumented immigrant, and had family members that were unjustly murdered, all of which in some way led to her writing this book.
That being said, I am definitely still planning on finding more books on this subject from actual immigrants and refugees in the future. Feel free to recommend any in the comments!
Many thanks to Goodreads and Flatiron Books for the physical ARC of this book.
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Published by Flatiron Books
on January 21, 2020
Genre: Adult, Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository
Synopsis:
Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath of our times" and "a new American classic," American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.
Lydia Quixano Perez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.
Even though she knows they'll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city enters her shop to buy four books. When Lydia's husband's tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
My Thoughts:
When Lydia's journalist husband does a full expose on the jefe of the local drug cartel, her entire family, except her young son, Luca, is murdered at her niece's sixteenth quinceanera. Lydia and Luca might have survived but she knows the jefe, Javier, won't stop until she and Luca are dead, so she quickly grabs what she thinks they might need and immediately leaves town. Her only hope is to travel and escape to el norte. Lydia knows that many have made the journey before her and she will do whatever it takes to keep Luca alive and safe, but there are plenty of people working for and with the cartels throughout Mexico and Lydia must always look over her shoulder and stay one step ahead.
The first chapter of this book (in which Lydia's entire family is murdered) was hard to read. It hit hard, made me tear up, and I had to set it down but knew I would keep reading. Once I did, I had a hard time putting it down. I got caught up in Lydia and Luca's plight to survive. I worried and hoped for their safety and that of their companions, Soledad and Rebecca. I tracked their journey on a map. I praised the helping heroes and celebrated when their journey was finally behind them. I haven't been this emotionally invested in fictional characters in a while and I'm pretty sure they will stick with me for a while. It was an eye-opening story for me in many ways.
I've seen a lot of negativity towards this book and the fact that the author is not a Mexican immigrant or of Mexican descent. I am neither and do not claim a spot in that debate but I think it's important to know that the author is not claiming that this is an "own voices" story and if we all only wrote what we have experienced there would be a lot less fiction in the world. And that is all that this book is.
Cummins addresses in the author's note that she is a U.S. citizen from a family of mixed cultures and ethnicities (her grandmother emigrated from Puerto Rico), she married an undocumented immigrant, and had family members that were unjustly murdered, all of which in some way led to her writing this book.
That being said, I am definitely still planning on finding more books on this subject from actual immigrants and refugees in the future. Feel free to recommend any in the comments!
Many thanks to Goodreads and Flatiron Books for the physical ARC of this book.
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