What readers think of American Dirt, plus links to write your own review.

Wow, WOw, WOW! Just finished American Dirt and have to say that I felt like I was riding "La Bestia" at high speed the entire time I was reading it. I had not read the book because I just didn't want to deal in my head with all of the controversy surrounding its publication, but then my book club chose it to read. From the minute I started it, I couldn't put it down. I can't speak thoroughly as to whether it accurately depicts the "Latinx immigrant experience", but my thoughts are that there are as many Latinx immigrant experiences as there are Latinx immigrants and that no one book can depict it totally. I did at times feel that certain terms such as jittery,
juddery, etc., were overused to describe how the main character was feeling physically, but that is minor to how I overall felt about the book.

I also have to admit that I am somewhat hesitant to post my comments because there have been very strong arguments about the book. My way of thinking is that readers have an individual right to love a book or hate it or feel lukewarm about it without another reader or reviewer or person attacking them for having or expressing those feelings. This is a book that has opened me to educate myself more on the immigration dilemma and it will stay with me for a very, very long time.

This is a quick-to-read, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants thriller by Jeanine Cummins that tracks in often gruesome detail the path of a mother and son as they migrate from Mexico to the United States to escape a brutal drug cartel that wants them both dead. While most thrillers are sheer fiction, this one is not. Oh sure, the characters are fictional, but this is no fantasy. It is all too real, and as a good novel will do, it powerfully depicts what is happening over and over and over again every day in Mexico and on the border of the United States. This is fiction doubling as current events.

Lydia and Sebastian lead a charmed and somewhat affluent life in beautiful Acapulco. He is a top journalist, she owns a successful bookstore, and together they have a precocious 8-year-old boy, Luca. But when Sebastian publishes an exposé on the kingpin of the local drug cartel, he and 15 members of his family are brutally executed in Lydia's mother's backyard during a quinceañera celebration. Lydia and Luca miraculously escape, and now they must flee because this cartel is still out for revenge—and will stop at nothing. This book is the story of their trek to the United States, and the suspense and action never let up. (Advice: Don't read this before you go to sleep. It will haunt your dreams—and not in a good way.)

While this is not great literature—it's a straight-up thriller and nothing more—it does waken the typical American reader to better understand the dangerous and terrifying plight of many Mexican migrants, and for this I applaud Jeanine Cummins.

About the bruhaha over "American Dirt": I have read a lot about the objections some Latinos have to a white woman writing this story—one who now lives in New York City and grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. Yes, not many authors—of any ethnic descent—will get the star publishing treatment Cummins has received. And I do appreciate that inequity. Still, Cummins did extensive, years' long research for this book to make her characters and plot as authentic as possible. Many (many!) novelists write outside their lifestyle, and that is perfectly acceptable provided the research is done. To say that only a Latino/Latina can write a book like this is just not reasonable or even advisable. That said, this controversy has made me want to read more books by Latino/Latina authors, especially Luis Alberto Urrea.

It’s been awhile since I read this book but what still stands out to me is this book brings the understanding of of the horrific circumstances immigrants from Central America are escaping. While we understand the immigration problem in our country, this book illustrates the other side of the problem. It will always be a top 10 favorite book of mine and I will recommend it to my book club.

Best book I have read in a long while. Gripping. Highlights the plight of migrants having to flee violence and poverty or both and reinforces how resourceful and courageous they have to be to undertake long journeys to try to reach safety.

A pal suggested this book… on a whim I picked it up. I was intrigued from page one! Fabulous characters, storyline, and development. Listened to the book on the Libby app, too. As a result of my enthusiasm, My book club also read/loved the book.

I picked this book up by chance in Lockdown and was hooked from the first page. I felt as if I was living it with her. I’m convinced a lot of it is true and just wished it would never end. Have passed it to some of my friends and all say the same thing. Wonderful I loved it.

A compelling story about a mother and her young son fleeing violence in Mexico. With so many stories about immigrants these days, it was good to read a book that described the harrowing journey immigrants must make when there is no other choice but to leave their homeland.

This book is a page-turner. The characters will stay with you and unless you have a heart of stone, you will come away with a deeper sympathy for those who must flee.

I m not a fan of “message” books. Or books that attempt to form my opinions. From that aspect, I give this book one star. If you delete that aspect, it is an interesting, well written, easy to read book about the journey of those fleeing to the US. My education about their experiences comes mostly from documentaries, and this book accurately reflects those. I agree with the folks that it does not meet the hype, and I feel the title is way off.