American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Quick Synopsis: When her husband and entire family are viciously murdered by a Mexican drug cartel, Lydia and her young son Luca are forced to run from Acupulco, Mexico. Accustomed to living a somewhat middle-class lifestyle, Lydia and Luca become migrants essentially over night. Unable to turn to the authorities for fear of being sold out to the cartel, American Dirt tells the story of Lydia and Luca trying desperately to make their way north to the United States for safety from the cartels. The struggle to get there, though, might kill them before the cartel does.
Why I Like It: It’s been compared to The Grapes of Wrath for our generation. I’m not sure about that, because honesty, I’ve never read The Grapes of Wrath :) But, I do know that this story gave me insight into the dangers and struggles people face in escaping the drug cartels in Mexico. Honestly, it was too much for me to get through at times. When Lydia and Luca were trying to board the train, I had to put the book down. It terrified me that they were so alone and helpless. When they were traveling through the desert, I had to take a break because it was just too heart-wrenching for me to continue. I had to read, process, return, repeat. Perhaps you’ll have to do the same, but hopefully you’ll find it worth it.
Why You Might Like It: If you are at all interested in exploring what life on the border is like, or why people travel so far through such treacherous conditions to make it out of gang-riddled areas, this book is a good place to start. I will post others, but this book makes you put yourself in a terrifying situation with the overwhelming urgency to save yourself and your son. I think good literature transports us to times, places, and situations unlike our own. Even better literature forces us to grapple with the emotions that accompany those places and situations. American Dirt does just that.
