American Dirt

Jeanine Cummins

Flatiron Books

The first chapter of this book is so intense and dramatic. It forces you to join the story straight away and it never lets you go. Lydia, her husband Sebastian and young son Luca are enjoying a family birthday party in Acapulco when a group of gunmen burst in and start shooting. Sixteen people are dead. The only survivors are Lydia and Luca who hide in a bathroom. They can hear the gunmen moving around looking for them.

Sebastian, a journalist, had recently published a story about Javier Fuentes, the leader of the local drug cartel. He was not best pleased and the massacre was payback. Lydia knows she and Luca will never be able to remain in Acapulco.

The story really takes off on the long journey north to the USA border and the fellow travellers they meet on the way.

It ’s a story about migration and the perils of the Mexico/USA border which we hear so much about. Reading this book gives such clarity to the other side of the immigration story.

This is a beautifully told story of the lengths a mother will go to in order to protect her son. It’s a frightening journey but you can’t help going on the journey with her.

Reviewed by Norma Geddes