Reviews

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

thelawless's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

oliviahoffmann's review

4.0

Not having an idea of what this book was about before picking it up, I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was beautiful and got attached to a number of the characters. I found the commentary on motherhood and grief really powerful. After finishing it, I read a bit about the controversy surrounding it and felt a bit conflicted. I appreciated that the author spoke to the fact (in the afterword) that she knew this was a dicey topic to write about as a non-Mexican LatinX woman, but that she tried to do so in a way that painted the humanity of the immigrant story rather than the numbers and statistics normally portrayed. I thought she succeeded in that in a thought-provoking way, but want to read more about the presence of this book and how its content may seem appropriated to many.

bex2024's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

pick_ren's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mccarthygirl25's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative

4.0

This is a bit of a long thought. But stick with me! Going into this book I had already been aware of the difficulties illegal immigrants have to go through. In college I read a book called Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario. This book really opened my eyes and I highly recommend it. American Dirt did remind me of that book and overall I liked the story. “These people would leave their home, their cultures, their families, even their languages and venture into tremendous peril, risking their lives, for the chance to get to the dream of some far away country that doesn’t even want them.” Pg 94 After looking at Goodreads reviews I wanted to include on by David Bowles a writer for NYT. I’m still thinking about this review. I feel it’s difficult because the author is not part of the community going through this trauma. But at the same time I do think it’s important to shine a light on these issues. #booklover #readersofinstagram

trumombooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

psmak's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

marliehallett's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

misslaurielou88's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

jcoryv's review

5.0

Listened to this on Audible... narrator was excellent.

Heard there was controversy about the author not being Hispanic. Gatekeeping, ugh. My take: it’s an important story and well told.

Highly recommend.