Reviews with content warning for Death - American Dirt

Reviews tagging 'Death'

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

135 reviews

aclancy974's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Im a few years behind on this book but it has maintained its exceptional yet heart wrenching story since it went viral. The narrator did an amazing job bringing the story to life and I especially liked the multi-lingual aspect. I’ll recommend this to everyone

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emma_reards's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

American Dirt was an incredible novel that I was not prepared for. It was intense, but also so real at the same time. The author did a great job with her attention to detail and storytelling of Lydia and Luca's story. I spent the entire book on the edge of my seat, knowing that horrible things would keep happening and hoping it wouldn't be the last straw.

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kenna123's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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fabergegirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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mothergoosie3's review against another edition

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4.0

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amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

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informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

My summary:

Cartel violence shatters Lydia’s serene life in Acapulco when her entire family is massacred at her niece’s quinceañera, leaving only her and her eight year old son, Luca, as survivors. Lydia’s husband, Sebastián, was a journalist covering the cartels in their state. And Lydia had unwittingly befriended a customer, Javier, in her bookstore who turned out to be the cartel leader. Sebastián just recently published an exposé of Javier being the head of the cartel. And now, in the wake of this tragedy, Lydia and Luca must leave everything behind and flee towards the US, the only place Lydia feels they may be safe from Javier’s reach.

My thoughts:

The horrific opening scene pulled me so deeply and immediately into this story. This book is tragic and heartbreaking and I was riddled with anxiety the entire time for Lydia and Luca, as well as the girls they meet along the way.

This was tough to read but also I could hardly put it down. It felt a bit like driving past a terrible car accident when you can’t help but stare at it.

This is not a light-hearted or feel-good story, but I was completely engrossed despite the macabre theme. It’s very insightful and there is a bit of hope woven through the tragedy. It’s a tough topic and it’s handled well. It really makes me more empathic to people fleeing the only lives they’ve ever known for a chance at a safer and better place.

Mostly, this book makes me really thankful to have the privilege of having been born in the US and lived here my entire life. As much as this country has become somewhat of a disgrace to me recently, this book is a pretty stark reminder that it’s still one of the safest countries in the world to live in. I definitely have a deeper appreciation of the struggle that migrants endure on their journey, knowing the odds are stacked against them to simply set foot on the soil in this country that I definitely take for granted.

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