American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

This book has won the top 3 spot for the Choice Awards on Goodreads in 2020 so I expected too much. I forgot we have different taste in genres and story flows and American Dirt was just not my vibe. Don’t get me wrong, I love fiction books. The story was a little interesting as well. It’s just that it was kind of a slow story for me. Maybe because I don’t have a single idea about the topic, and that I could not relate to the encounters the protagonist had. But on being a mom, I could relate.

Title: American Dirt
Author: Jeanine Cummins
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
My Review Rating: ★★✰✰✰
Goodreads Synopsis:
Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy—two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia—trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

I was genuinely trying to find encouragement to continue reading this book, so I Googled and apparently, American Dirt was one of the most controversial books I have ever encountered. Expected, though. When you write anything about the society, culture, history, – and you know what I mean – it becomes controversial. Even when you write or read a fiction, mixed opinions will come over on the accuracy of it. I have 10-0 knowledge on those stuff they mentioned, so I cannot comment. What I can talk about is the way of writing, how interesting it was, and how much of it was relatable even for a person outside the experience (or knowledge).

American Dirt is very much a thriller which I (usually) love. The suspense triggers the curiosity in me and thrillers are I think natural page-turners. I mean how could you sleep when you know your protagonist is almost at the climax of the story? My problem though was… I mentioned it already, right? My problem was the story was slow-paced and I just didn’t have the patience or it didn’t give me enough courage to go on another page except when I just really pushed myself to scan and read through the next chapters. I spent my weekend for a two-star (for me!!!) book. Eh.

It was a huge relief when I read the criticisms, that I didn’t even bother to read the good reviews anymore. I was like, “ah! it’s not just me!” Because to be honest, I was a bit anxious that I was giving a 2 to a 4-point-something best-selling, choice awardee novel. Maybe I’ll give it another try in my next…years or whatever. It’s just not for me right now.

What I appreciated the most is that the book did try to incorporate as many issues as it could, such as the life in a community controlled by cartels, the fear of writing and exposing high-ranking individuals, life of migrants, life of a single parent, and other experiences and stories encountered by our protagonist, Lydia.

The character I liked the most was Lydia’s son, Luca. Only because he reads books at a very young age, which is not very usual these days. But I cannot shake off the fact that that “young age” was eight and the wisdom he has was like not even of a teenager. I mean…???

If I rated a book 4-5, I am basically recommending it. But 2, idk. For American Dirt particularly, YES I SUGGEST YOU READ THIS AS WELL. I would love to know your opinion on this one.