American Dirt is mixed bag. Lydia and her son Luca are trekking from Acapulco to the United States to escape a cartel murderer. Each step of the journey is filled with horrors. Jeanine Cummins does an excellent job of moving the reader from one incident to another. The suspense is unrelenting but tends to wear thin at a certain point. Additionally, the back story as to the events that led up to them escaping vary from believable to contrived. Ultimately entertaining but without any emotional pull.

“American Dirt” author on why awareness of immigrants’ struggles is so important – YouTube

American Dirt – Wikipedia