American Dirt is a book that I’ll be recommending to everyone. This is a fictional novel but it is without a doubt someone’s true story. This harrowing novel is an important reminder about the universal human experience. This is a story about love, parenthood, survival, and the humanity behind the headlines.

Lydia Quixano Perez owns a bookstore in the Mexican city of Acapulco, she is happily married to her husband, Sebastián, and together they have a bright, eight-year-old son, Luca. They live a fairly comfortable life despite the rising crime surrounding them. Sebastián is an esteemed narco journalist and is writing a tell-all profile exposing the jefe of the Los Jardineros drug cartel that has savagely taken over their city.

A charming man, Javier, comes into the bookshop and buys two of Lydia’s all-time favorite books which the two bond over and develop a unique friendship. Unbeknownst to Lydia, Javier is the jefe that her husband is about to expose and once his piece his published, her family’s life is completely upended. The rest of the story follows Lydia and Luca as they flee for their lives to the US border.

Thank you so much for gifting me this book, Flatiron Books.