Well, it wasn’t on my April TBR, but I did finish an audiobook that I started in March. Now, some of you are probably wondering why it takes me so long to get through an audiobook. All I have to do is listen. This is true, but I also need to be doing something brainless while I listen. Otherwise it’s just background noise and I miss the whole story. And I’m not spending my days doing brainless things. Some people listen to audiobooks while working out – yeah, not me. I’m too busy dying. But, that’s not this blog. So, let’s dive into my review of American Dirt.
American Dirt Summary
American Dirt is a fictional story written by Jeanine Cummins. We follow Lydia, a Mexican woman who is a mother, wife and bookstore owner. She’s happy with her life and all is well. One day she gets a visitor to the store and they just click. He visits frequently and they become really good friends – until Lydia learns that he isn’t who she thought. When her entire family, excluding her only son, is gunned down, Lydia and her son, Lucas, must flee for their lives. Lydia knows that they will be safe if they can make it to America, so they begin the long journey of trying to get there while staying off the radar of those trying to kill them. And Lydia learns just what she and her son are capable of and it’s more than she ever imagined.
Let’s Start With The Positives
The story was captivating as a story. You were definitely rooting for the characters and hoping that they would make it. Along the way they meet some other characters that you either loved or despised. There were moments I held my breath with the characters and moments that I cheered with them. I know there is controversy about this book and lots of people don’t like it for accuracy reasons. But I didn’t read this book for accuracy. I just wanted a good book to read and the story caught my attention. It was easy to listen to a few chapters at a time.
Where American Dirt Fell Flat For Me
I hated the POV jumping. One second you’re in Lydia’s head and literally the next sentence you’re in someone else’s and then you’re back in hers a few sentences later. And then there were random POVs where it was a random character who was barely mentioned and you were in their POV. This would last a short while and then you were back in someone else’s. And then there were characters that were mentioned more and you were never in their POV. It was annoying. Now, I know I mentioned that I held my breath or cheered with characters, but it wasn’t an emotional connection. There was a character death that made me go, wait, they’re really going to die? It should have been emotional, I should have cried. But there was nothing.
Overall
I don’t regret reading this book. It was a good story, it just fell flat in a few areas for me. Overall I gave this book a 3 star. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great. It was just a story. Would I recommend it? If you don’t mind POV jumping and are not looking for a story that is meant to accurately show Mexican culture or way of life, or its people, then sure. If you’re just in it for a story, with some heaviness, this could be a book for you. But there are definitely trigger warnings for this book, so I would look them up if you’re not sure. And, that is all I have to say about this book.
April TBR Started?
Yes, I have started my April TBR. I’m a little over halfway through one of them. And honestly, I can’t put it down. It’s a really good read so far. And I am confident that I will get through more of this month’s TBR than last month’s. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up reading the whole TBR. It certainly is on my goals list for the month. I have even set a reward for myself if I complete all my goals for April. Let’s see if I’m goal-motivated. Some of these goals are quite tricky and one of them isn’t something in my control. But hey, anything is possible if I try.
