"Lydia Quixano Perez 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 ... 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 four 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 ...
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"Lydia Quixano Perez 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 ... 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 four 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"--
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Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $7.99, good condition, Sold by ZBK Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Woodland Park, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Fast Shipping.
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.04, good condition, Sold by ZBK Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Woodland Park, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Used book in good and clean conditions. Pages and cover are intact. Limited notes marks and highlighting may be present. May show signs of normal shelf wear and bends on edges. Item may be missing CDs or access codes. May include library marks. Fast Shipping.
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.08, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.08, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books East rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale Heights, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of American Dirt to cart. $8.17, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Holt Paperbacks.
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Fair. Book is considered to be in acceptable condition. The actual cover image may not match the stock photo. Book may have one or more of the following defects: noticeable wear on the cover dust jacket or spine; curved dog eared or creased page s; writing or highlighting inside or on the edges; sticker s or other adhesive on cover; CD DVD may not be included; and book may be a former library copy.
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.21, fair condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Fair. Ex Library with stickers and markings Item is water damaged. May have heavy wear and markings. May not include digital download codes. Stock photo may be different from actual cover.
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.24, very good condition, Sold by Good Books Will Follow rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Blue Springs, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Very good. The book does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. There is no obvious damage to the cover the dust jacket if applicable is included for hard covers. There are no missing or damaged pages no creases or tears and no underlining highlighting of text or writing in the margins. It may have very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover as well as very minimal wear and tear. See the seller's listing for full details and a description of any imperfections.
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.29, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Good. The cover has visible markings and wear. The dust jacket shows normal wear and tear. The pages show normal wear and tear. There is writing discoloration or markings on the edges of the pages. The book has pages that are folded or dog eared at the corners. Codes or product keys that accompany this product may not be valid. Fast Shipping in a Standard Poly Mailer!
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.43, good condition, Sold by Good Books Will Follow rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Blue Springs, MO, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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The book has been read but is in good condition. It has very minimal damage to the cover including scuff marks but no holes or tears. The dust jacket for hard covers may not be included. The binding has minimal wear. The majority of pages are undamaged with minimal creasing or tearing minimal pencil underlining of text no highlighting of text and no writing in the margins. There are no missing pages. See the seller's listing for full details and a description of any imperfections.
Add this copy of American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): a Novel to cart. $8.44, good condition, Sold by Books For Life rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Laurel, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Flatiron Books.
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Book is in good condition. Minimal signs of wear. It May have markings or highlights but kept to only a few pages. May not come with supplemental materials if applicable.
Early in 2019, my book group read Philip Caputo's novel, "Some Rise by Sin". The book has strong religious themes and tells a story of a Mexican drug cartel and its impact on the poor. The book stresses the pervasive nature of the cartel or "Brotherhood" and how it infiltrates all aspects of Mexican life.
Our group is in the process of reading another novel set in Mexico and dealing with drug cartels. In contrast to the ponderous character of "Some Rise by Sin" and its focus on religious themes, Jeanine Cummins novel "American Dirt" is a page-turner. The novel tells the story of Lydia Perez and her eight year old son, Luca, who are forced to flee Acapulco and take their chances in reaching and entering the United States when they find themselves in the sights of a Mexican drug cartel. The book is a suspense story with elements of a picaresque road novel as it shows the many people and places Lydia and her son meet on their harrowing journey.
The novel opens with a shocking scene in which Lydia's family is gunned down during a birthday celebration after Lydia's husband, a journalist, has written an expose of the newly-dominant cartel. Lydia owns a bookstore in Acapulco. She has become close friends with one of her patrons, Javier, a would-be poet and devoted reader. Lydia does not at first recognize Javier as the cartel leader. When the rest of the family, including Lydia's husband is killed at the party by Javier's gang at the party while she and Luca hide in the house, she concludes that she must flee.
Cummins describes Lydia's flight to the United States over a 53-day period and a 2,645 mile journey. She must watch vigilantly at every step to avoid the powerful, ever-present cartel. During the journey, she and Lucas meet many people, including fellow-migrants, kind individuals who try to assist the migrants, members of the cartel, and people in many Mexican cities and towns who try to live their lives and not to become involved with the cartel. The many characters in the story include two beautiful teenage sisters fleeing from Guatemala, who face many difficulties from sexually predatory men before and during their flight for a better life.
Much of the flight of Lydia and Luca and their fellow migrants takes place on freight trains nicknamed "La Bestia". The migrants become adept at the task of scaling the freight railroads heading north. This mode of transportation has its risks, which are graphically described in the story.
In addition to riding La Bestia, the other large part of the journey begins with Lydia and Luca reach a border town and need to arrange for their crossing into the United States. Together with several other migrants, friendly and unfriendly, they enlist the services of a coyote -- an individual who leads immigrants on the treacherous journey through the desert to make an illegal entry into el norte, The book offers a personalized portrayal of the coyote and of the brutal, high-risk nature of the journey.
The book held my attention during several cold and icy days as I followed the journey of Lydia and Luca and was moved by the risks they faced and by the acts of kindness and compassion by those who helped them along the way, including several priests. Although it has a melodramatic component, the book reads well and for the most part convincingly. The book tells a story of the impact of the drug trade and the search of some individuals to find a better life. I enjoyed reading this book in a group, together with the Caputo novel, to get pictures of the Mexican drug cartels and their impact as viewed through the eyes of two American novelists.
