Lydia Quixano Perez runs a bookstore in the Mexican city of Acapulco where she lives with her beloved son and journalist husband. When Lydia's husband publishes a tell-all profile of Javier, the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city, 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 America, which is the only place Javier's reach doesn't extend. As they join the thousands of people trying to reach American dirt, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?
American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed when they finish reading it. It is a page-turner, it is a literary achievement, it is filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.
