American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club)

More about the book

Lydia Quixano Perez lives in Acapulco, where she runs a bookstore and cherishes her son, Luca, and her journalist husband. Despite the encroaching dangers of drug cartels, her life is relatively comfortable. Lydia fills her store with beloved books, but everything changes when a man named Javier, who is charming and erudite, enters her shop. Unbeknownst to her, he is the leader of a brutal drug cartel. When Lydia's husband publishes a revealing profile of Javier, their lives are shattered. Forced to escape, Lydia and her eight-year-old son find themselves fleeing their middle-class existence. They embark on a perilous journey as migrants, riding la bestia—trains heading north toward the United States, the only place beyond Javier's reach. Along the way, they encounter countless others also fleeing their pasts, each with their own stories of loss and hope. As Lydia navigates this harrowing experience, she begins to question what they are truly running toward. This gripping narrative is filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity, leaving readers profoundly affected by Lydia's journey and the realities faced by countless migrants.