American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is a novel every American should read. It chronicles in detail one mothers attempt to flee Mexico alive with her young son after her entire family has been murdered. What they go through is beyond horrific and all too real for so many refugees fleeing Mexico and Central America, only to be met by racism and bitterness at the US border. It’s a harrowing story, a true page turner which had me from the opening sentence; I couldn’t put it down until the end.

Ultimately, the redemptive power of love rises above all else, but the truth of what so many families have to go through and how many don’t survive the long journey north is sobering. A highly recommended read, one I wont soon forget.