American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 

So much controversy around this compelling book. I did read it quickly and it was a great story.  Gave a good (I think) picture of migrants escaping terrible circumstances south of the border.

The author got a lot of flack for not being "authentic" but I am not sure that is justified. I don't think she was portraying it as based on her own personal experience. It was a story told about a woman and her son who experienced this horror.

From the LA Times: 

“American Dirt,” according to the author’s note, was shaped by four years of research and a concern for the plight of undocumented immigrants."

More from LA Times: 

 Indeed, it is Luca who surmises that, “though they all come from different places and different circumstances, some urban, some rural, some middle-class, some poor, some well educated, some illiterate, Salvadoran, Honduran, Guatemalan, Mexican, Indian, each of them carries some story of suffering on top of that train and into el norte beyond.”

As I got further into the book, my interest waned a bit. Maybe it dragged on too long. But then I think, Wow, what if that was me? It would drag on and on and on.

Heartbreaking story, but with a good ending. Thank God! 

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

 

A fast, fun read, even though it has some depressing themes. Dannie, a corporate lawyer on a fast track, engaged to her "perfect" boyfriend, has a five year plan.  It gets shattered one day. The author tells the story in an interesting way: Dannie jumps ahead five years one evening so that she knows what is to become of her life in five years. Not what she expected.

This is a fun read, but does deal with cancer and death, so not all that light. I enjoyed it somewhat, but it does not go on my "you have to read this" list.