I was super excited to read American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins because of the controversy surrounding it. The book has been criticized because the author is white, not an immigrant, and her her use of stereotypes exploits Mexican immigrants, in addition to depicting an unauthentic story.
I really didn’t pay attention to these criticism as this novel is a work of fiction. All authors have the liberty to use their imagination. Cummins did do 5 years of research before completing this book and judging the author because she is not an immigrant is ridiculous.
1.The book starts off with the brutal killing of 16 members of Lydia’s family at her mother’s house for her niece’s quinceanera party. Did you think the horrific scene would set the tone for the book? How did this tragedy impact you and your reading experience?
2. In Chilpancingo, Lydia asks Sebastian’s friend Carlos for help. Carlos’ wife Meredith was reluctant to help transport Lydia and Luca on the missionary bus. Meredith is the chief organizer for the church that is hosting the missionaries from Indiana and responds with ” I also have to weigh my moral responsibility here.” What do you think about Meredith’s reluctance to help Lydia and Luca with the bus ride to Mexico city? What do you think about her moral responsibility?
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid has been recommended by a bunch of readers on social media and its popularity has snowed balled so much that we were intrigued. We capitulated and chose it for our monthly read.
The Liar’s Girl was my introduction to Catherine Ryan Howard.
I was looking forward to reading this book because it was nominated for the Edgar Award in 2019. Also I was keen on digging in a book set in Dublin, Ireland and by an Irish author.
The book also had rave reviews from the book community so I was eager to read it to see if it would live up to its hype.
1.Alison found out that her boyfriend Will was a serial killer. He killed other women as well as her best friend Liz. Alison left the country when he was caught and confessed to being the ‘Canal Killer’. What would you do if you found out that your boyfriend was a serial killer?