Cover to Cover Book Club

Join the Cover to Cover Book Club where Sharon Ballard, a PSPL Librarian, leads a book club meeting on Zoom.

The group meets the 2nd Thursday of the month (September-May) on Zoom from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. (PST). To receive meeting information and join the email list for the Cover to Cover Book Club, please email Sharon Ballard in advance of the meeting at sharon.ballard@palmspringsca.gov

Click here to see other selections from the Cover to Cover Book Club.

February 11, 2021

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

—#1 New York Times Bestseller
—Oprah's Book Club Pick

Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy?two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, 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 the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.

Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and "a new American classic," Jeanine Cummins's American Dirt is a rare achievement filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.

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