I read this for the BN Book Club next week, and I had hesitations going into it that were confirmed while I read the book. There are plenty of people (this is a good essay on it, if you're looking: https://tropicsofmeta.com/2019/12/12/pendeja-you-aint-steinbeck-my-bronca-with-fake-ass-social-justice-literature/). For the most part, it felt in authentic to me. Between the sprinkling of Spanish words to the descriptions of what was happening, I wanted to know how Cummins got this information and what work she did to even try to make it authentic.

It is fast-paced, so I'll give her that. But there are better books to read out there about this particular story; two YA books come to mind: Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork and All the Stars Denied by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.