The Distance Between Us by *March 26, 2015: Book Discussion 12:50-1:50 PM in CSS 217
*April 30, 2015: Book Discussion and Video Viewing 12:50-1:50 PM in CSS 217
*May 28, 2015: Author Presentation and Book Signing 12:30-2:30 PM in CSS 217
*All events offer refreshments and exciting prize drawings including prizes from Starbucks and Barnes & Noble!
Our Read 2 Succeed college-wide read book selection for Spring 2015 is The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande.
Reyna Grande is an award-winning novelist and memoirist. She has received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlán Literary Award, and the International Latino Book Award. In 2012, she was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Awards, and in 2015 she was honored with a Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Literature. Her works have been published internationally in countries such as Norway and South Korea.
Her novels, Across a Hundred Mountains, (Atria, 2006) and Dancing with Butterflies (Washington Square Press, 2009) were published to critical acclaim and have been read widely in schools across the country. In her latest book, The Distance Between Us, ( Atria, 2012) Reyna writes about her life before and after illegally immigrating from Mexico to the United States. An inspirational coming-of-age story about the pursuit of a better life, The Distance Between Us is now available as a young readers edition from Simon & Schuster’s Children’s Division–Aladdin.
Reyna is a member of the Macondo Writer’s Workshop founded by Sandra Cisneros. Currently, Reyna teaches creative writing, travels across the country and abroad to give presentations about her books, and is at work on her next book.
Born in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico (where 43 college students disappeared in 2014), Reyna was two years old when her father left for the U.S. to find work. Her mother followed her father north two years later, leaving Reyna and her siblings behind in Mexico. In 1985, when Reyna was going on ten, she left Iguala to make her own journey north. She entered the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant and later went on to become the first person in her family to graduate from college.