Our first returning author and our first fiction book for Read 2 Succeed!
If you need a personal copy of the book, contact Damon Nance 2023 International Latino Book Award Winner, Finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters & Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Fiction
A Long Petal of the Sea meets Cold Mountain in this "epic and exquisitely wrought" (Patricia Engel, New York Times bestselling author) saga following a Mexican army nurse and an Irish soldier who must fight, at first for their survival and then for their love, amidst the atrocity of the Mexican-American War--from the author of The Distance Between Us. A forgotten war. An unforgettable romance. The year is 1846. After the controversial annexation of Texas, the US Army marches south to provoke war with México over the disputed Río Grande boundary. Ximena Salomé is a gifted Mexican healer who dreams of building a family with the man she loves on the coveted land she calls home. But when Texas Rangers storm her ranch and shoot her husband dead, her dreams are burned to ashes. Vowing to honor her husband's memory and defend her country, Ximena uses her healing skills as a nurse on the frontlines of the ravaging war. Meanwhile, John Riley, an Irish immigrant in the Yankee army desperate to help his family escape the famine devastating his homeland, is sickened by the unjust war and the unspeakable atrocities against his countrymen by nativist officers. In a bold act of defiance, he swims across the Río Grande and joins the Mexican Army--a desertion punishable by execution. He forms the St. Patrick's Battalion, a band of Irish soldiers willing to fight to the death for México's freedom. When Ximena and John meet, a dangerous attraction blooms between them. As the war intensifies, so does their passion. Swept up by forces with the power to change history, they fight not only for the fate of a nation but for their future together. "A grand and soulful novel by a storyteller who has hit her full stride" (Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies), A Ballad of Love and Glory effortlessly illuminates a largely forgotten moment in history that impacts the US-México border to this day.Available in our Library -- Ask us if you need any assistance!
Events will be held in person in CSS 217 and online. Check back here to sign up for these events!
*March 21, 2024 @ 12:50-1:50 pm -- Book Discussion
*April 18, 2024 @ 12:50-1:50 pm -- Student Panel
*May 16, 2024 @ 12:50-3:00 pm -- Author Appearance
*All events offer refreshments and exciting prize drawings, including Starbucks and other prizes!
Reyna Grande is an award-winning novelist and memoirist. She has received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlan Literary Award, and the Latino Book Award. 2012, she was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Awards. 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. Her latest book, The Distance Between Us, was published in August 2012 by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. In this memoir, Reyna writes about her life before and after illegally immigrating from Mexico to the United States. A National Book Circle Critics Award finalist, The Distance Between Us is an inspirational coming-of-age story about pursuing a better life. The Los Angeles Times hailed it as the Angela's Ashes of the modern Mexican immigrant experience.
Born in Mexico, 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 entered the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant. She later went on to become the first person in her family to graduate from college.
After attending Pasadena City College for two years, Reyna obtained a B.A. in creative writing and film & video from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She later received her M.F.A. in creative writing from Antioch University. Now, in addition to being a published author, she is also an active promoter of Latino literature and is a sought-after speaker at high schools, colleges, and universities across the nation.
Currently Reyna teaches creative writing at UCLA Extension and is at work on her next novel.
Photograph Creator: Alan J. Cutler Copyright: ara@vipimages.com-2018