Reyna Grande

A Long Petal of the Sea meets Cold Mountain in this sweeping historical 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 “timely and riveting” (People) Across a Hundred Mountains and The Distance Between Us. The life of Ximena, a gifted Mexican healer, is tragically upended in the spring of 1846 when the United States Army marches south to the Río Grande, provoking an unjust war with México. After her husband is killed by Texas Rangers, Ximena leaves her beloved ranch to serve her country’s cause, traveling as an army nurse from battlefield to battlefield. Meanwhile, John Riley, an Irish immigrant in the US Army, has grown disillusioned by the brutal treatment of his fellow Irishmen at the hands of nativist officers. Risking death for desertion, he swims across the Río Grande to join the Mexican Army and lead the Saint Patrick’s Battalion, a company of American deserters determined to defend México against the northern invaders. As the war intensifies, Ximena and John are drawn inexorably to each other but face an uncertain future together. Reyna Grande’s spellbinding tale, peopled by bold unforgettable characters and inspired by actual events, explores the conflicting meanings of courage, love and loyalty, while illuminating an unsung moment in history that continues to impact the US-México border to this day.

A Novel

A Ballad of Love and Glory

Traces the author's experiences as an illegal child immigrant, describing her father's violent alcoholism, her efforts to obtain a higher education, and the inspiration of Latina authors.

A Memoir

The Distance Between Us

“The emotional and practical challenges for a young immigrant are on full display in Grande’s evocative, inspiring memoir.” —People From bestselling author Reyna Grande—whose remarkable memoir The Distance Between Us has become required reading in schools across the country—comes an inspiring account of one woman’s quest to find her place in America as a first-generation Latina university student and aspiring writer determined to build a new life for her family one fearless word at a time. When Reyna Grande was nine years old, she walked across the US–Mexico border in search of a home, desperate to be reunited with the parents who had left her behind years before for a better life in the City of Angels. What she found instead was an indifferent mother, an abusive, alcoholic father, and a school system that belittled her heritage. With so few resources at her disposal, Reyna finds refuge in words, and it is her love of reading and writing that propels her to rise above until she achieves the impossible and is accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz. Although her acceptance is a triumph, the actual experience of American college life is intimidating and unfamiliar for someone like Reyna, who is now once again estranged from her family and support system. Again, she finds solace in words, holding fast to her vision of becoming a writer, only to discover she knows nothing about what it takes to make a career out of a dream. Through it all, Reyna is determined to make the impossible possible, going from undocumented immigrant of little means to “a fierce, smart, shimmering light of a writer” (Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild); a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist “speak[ing] for millions of immigrants whose voices have gone unheard” (Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street); and a proud mother of two beautiful children who will never have to know the pain of poverty and neglect. Told in Reyna’s exquisite, heartfelt prose, A Dream Called Home demonstrates how, by daring to pursue her dreams, Reyna was able to build the one thing she had always longed for: a home that would endure.

A Dream Called Home

a novel

Across a hundred mountains

Award-winning author Reyna Grande shares her personal experience of crossing borders and cultures in this middle grade adaptation of her memoir, The Distance Between Us—“an important account of the many ways immigration impacts children” (Booklist, starred review). When her parents make the dangerous and illegal trek across the Mexican border in pursuit of the American dream, Reyna and her siblings are forced to live with their stern grandmother, as they wait for their parents to build the foundation of a new life. But when things don’t go quite as planned, Reyna finds herself preparing for her own journey to “El Otro Lado” to live with the man who has haunted her imagination for years: her long-absent father. Both funny and heartbreaking, The Distance Between Us sheds light on the immigrant experience beautifully capturing the struggle that Reyna and her siblings endured while trying to assimilate to a different culture, language, and family life in El Otro Lado (The Other Side).

Young Readers Edition

Sonia Guiñansaca

Introduction by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen A unique collection of 44 groundbreaking essays, poems, and artwork by migrants, refugees and Dreamers—including award-winning writers, artists, and activists—that illuminate what it is like living undocumented today.A unique collection of 44 groundbreaking essays, poems, and artwork by migrants, refugees and Dreamers—including award-winning writers, artists, and activists—that illuminate what it is like living undocumented today. In the overheated debate about immigration, we often lose sight of the humanity at the heart of this complex issue. The immigrants and refugees living precariously in the United States are mothers and fathers, children, neighbors, and friends. Individuals propelled by hope and fear, they gamble their lives on the promise of America, yet their voices are rarely heard. This anthology of essays, poetry, and art seeks to shift the immigration debate—now shaped by rancorous stereotypes and xenophobia—towards one rooted in humanity and justice. Through their storytelling and art, the contributors to this thought-provoking book remind us that they are human still. Transcending their current immigration status, they offer nuanced portraits of their existence before and after migration, the factors behind their choices, the pain of leaving their homeland and beginning anew in a strange country, and their collective hunger for a future not defined by borders. Created entirely by undocumented or formerly undocumented migrants, Somewhere We Are Human is a journey of memory and yearning from people newly arrived to America, those who have been here for decades, and those who have ultimately chosen to leave or were deported. Touching on themes of race, class, gender, nationality, sexuality, politics, and parenthood, Somewhere We Are Human reveals how joy, hope, mourning, and perseverance can take root in the toughest soil and bloom in the harshest conditions.

Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings

Somewhere We Are Human

Leaving her small Mexico hometown after years of caring for her mother, Juana Garcia embarks on a search for the father who disappeared nineteen years earlier and teams up with Adelina Vasquez, who left her family to pursue forbidden love. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Across a Hundred Mountains

“Una historia desgarradora sobre el otro lado de la experiencia del inmigrante a EEUU– la penuria y la desolación de los niños dejados atrás por sus padres.” —Sonia Nazario, ganadora del premio Pulitzer y autora de La travesía de Enrique Cuando el padre de Reyna Grande deja a su esposa y sus tres hijos atrás en un pueblo de México para hacer el peligroso viaje a través de la frontera a los Estados Unidos, promete que pronto regresará con el dinero suficiente para construir la casa de sus sueños. Sus promesas se vuelven más difíciles de creer cuando los meses de espera se convierten en años. Cuando se lleva a su esposa para reunirse con él, Reyna y sus hermanos son depositados en el hogar ya sobrecargado de su abuela paterna, Evila, una mujer endurecida por la vida. Los tres hermanos se ven obligados a cuidar de sí mismos. En los juegos infantiles encuentran una manera de olvidar el dolor del abandono y a resolver problemas de adultos. Cuando su madre regresa, la reunión sienta las bases para un capítulo nuevo y dramático en la vida de Reyna: su propio viaje a El otro lado para vivir con el hombre que ha poseído su imaginación durante años— su padre ausente. En esta memoria extraordinaria, la galardonada escritora Reyna Grande le da vida a sus años tumultuosos, capturando la confusión y las contradicciones de una infancia divida entre dos padres y dos países. Sólo en los libros, en la música y en su rica imaginación ella encontrará consuelo, un refugio momentáneo de un mundo en el que cada lugar se siente como El otro lado. La distancia entre nosotros capta el paso de una niña de la infancia a la adolescencia y más allá. Una divertida, lírica, pero desgarradora historia, nos recuerda que las alegrías y las tristezas de la infancia están siempre con nosotros, impresas en el corazón, recordándonos de ese lugar que fue nuestro primer hogar. También disponible en inglés como The Distance Between Us.

La distancia entre nosotros

Una guerra olvidada. Un romance inolvidable. El año es 1846. Después de la controvertida anexión de Texas, el ejército de los EE. UU. marcha hacia el sur para provocar la guerra con México por la disputada frontera del Río Grande. Ximena Salomé es una talentosa curandera mexicana que sueña con construir una familia con el hombre que ama en la codiciada tierra que llama hogar. Pero cuando los Texas Rangers asaltan su rancho y matan a tiros a su esposo, sus sueños se reducen a cenizas. Prometiendo honrar la memoria de su esposo y defender a su país, Ximena usa sus habilidades curativas como enfermera del ejército en el frente de la devastadora guerra. Mientras tanto, John Riley, un inmigrante irlandés en el ejército yanqui desesperado por ayudar a su familia a escapar de la hambruna que devasta su tierra natal, está asqueado por la guerra injusta y las atrocidades indescriptibles contra sus compatriotas por parte de oficiales nativistas. En un audaz acto de desafío, cruza a nado el Río Grande y se une al ejército mexicano, una deserción que se castiga con la ejecución. Forma el Batallón de San Patricio, una banda de soldados irlandeses dispuestos a luchar a muerte por la libertad de México. Cuando Ximena y John se encuentran, surge entre ellos una peligrosa atracción. A medida que la guerra se intensifica, también lo hace su pasión. Arrastrados por fuerzas con el poder de cambiar la historia, luchan no solo por el destino de una nación sino también por su futuro juntos. Desgarradora y lírica, la fascinante saga de Reyna Grande, inspirada en hechos reales y figuras históricas, da vida a estos dos personajes inolvidables e ilumina un momento en gran parte olvidado en la historia que impacta la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México hasta el día de hoy. ¿Sobrevivirán Ximena y John al caos de esta amarga guerra, o su amor será devorado junto con la tierra que luchan por defender?

Una novela

A Ballad of Love and Glory / Corrido de amor y gloria (Spanish edition)

"A Long Petal of the Sea meets Luis Alberto Urrea's The House of Broken Angels in this epic historical romance about a Mexican woman and an Irish-American soldier who fall in love in the thick of the Mexican-American War"--

Laura Esquivel

Guillermo Arriaga

F. G. Haghenbeck

Javier Valdes

Atria Español Presents: The Best of Mexican Literature Get acquainted with the work of some of the greatest authors of Mexican heritage with Atria Español Presents: The Best of Mexican Literature. This sampler has all the ingredients that makeup some of the best books that Mexican Literature has to offer. You’ll find excerpts from: Malinche by Laura Esquivel The Night Buffalo by Guillermo Arriaga The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck Across a Hundred Mountains by Reyna Grande People Like Us by Javier Valdés No matter what your literary preferences are, we know you’ll find something here to satisfy you.

Atria Español Presents: The Best of Mexican Literature

A Long Petal of the Sea meets Cold Mountain in this sweeping historical 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 “timely and riveting” (People) Across a Hundred Mountains and 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 an army 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. Heartbreaking and lyrical, Reyna Grande’s spellbinding saga, inspired by true events and historical figures, brings these two unforgettable characters to life and illuminates a largely forgotten moment in history that impacts the US-México border to this day. Will Ximena and John survive the chaos of this bitter war, or will their love be devoured along with the land they strive to defend?

A través de cien montañas es un relato asombroso y conmovedor de migración, pérdida y hallazgo; de cómo dos mujeres -- una nacida en México y la otra en los Estados Unidos -- encuentran que sus vidas coinciden de la manera más improbable. Luego de una tragedia que la separa de su madre, Juana García abandona su pueblo en México para encontrar a su padre que había dejado casa y familia dos años antes para buscar trabajo en los Estados Unidos. Sin dinero y necesitada de que alguien la ayudara a cruzar la frontera, Juana conoce a Adelina Vásquez, una joven que dejó a su familia en California para seguir a su amante a México. Al encontrarse en circunstancias desesperadas -- en una cárcel de Tijuana -- se ofrecen mutua ayuda y sus vidas terminan entrelazadas de la manera más inesperada. El fenómeno de la migración mexicana a los Estados Unidos es uno de los problemas más controvertidos de nuestro tiempo. Si bien se debaten con frecuencia sus implicaciones políticas y económicas, Grande, en esta obra brillante, logra ponerle un rostro humano al tema. ¿Quiénes son los hombres, mujeres y niños cuya existencia se ve afectada por las fuerzas que impulsan a tantos a arriesgar la vida y cruzar la frontera en busca de un mundo mejor? Siga su trayectoria A través de cien montañas y compruébelo.

Novela

A través de cien montañas (Across a Hundred Mountains)

Dancing with Butterflies uses the alternating voices of four very different women whose lives interconnect through a common passion for their Mexican heritage and a dance company called Alegría. Yesenia, who founded Alegría with her husband, Eduardo, sabotages her own efforts to remain a vital, vibrant woman when she travels back and forth across the Mexican border for cheap plastic surgery. Elena, grief stricken by the death of her only child and the end of her marriage, finds herself falling dangerously in love with one of her underage students. Elena's sister, Adriana, wears the wounds of abandonment by a dys-functional family and becomes unable to discern love from abuse. Soledad, the sweet-tempered illegal immigrant who designs costumes for Alegría, finds herself stuck back in Mexico, where she returns to see her dying grandmother. Reyna Grande has brought these fictional characters so convincingly to life that readers will imagine they know them.

Reyna Grande

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