What was Reyna Grande's college major?
creative writing and film & videoGrande transferred from Pasadena City College in 1996 and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing and film & video from UC Santa Cruz. She later earned her master of fine arts degree in creative writing from Antioch University.
What is Reyna Grande doing now?
Currently Reyna teaches creative writing at UCLA Extension and is at work on her next novel.
What was Reyna's reason for going to college?
For example, the book opens with Reyna narrating her journey north to attend a university for the first time, where she explains some of the conflict she feels over leaving her family behind in Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.
Who is Reyna Grande now?
About Reyna Reyna Grande is the author of the memoirs The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, and the novels Across a Hundred Mountains, Dancing With Butterflies, and A Ballad of Love and Glory. Her books have been adopted as the common read selection by schools, colleges, and cities across the country.
Is Reyna Grande still married?
Now a married mother of two, Grande is currently in the midst of a national book tour.
Did Reyna Grande graduate college?
Pasadena City CollegeUniversity of California Santa CruzReyna Grande/Education
How many attempts did it take Reyna's father and her siblings to cross the border?
Reyna and her siblings – sister Mago and brother Carlos – were left behind in Mexico and brought up by their paternal grandmother. It wasn't until five years later, after two unsuccessful attempts, that her father brought Reyna and her siblings over the border to the United States in the dead of night.
What was Reyna's father's betrayal?
Once in Los Angeles with their father and his second wife, Mila, Reyna and her siblings face a new kind of betrayal: the betrayal of realizing that their father is not the man they thought he was.
What happens when Reyna gets to school on her first day of school in the US?
On her first day in school, Reyna is forced to navigate things on her own. Because of her trauma related to her feelings of abandonment and betrayal—not to mention the language barrier—this is harder for Reyna than it is for other children.
How many siblings does Reyna Grande have?
two youngerReyna, the young protagonist, is born in Mexico and raised by her grandparents after her parents leave to find work in the U.S. Grande describes her difficult childhood, after being abandoned by both her parents. Her older sister Mago takes on a maternal role for her two younger siblings, Carlos and Reyna.
Where is Reyna Grande from?
Iguala, MexicoReyna Grande / Place of birthIguala, known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located 102 km from the state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico. Wikipedia
What year did Reyna Grande cross the border?
Now a U.S. citizen, Grande grew up in extreme poverty in rural Mexico. She was only two when her father left Mexico to look for work in the U.S. Her mother followed two years later, leaving Grande behind in Mexico. In 1985, when she was almost 10, Grande crossed the border as an undocumented immigrant.
What did Reyna do as she got older?
As she grows older, Reyna finds outlets for self-expression through music and creative writing, and, with the help of her community college mentor Diana Savas, at last discovers her voice and potential as an author. Reyna ultimately goes on to graduate college, becoming the first member of her family to do so.
Where is Reyna from?
Reyna, the author and protagonist of the book, is a sensitive, imaginative, and introspective child whose harsh upbringing in poor and rural Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico forms a foundation of poverty, abuse, and abandonment that she spends her entire adolescence trying to rise above. After her parents both travel illegally to the United States for work, leaving Reyna and her siblings in the care of their cruel Abuela Evila, Reyna is subject to indignity upon indignity and a seemingly endless spiral of abuse and neglect. When her father Natalio returns and offers to take her and her siblings back to America with him to live in “El Otro Lado”—on “the other side”—Reyna believes that all her dreams of happiness and comfort are about to come true. In Los Angeles, however, the grass is not necessarily greener; Reyna has escaped the rural poverty of her youth and the miserable household of her father’s mother, but now finds herself in close quarters with a father whose alcoholism, violence, and need for control have made him into a veritable stranger. As Reyna and her siblings Mago and Carlos navigate their adolescence, they struggle to heal the wounds of their past—wounds left by their parents’ abandonment, their grandmother’s cruelty, and the trauma of their dangerous childhoods—while making a future for themselves in the face of continued adversity. As she grows older, Reyna finds outlets for self-expression through music and creative writing, and, with the help of her community college mentor Diana Savas, at last discovers her voice and potential as an author. Reyna ultimately goes on to graduate college, becoming the first member of her family to do so. As the memoir ends on a hopeful note, Reyna expresses the resilient faith she has in her family—and all families like hers—to rise above their past and carve out a better future for themselves and one another.
How long after Reyna's Papi left for the United States?
Four years after Reyna ’s Papi left for the United States—and two years after her Mami left, too—construction at last... (full context) As construction continues, Reyna and her siblings pitch in and help the bricklayers. They are tired and sore at... (full context) Book One: Chapter 9.
What does Reyna feel about her father?
Watching her father head off for school, Reyna feels that her father’s desire for a better life and passion for education is “contagious.” (full context) ...listen, though, and leaves the next day for Mexico. The whole time Papi is gone, Reyna has trouble focusing in school and finds herself distracted at home.
What happened to Reyna and her siblings?
After her parents both travel illegally to the United States for work , leaving Reyna and her siblings in the care of their cruel Abuela Evila, Reyna is subject to indignity upon indignity and a seemingly endless spiral of abuse and neglect.
Who is the only member of Reyna's family who attends her performance?
Though they like each... (full context) When the day of the Rose Parade arrives, Mago is the only member of Reyna ’s family who attends her performance.
Is the grass greener in Los Angeles?
In Los Angeles, however, the grass is not necessarily greener; Reyna has escaped the rural poverty of her youth and the miserable household of her father’s mother, but now finds herself in close quarters with a father whose alcoholism, violence, and need for control have made him into a veritable stranger.
Who is Reyna Grande's husband?
Reyna Grande with her husband Cory. Courtesy Reyna Grande. Author Stephanie Elizondo Griest praised Grande’s work and accomplishments. “We don’t usually hear the voices of the undocumented in this nation because of the fear and the practical difficulties in obtaining fluency,” she noted.
What is Reyna Grande's dream called?
Reyna Grande's "A Dream Called Home" Courtesy Reyna Grande. At 13, with a home life marked by an alcoholic father and an absent mother, Grande turned to writing as a lifeline. “Writing was an act of survival,” according to Grande. But this too was a difficult journey.
Why did Ariana Grande write "A Dream Called Home"?
The author of the novels “Dancing With Butterflies” and “Across A Hundred Mountains” — which won the 2007 National Book Award — Grande said that she wrote “A Dream Called Home” for both personal and professional reasons. “I wanted to share what it’s like to grow up undocumented and to always feel caught between these two Mexican ...
What does Grande say about writing?
For her part, author Grande said that she advises aspiring and younger writers to study the industry carefully. “I always say you need to study the business of writing as much as study the craft. It is not enough to know how to write a story; you need to know how to sell it.”.
What is Ariana Grande's latest book?
This month, Grande is out with her latest memoir, “A Dream Called Home,” the sequel to her earlier memoir, “The Distance Between Us.”. Grande was born in Iguala, Mexico, ...
Where was Ariana Grande born?
Grande was born in Iguala, Mexico, a place infamous as the site of the disappearance of 43 college students in 2014. She was two when her father left for the U.S., followed by her mother several years later. When her father came back for her, Grande entered the country illegally as a child, a harrowing experience she explored in her first memoir.
Who said "To see a Latina succeeding in the literary world at this moment"?
I think that she (Grande) is a pioneer – and a riveting storyteller.”. “To see a Latina succeeding in the literary world at this moment,” Elizondo Griest said, “is a triumph for us all.”.
Who is Reyna Grande?
Reyna Grande is the author of the bestselling memoir, The Distance Between Us, (Atria, 2012) where she writes about her life before and after she arrived in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant. The much-anticipated sequel, A Dream Called Home (Atria), was released in 2018. Her other works include the novels, Across ...
When did Reyna leave Iguala?
In 1985, when Reyna was nine, she left Iguala to make her own journey north. After attending Pasadena City College for two years, Reyna became the first person in her family to set foot in a university. She went on to obtain a B.A. in creative writing and film & video from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
What is Reyna's writing?
Writing about immigration, family separation, language trauma, the price of the American Dream, and her writing journey, Reyna’s work has appeared in The New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, CNN, The Lily at The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, among others. In March 2020, she was a guest in Oprah’s Book Club .