Reyna Grande was born on September 7, 1975, in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, in difficult social and financial conditions. Today she is a famous author living in the United States and has received numerous awards and prizes for her books and novels. Grande, along with her siblings, grew up in poverty; in addition, their parents left them. The father went to the United States to earn money, then the mother joined him, leaving the children with their grandmother. Then, at the age of about ten years, Reina illegally resettled the border of Mexico and the United States to join her father and achieve success. This period became a key one in her life; moreover, it became the basis for the themes of her books “The Distance Between Us” and “A Dream Called Home.”
Reyna Grande was enrolled in Pasadena City College, then she transferred to the University of California and obtained B. A degree in literature and creative writing. It was her dream to become the first child in the family to get a university degree. In the United States, the young Reina faced many difficulties connected with immigration. Her dreams about the beautifulness and easiness of life in the United States were debunked, and she faced some negative aspects of Americans’ attitude towards foreigners. All this led to the writing of bright and exciting bestsellers about her fate, based on real events. Reyna Grande has received the International Latino Book Award, the EI Premio Aztlan Literary Award, and the American Book Award. Moreover, in 2012 she became a finalist for the National Book Chicano-Latino Award, and in 2015 she received a Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Latino Literature.
In her book “A Dream Called Home,” the author vividly describes the difficulties, experiences, and challenges faced in teenage life. The main motive was the illegal moving to the United States, namely the challenges connected to this matter from the child’s prospect. The purpose of the novel, in a global sense, was to address such problems as parents and children, social inequality, and the problem of immigration. In a narrower sense, the author drew attention to the need for immigration reforms and the improvement of living conditions. The audience may be of different ages, as it would be exciting to teenagers because of the fascinating plot, and to adults as it has serious problems arising. Reyna Grande seems to address intellectually developed people, as the novel has many ideas between the lines.
The author faced many difficulties when moving to a foreign country, including while studying in college. In general, the border between Mexico and the United States in the novel acts as a kind of symbol, even a third country, which reflects not only the physical distance between countries but also the mental one. Indeed, the culture and traditions differ, which has served as some unpleasant moments for Reina in a foreign college. For example, the situation of communication with classmates, from whom a completely innocent question came, namely, where is Reyna from. But such a simple question caused a storm of emotions, reminding them that Grande was a stranger and far from her home. In general, communication in college was not easy for the author. One of the main experiences.
In addition, the childhood trauma from parental abuse was reminding about itself constantly. The father was an alcoholic and cruel to the treatment of Reyna took place. Despite this, her dream was to prove to her father that Reyna Grande could achieve success since the father kept saying about the desire to break the chain of poverty. Thus, the relationship with the father was somewhat twofold, and then Reyna’s mother also went to the United States, leaving the children with their grandmother. Therefore, she demonstrated complete indifference and detachment from children, which also influenced the psychological wound received by Reyna in childhood.