Books Build Bridges is a community read program hosted by Hamilton East Public Library each fall to build community through shared experience, provide diverse reading opportunities and engage our community with noted authors.

Reyna Grande is the author of the bestselling memoir The Distance Between Us where she writes about her life before and after she arrived in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant. 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, Buzzfeed, among others. In March 2020, she was a special guest on Oprah’s Book Club. The Distance Between Us is also available as a young readers edition, suitable for grades 6-9.

Reyna 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.