LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — Students flip through the pages of a book as their eyes skim the pages telling the story of a young girl who is abandoned by her parents and left with her cruel grandmother as they pursue the American Dream. They read about how a young girl sniffed apple-scented shampoos to hold onto the memory of her mother and begins to forget her father, referring to him as “the man behind the glass.”

They become immersed in Reyna Grande’s story as she details how she crossed the Mexico-America border at nine years old. She shares her experience as an undocumented immigrant in America learning English and unsuccessfully adjusting to her new social life.

“The Distance Between Us” is a memoir introduced to Los Alamitos High School sophomores for the first time in the 2024-25 school year. The book was added to the English 2 Honors curriculum, replacing “Animal Farm” by George Orwell as required reading.

“I think ‘The Distance Between Us’ illustrates a variety of problems that can happen during (the) immigration process,” said sophomore Priscilla Kim. “Grande magnifies the process of how she blended into the (United States) but still tries to keep her identity as a Mexican.”

“The Distance Between Us” is more relatable for students compared to other texts, making it more enjoyable for students. Teenagers probably can’t relate to two star-crossed lovers such as in “Romeo and Juliet” or young boys stranded on an island like in “Lord of the Flies.” However, they can find meaning in stories about immigration, poverty, social isolation, abuse or familial conflict. Reading books that are simple to enjoy and relatable for students can help them feel motivated to stay on track with their reading schedule and trigger meaningful conversations in class.

“There’s always new literature out there and when you’re looking at the themes that are explored in the various years for someone who is taking English, there are different books that come out that work better,” said LAHS Assistant Principal of Curriculum, Instruction and Instructional Technology Dr. Platt.

Because this was the first year that “The Distance Between Us” was taught at LAHS, teachers were challenged to create new and interesting lesson plans to go along with the text. English teachers are having their students analyze different issues throughout the book such as separation and abuse. Students discuss if different actions taken throughout the book were justifiable and explore the motivation behind them.

This includes talking about how Grande’s oldest sibling, Mago, became like a mother to her younger siblings, sacrificing her childhood for theirs, or if it was justifiable that Grande’s parents left their children in Mexico for years while they worked in America.

Hopefully, sophomores will enjoy their next book, the Shakespeare play “Much Ado About Nothing”!