Winner of the American Book Award, Across a Hundred Mountains is a “timely and riveting” (People) novel about a young girl who leaves her small town in Mexico to find her father, who left his family to work in America—a story of migration, loss, and discovery.

After a tragedy separates her from her mother, Juana García leaves in search of her father, who left them two years earlier. Out of money and in need of someone to help her across the border, Juana meets Adelina Vasquez, a young woman who left her family in California to follow her lover to Mexico. Finding themselves—in a Tijuana jail—in desperate circumstances, they offer each other much needed material and spiritual support and ultimately become linked forever in the most unexpected of ways.

In Across a Hundred Mountains, Reyna Grande puts a human face on the controversial issue of immigration, helping readers to better understand “the desperation of illegal immigrants and the families they leave behind” (Entertainment Weekly) in pursuit of a better life.

Winner of the American Book Award, Across a Hundred Mountains is a “timely and riveting” (People) novel about a young woman who leaves her small Mexican town in search of her father—a story of migration, loss, and discovery.

20th Anniversary edition featuring forewords by award-winning, bestselling author Maria Amparo Escandón and celebrated playwright and father of Chicano theater, Luis Valdez.

When a sudden tragedy separates her from her mother, Juana García risks everything to track down her father, who left his family to work in the US two years earlier. Penniless and stranded at the US-Mexico border, Juana crosses paths with Adelina Vásquez, a young Californian woman who abandoned her own home to follow a lover to Mexico. Thrown together inside a harsh Tijuana jail, these two desperate strangers forge an unbreakable bond, offering each other a lifeline that ultimately links their destinies in the most unexpected of ways.

In Across a Hundred Mountains, Reyna Grande centers the humanity and courage of the immigrant experience, offering a nuanced look at the profound sacrifices made by those who cross borders and the enduring bonds of the families who wait for them.

Featuring a moving new foreword by María Amparo Escandón, an introduction by Luis Valdez, and a letter to the reader by the author reflecting on the book’s enduring legacy and the ongoing relevance of its themes, this 20th anniversary edition honors a timeless story of hope, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bonds of family.

"Grande's deft portraiture endows even the smallest characters with grace."

-- Publishers Weekly (starred review)