The Distance Between Us has been one of my favorite books to read. It has a little bit of everything and it makes the book an all-around great novel. From the family drama with Mami and Papi. To the fact that Betty had to join a gang so she felt like she belonged after being left abandoned. My head was everywhere and I learned 3 good life-changing lessons from this.
The whole time Reyna grew up she was basically raised by Mago and her grandma. When she was only a little girl her mom and dad both left her along with her siblings to look for a new life in the USA. Mami promised to return to them in a year with enough money and land to live a good life. (pg.12) But they had a baby girl named Betty and left them abandoned for multiple years. When Mami returns she tells them that the father has a new wife who actually kind of hates them and doesn’t even allow them to eat dinner or breathe the same air as her.
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned and also had the opportunity of seeing is that siblings are your most solid teammates. They’ll always be there for you no matter what and love you unconditionally with no judgment. Reyna proves that when she jumps in for Mago when Papi is beating her for missing school when she had her first menstruation. Also, the fact that Mago spent her life raising them when she had her own struggles shows how much love siblings can have for each other. Most importantly I remember that Reyna would bring in Betty when she felt she was getting too crazy like the time she started stealing her mom’s rent money.
In Mexico, they still follow the gender roles a lot and they run their houses as they used to, men gather while the women take on the house cleaning, cooking, and teaching the children. Unlike that, though Reyna’s stepmom wasn’t raised that way and she ran her own show while Reyna’s dad ran his. Also, we see on many occasions how the children all decide to listen to Papi. Mainly because he is scary to them and it’s usually what the dad says and there’s no changing his mind. Carlos grows up with a different mentality on the other hand because he’s a man but he was raised only by his sisters, not a man.
The Distance Between Us has to be one of the most interesting books I’ve read. It’s packed with a lot of comedy, family, and love. More than anything it’s filled with a bunch of important life lessons. These lessons should be taken seriously because they’re not really taught in school and they’re just as important as the things you learn in class. I know that this book has impacted me personally for sure and I will always think of this book.
