Reyna Grande is the author and the first-person narrator of The Distance Between Us. Since the text is a memoir, Reyna has written her story from her first-person point of view. For the sake of clarity, this guide refers to Reyna Grande by her first name when referencing passages and scenes from the memoir.

Throughout the memoir, Reyna traces her experiences from her childhood through her early adulthood. At times, her adult perspective influences the way that she describes her life as a child. At other points in the narrative, Reyna inhabits her childhood mindset and depicts what she lived through via her youthful, innocent point of view. This is particularly true in Part 1, when Reyna is detailing her time living in Mexico while her father, Natalio Grande, or Papi, and her mother, Juana Rodríguez, or Mami, are away in the United States. During this period, Reyna and her older siblings Mago and Carlos live with their paternal grandmother, whom they call Abuela Evila.

Reyna often longs for her parents to return and frequently talks to her father’s framed photograph to feel better.