Between You a River: A Novel by Kimberly Garza (Hardcover) (PREORDER)

Fiction - Literary - Family Life - Siblings - Cultural Heritage

RELEASE DATE: 12/1/2026  (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)

“A stunning, richly layered portrait of a family torn apart at the seams. . . . Unforgettable.”
―Thao Thai, bestselling author of Banyan Moon

A sweeping family saga set in Texas and the Philippines, following two sisters unearthing their mother's long-buried secrets.

In the 1960s, on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, the future of Corazon de la Cruz’s family rests with her. She’ll be the first to go to college, to immigrate to the United States, and to support her family back home by becoming a doctor. She can’t remember whether this dream was ever her own, or if she even has a say in it. But after a fire mysteriously breaks out on the de la Cruzes’ land, the family splinters, and Corazon is faced with a fateful choice.

Decades later, Corazon’s death has shaken the family to its very core. Her daughters, Hannah and Mari, are estranged from their roots in the Philippines when a distant cousin urges the sisters to return to settle unresolved business. Together for the first time in years, the sisters find that the future of their family’s ancestral land is now in their hands, and it’s about to slip away. As they fight to protect their inheritance, they uncover long-buried secrets hidden from them by their beloved matriarch―about her life, their homeland, and themselves.

A lush family saga and a love letter to the Philippines, Between You a River follows two generations of de la Cruzes as they confront the sacrifices made by mothers so their daughters can lead different lives, leaving them to wrestle with the lifelong push and pull of home.

AUTHOR BIO: 

Kimberly Garza is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Last Karankawas, a New York Times Editors' Choice and an Indie Next pick. Her stories and essays have appeared in Electric Literature, Texas Highways, Copper Nickel, and elsewhere, and she was a 2024 National Endowment of the Arts creative writing fellow. A native Texan--born in Galveston, raised in Uvalde--she teaches literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she directs the creative writing program.

One of Publishers Weekly's Most Anticipated Fall Titles

"Kimberly Garza's Between You A River is a stunning, richly layered portrait of a family torn apart at the seams, yet always trying to find their way back to the love that never left them. Drawn with intricately rendered characters and a lush, transportive setting, this is a novel that sings off the page, deftly wending into a reader's heart and imagination. Sweeping, deeply empathetic, and unforgettable."
--Thao Thai, bestselling author of Banyan Moon

" Between You A River is a beautiful novel about the pull of family and the lifelong search to understand who we are. Kimberly Garza writes with such tenderness, such grace, reminding us that love can stretch across oceans and generations and even our deepest silences."
--LaToya Watkins, National Book Award long-listed author of Holler, Child, and The Book of Chuck

"There are so many things to love about Kimberly Garza's new novel, Between You A River. What I loved most is the tender journey the de la Cruz family goes through: from fracture to bond and from bond to healing. Garza's exceptional rendering of sisters Hannah and Mari help us wrestle with questions of belonging, of the richness and tensions inherent in intercultural families (here, Latinx and Filipino), and what it means for the children of immigrants to become truly free. It is a mesmerizing, unforgettable novel."
-- Cleyvis Natera, award-winning author of The Grand Paloma Resort and Neruda on the Park

"Beautifully rendered, Between You a River moves gracefully across continents and through the planes of time to tell the enduring story of a family dealt a blow and now nobly putting itself back together. Garza has painted with each sister, aunt, and uncle in this glowing novel with compassion and generosity in their complex drive to help the circumstances of their clan. By the end, I wanted to embrace every character personally and say, 'Thank you for sharing your strength.'"
--Sidik Fofana, author of Stories From the Tenants Downstairs

"When our personal ambitions become entangled with the lives and fortunes of the people we love, what price must we pay to chase our dreams? Kimberly Garza carefully dissects the heartaches of those who journey far from their homelands for a bigger, richer life, while turning a sympathetic eye to the ruptured relationships that come with every departure."
--Monica Macansantos, author of Returning to My Father's Kitchen

"In Between You a River, Garza uses her signature lyrical prose to unearth the powerful pull of land and deep family secrets. It is a moving testament to the modern diaspora, proving that no matter how much time or how many generations pass, descendants will always cross the divide to understand where they come from."
--Cherry Lou Sy, author of Love Can't Feed You

"This epic novel speaks of family--its secrets, its beauty, its trauma and the bold sacrifices made for it--in the most beautiful and profound ways. Kimberly Garza's ability to create characters worth truly knowing is magnificently on display and I will carry these sisters in my heart for years to come."
--Amanda Churchill, author of The Turtle House

" Between You a River is a gorgeous and heartfelt novel that crosses oceans and generations. In a story that travels from South Texas to Australia and the Philippines, Kimberly Garza has written a family saga that feels as intimate as a tearful, late-night confession, proving once again that she's a master of illuminating the inky depths of the human heart."
--Elizabeth Gonzalez James, author of The Bullet Swallower

"A heart-squeeze of a book brimming with the sneaky laughter of mothers and daughters, and alive with their secrets. With the mighty grace of a rushing current, Garza carves a clever path through the lore of one family, split in two. In verdant prose, Between You a River is a feast of the senses and a loving testament to the ties that bind--ties to break free from, and ties that hold us together."
--Ariel Delgado Dixon, author of Sourland