Between You a River

by Kimberly Garza

A haunting family drama about two sisters who travel back to their family’s ancestral land in the Philippines, where long-buried secrets unfurl in the wake of their mother’s death.

Corazon de la Cruz’s death shook her family to its very core, and her daughters are still picking up the pieces. Hannah is attempting to continue her mother’s legacy as a doctor in Uvalde, Texas, a community that’s reeling with grief after a tragic school shooting. Mari, on the other hand, has gone as far from home as possible, following an ill-fated romance across the world.

Estranged from each other and from their roots in the Philippines, a distant cousin suddenly urges them to return to the island of Mindoro to settle unresolved family business. Together for the first time in years—with each other and with their Filipino relatives—the sisters find that the fate of their family’s ancestral land is in their hands, and it’s about to slip away. As they fight to protect their homeland, they unearth shocking secrets hidden from them by their beloved matriarch—about her life, the land, and themselves.

A lush family saga and a love letter to Texas and the Philippines, Between You a River follows two sisters confronting the legacy their mother left behind, their dual identities, and the lifelong push and pull of home.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication December 1, 2026

About the author

Kimberly Garza is a native Texan, born in Galveston, raised in Uvalde. She earned a PhD in creative writing and Chicanx literature from the University of North Texas and is a tenure track assistant professor of creative writing and literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Half Mexican-American, half Filipina-American, Kimberly has had work published in TriQuarterly, Creative Nonfiction, Bennington Review, and others; and has been the recipient of scholarships from Breadloaf and The Michener Center for Writers. The Last Karankawas is her first book.

Reviews

[Marissa C · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story exploring the complexity of family and culture. The arc of sisters Hannah and Mari is beautifully done in their return to their matriarchy land of The Philippines. Like many families, time has wrought apart their relationship as well as those with their extended family. The story follows both women, as well as snippets from their mother, Corazon’s life. We even get a look at some of their aunt’s lives and their father’s life. Sometimes the switching of perspectives can make a story a bit clunky, but Garza did an excellent job here, and it worked for me.
There were many things that impressed me about this book. To begin with, I could really feel the differences between their mother’s Filipino roots and their father’s Mexican heritage. I personally do not come from a family of multiple backgrounds, so I really appreciated getting a look into the life of this family. “To be an immigrant is to be a sailor in storms, at sea all your life. You move between lands and you live in between. You search for home”. I could feel the struggles and appreciated how they worked together as well.
I also thought Garza’s descriptions were excellent, particularly in the flora of the Philippines. I could picture the beauty. Her description of grief was also striking, and felt very real. I liked the line about George smelling his late wife’s rose sachet: “Only one heartbeat of happiness, followed just as swiftly by sorrow”.
In addition, Garza draws parallel between Cory’s life and “The Odyssey”, which I thought was very well done. There were many references, but it wasn’t overdone.
Overall, I loved this book. I read it in a day, and would recommend to pretty much anyone.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful

[Kaitlyn Dreifus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received and ATC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really fell in love with the beginning of this story. It was beautifully written and explored how grief can tear people apart and they just can’t figure out how to come back from it. It also explored complex familial relationships and navigating those after the lynchpin of those relationships is gone. I think if the book had stayed on the trajectory of those plot lines I would have rated it much higher.

Additionally, I was immersed in the character descriptions of being “other” wherever they went and whoever they were with. I myself do not come from a multi-cultural household but out of everyone I’ve ever spoken to who is multi-racial this book seemed to capture everything they have always tried to explain about how their lives and especially family dynamics are outside of their nuclear family. I really appreciated having all that laid out so beautifully and easily comprehensible. It gave me an insight into what several people have tried to explain to me.

Unfortunately I just felt like the book didn’t stop while it was ahead and was also easily able to guess the plot twist. Wow the youngest aunt is the oldest sisters secret baby. I’m so surprised! It just made it too easy to wrap up the uneasy family dynamics as the underlying source of tension and also solved the will drama. I just felt like the author had beautiful complex themes going and then just wanted a simple way to end it instead of diving deep.

[Natalie Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC of this book. This book is a story about two sisters going on a healing journey to the Philippines to settle family matters, and rediscover family secrets in the process. To be honest, I read 50% of this book and could not finish it. The author has beautiful, descriptive writing, but I think it was too descriptive and it was difficult to follow at times. The timeline jumps back and forth every chapter, and there are many characters constantly introduced. I was drawn in at the beginning of the story, but lost interest and couldn’t find the motivation to finish. This is a book that would be relatable to someone from the Philippines or family from the Philippines. It just wasn’t for me.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between You and the River is about loving someone at the deepest level, loss, disappointment, forgiveness, and the strength to move forward. Readers who like character-driven, multigenerational family sagas will enjoy this novel. Some books with alternating character perspectives and timelines can be awkward and hard to follow, but this author makes the entire story flow seamlessly. As with many families, long-buried secrets are revealed, and we see how they shaped people we may have thought we knew everything about.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Company, and the author for the advance digital copy of Between You and the River

[Erin Raak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to read this in advance from Netgalley.com. This was a very moving story of two sisters re-connecting following their grief from losing their mother. They travel back to their mother's home to deal with land ownership issues and reconnect not only with each other, but with their extended family on their mother's side. So many secrets come to light, but the ending is wrapped up nicely. I would highly recommend this to others.

[Alicia Garcia-Webster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I was bored out of my gourd. This does mean that the book was boring, it just means that it did not captivate me personally. There were so many characters, none of them compelling, and so it failed to capture my attention. I had to force myself to finish it, but I am glad that I did, as I try to avoid DNFing a book at all costs. It just wasn't for me, sorry. But someone else might enjoy it. ** I was provided this ARC for free, but all opinions are my own.

[C.M. Stenquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very relatable and moving novel centered on family resolution.

[Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Loved it.