Between You a River: A Novel

“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.