Liliana's Invincible Summer

A Sister's Search for Justice

By: Cristina Rivera Garza

Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • “A searing account of grief and the quest to bring her sister’s murderer to justice years after the fact” (The Boston Globe), from “one of Mexico’s greatest living writers” (Jonathan Lethem).

“Part memoir, part true-crime story, Garza’s chronicle is both personal and political.”—The Washington Post

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Washington Post, Time, Chicago Public Library, She Reads, Electric Lit

October 18, 2019. Cristina Rivera Garza travels from her home in Texas to Mexico City, in search of an old, unresolved criminal file. “My name is Cristina Rivera Garza,” she writes in her request to the attorney general, “and I am writing to you as a relative of Liliana Rivera Garza, who was murdered on July 16, 1990.” It’s been twenty-nine years. Twenty-nine years, three months, and two days since Liliana was murdered by an abusive ex-boyfriend. Inspired by feminist movements across the world and enraged by the global epidemic of femicide and intimate partner violence, Cristina embarks on a path toward justice. Liliana’s Invincible Summer is the account—and the outcome—of that quest.

In luminous, poetic prose, Rivera Garza tells a singular yet universally resonant story: Liliana is a spirited, wondrously hopeful young woman who tried to survive in a world of increasingly normalized gendered violence. Rivera Garza traces her sister’s history, depicting everything from Liliana’s early romance with a handsome but possessive and short-tempered man to that exhilarating final summer of 1990 when she loved, thought, and traveled more widely and freely than she ever had before.

Using her skills as an acclaimed scholar, novelist, and poet, Rivera Garza collected and curated evidence—handwritten letters, police reports, school notebooks, interviews with Liliana’s loved ones—to document her sister’s life. Through this remarkable and genre-defying memoir, she confronts the trauma of losing her sister and examines how this tragedy continues to shape who she is—and what she fights for—today.

©2023 Cristina Rivera Garza (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Cristina Rivera Garza wanted to shed light on the life of her sister, killed 30 years ago. Her book, part of a larger call for justice by women in Mexico, helped locate the suspect. . . . [Liliana's Invincible Summer] is the record of a woman who, against the odds, refuses to be forgotten.”—The New York Times

“Not everything can be put into words, especially grief and rage, no matter how precise and skilled the writing is. The beauty of this book is that it reaches for that truth regardless, and in doing so, Liliana becomes indelible. She is so fully realized that by the end, the reader is also mourning. I will be thinking of Liliana for a very long time, perhaps forever.”—The Washington Post

“Women across the world are killed at shocking rates by men, usually partners or former ones. . . . Anger at this lack of accountability seethes through Ms. Rivera Garza’s book. Her main goal, however, is not abstract analysis of femicide but to chronicle a life lost to it. . . . Absorbing and poetic.”—The Economist

Incredible weaving of texts and perspectives to tell a compelling story

I was afraid this narrative would be hard to follow in audiobook, but was very pleasantly surprised. The writing flows and the readers voice kept me listening. The themes are profound and at times not easy to "live" in, yet the thoughts, reflections, and particularly the descriptive language kept me hooked through the end. This book will certainly make you think about gender, coming of age, and the violence that goes unnoticed and persists in our world. Tough topics treated with amazing artistry that is hauntingly beautiful.

A deeply unsettling yet vital read

This book combines personal narratives, historical analysis, and global data to uncover the cultural, political, and societal structures that enable femicide. The narrator’s powerful storytelling sheds light on her sister’s story and others that are often silenced, leaving readers both enraged and empowered to demand change. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand and combat gender-based violence.

Beautiful and moving.

I loved how the author wrote the story and brought her sister back to life. I felt like I got to know Liliana. The narrator’s voice felt right for this story

Freedom is not the problem

I was not prepared for the impact this novel would have on me. The quest of this sisters love to find justice, uncovers the truth of femicide and our inability to recognize and all to often excuse the threats that lead to it. Uplifting and heart wrenching Cristina Rivera Garza weaves the important narrative with historical context and questions that we must confront.

Simply Beautiful

Through the process of healing, Cristina shares her sister with us. Not only do we learn who she was, what made her unique and ultimately what lead to her death, but we learn about the interesting dynamic they shared as sisters.

I know I will find myself reading this story again and again.

Truth is Hard

This is a difficult book to listen to because you know from the start that there is no happy ending.

Pulitzer Prize winner for a reason!

Rivera Garza’s writing tenderly weaves in meticulous research, family and friend narratives, and her own earnest reflections on her sister’s life and femicide. It’s as much a loving portraiture for her sister’s full humanity and complexity, as it is an unapologetic investigation into femicide in Mexico. I highly recommend this book!

A True Story Artistically Written

The way the author wrote the story is superb. It’s creative, artistic and interesting. This book is pure literary work. The way she writes about her sister’s life and her gruesome tragedy is simply astonishing.

I loved the language and style of writing. The narration was perfect.

My only negative comment is the sad subject of the book. The author did a great job of providing a variety of points of view.

the use of language flow, and gut reaching power of love.

the reader lacked emotion. it felt like a reading and not like a story. I had listen hard to catch the poetry of each chapter, but oh, it was there!