Liliana’s Invincible Summer (Pulitzer Prize winner): A Sister’s Search for Justice

Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza is a Pulitzer Prize–winning and National Book Award–finalist memoir that blends personal reflection with true crime. On October 18, 2019, Garza travels from Texas to Mexico City to request the long-lost criminal file of her sister, Liliana Rivera Garza, who was murdered by an abusive ex-boyfriend in 1990. Nearly three decades later, driven by global feminist movements and anger at widespread femicide, Garza seeks justice for Liliana.

Through poetic and powerful prose, Garza reconstructs Liliana’s life—from her youthful dreams and troubled relationship to her final, liberating summer. Drawing on letters, notebooks, police reports, and interviews, the author creates a deeply moving portrait of her sister and a broader reflection on gendered violence, grief, and resilience.