A great middle grade novel! I loved the imagery and learning about the culture. I think my kids will love reading it! #netgalley #solimar #goodreads

Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Narrated by Franchesca Agramonte is a tale of a young woman (age 15) who ends up having to dig deep within herself to summon the strength and tenacity required to save everything and everyone she loves.

It is fantastic that the heroine of this tale is a Mexican girl. It is extremely important that children realize that not all heroes are Caucasian and male.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance review copy of SOLIMAR as an audiobook and I found that listening to this story seriously enhanced my experience. I definitely recommend purchasing the audiobook.

I rate this audiobook as 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Beautifully lush narrator. Lovely story and strong MC. Definitely fills a need for princess stories that are not the typical (read: white, blonde, blue eyed) expectation of what a princess is. Adventurous and magical and fast paced. Love the cover as well - representation matters!
Thank you to NetGally and Disney Hyperion for the galley proof. Opinions are my own.

I loved the audio of this story and the whimsical prose and overall feeling of the plot. I hope to read more in this world.

Solimar is about the power of belief in oneself and the knowledge of when to ask for help. Solimar discovers the power of the Monarch butterflies one afternoon. It changes her life and also clouds her and her family in danger. She strikes out on an adventure to save her family, but knowing the future doesn't mean everything will turn out the way she expects.

Fantastic narrator. Soothing, sonorous, and perfect for the main character. She switches seamlessly between characters of different ages and genders. A book that I will recommend to audiobook listeners.

This audio-arc was accepted after publication so that is why I am barely reviewing it.

I think the narrator did a fantastic performance at bringing emotion and excitement in this middle-grade book.

I also enjoyed the story itself. It packed a lot more than I was expecting by discussing
- environmental concerns
- breaking/ questioning gender norms
- living your life and not living life for your parents

As someone who is Mexican-American, the imagery and emphasis on the rebozo felt so beautiful and intentional.

As an audiobook or in text format, this is an awesome beginning to what I hope will be a long series of adventure books. I loved the world building and characters in Solimar. No, all of the characters were not as well developed as the central two and a few special side characters, but the world was developed enough to carry the villains who were perhaps a bit flat and one dimensional. Perhaps in following books the author will explore a more nuanced view of some of these villians.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Great book, would buy if i saw it and would recommend for sure! Loved the characters and story!

Very sweet, and monarch butterflies are entirely my aesthetic. Also talking dolls! Honestly this book's vibes were exactly what I needed. Really great characters, and incredibly beautiful magic system. I loved it!

Teenage girl beating the odds to save her kingdom? Yes, please! This was a sweet middle grade book that is rich in culture and inspired by the author’s adoration of monarch butterflies. It’s a story of friendship and loyalty with some magic mixed in. It highlighted trusting one’s intuition and working to change tradition. I would happily hand it to my 11 year old to read or read it aloud to my 6 year old.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audioARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a solid middle grade. I requested the ALC through NetGalley after seeing it's the same author who wrote Esperanza Rising. I got a little sentimental and remembered reading that as a kid, despite not remembering a single thing about it now 😅 anyway, this book is cute and has some big girl power vibes. The resolution is a bit too tidy for me but perfect for the age range it's directed at.

I loved this. This was just utterly fantastic I can’t even get into how amazing it is. Unique and different and just wow. This is definitely in children’s book you can read as an adults and you will not lose anything. In fact I would recommend this booked to adults.


Especially if you have a like late elementary early middle school reader. It’s fantastic and I love it and can’t recommend it enough. Thank you so much and netGalley for sending me this review copy of course opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

While parts of this were so so interesting, parts I felt my mind drifting away and would have to keep rewinding. I loved learning about the culture. The characters were fun and well fleshed out. I want to try reading an ebook copy of this to see if I retained any better!

Solimar leads a happy life as future princess. She is strong, smart and independent. One day she goes a little past her boundaries to see the monarch migration and is chosen by the butterflies as their protector. Their magic affects her rebozo embedding fragile new butterflies into and providing her with the power to see the near future.

This gift is also a curse as her family is taken hostage by the greedy king of a neighboring kingdom.

Can Solimar make the trek down the dangerous river to warn her father, save her family…and herself?

This novel is another beautiful story by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Our students fall in love with Esperanza Rising and Becoming Naomi León. I am sure they will love Solimar as well. The story is exciting and fast paced. Each chapter leaves you wanting to know what will happen next. The information on butterflies and especially monarchs at the end of the book provides great information for kids on the importance of protecting them and how to attract and support butterflies in the wild.

Solimar makes a great edition to a Pam Muñoz Ryan author study or companion literature to migration or insect units in science.

The audio was very pleasant to listen to; I can easily recommend this title to all who have experienced Esperanza Rising. Loved the fantasy.

Solimar is preparing for her Quinceanera and coronation as princess. While in the forest, watching the monarch butterflies, she receives the gift to tell the immediate future and the responsibility to care for the weaker butterflies until they are ready to fly. When her father and brother lead the annual caravan to market, their kingdom is invaded. What can Solimar do to save her people and protect the butterflies? A story of strength, magic, and adventure. Solimar is bright, thoughtful, and brave. The narration is wonderful and fitting for the story.

Pam Muñoz Ryan is one of my many favorite authors. Her new book features a compelling heroine, her loving, tight knit community, and a hint of magic.

Solimar’s quinceañera and her official coronation as princess of the small kingdom of San Gregorio are rapidly approaching. She is about to face many changes and new responsibilities in her young life. Yet all her focus is on the annual migration of the sacred monarch butterflies to the forest beyond the small village where she lives.

Now here comes the hint of magic. During this grand event, something strange happens to Solimar, and she receives a magical gift that she doesn’t understand or know how to control. When dark forces threaten San Gregorio, Solimar must learn to harness her new power if she has any hope of saving her people, her family and her beloved monarch butterflies. The people of San Gregorio have great respect for nature, especially the monarch butterflies. This fact is conveyed by the author through awe-inspiring descriptions of towering oyamel fir trees and thousands of delicate butterfly wings glittering in the sunlight. I truly enjoyed the audio version which richly portrayed the natural wonders of San Gregorio and Solimar’s determination to protect them.

Pam Munoz Ryan fans will recognize her Newbery winning writing style in this excellent fantasy adventure.

I enjoyed this story. Was a unique journey and the narrator was amazing. I’m hoping there will be another book in this series.

In the fantastical Mexican kingdom of San Gregorio, Solimar Guadalupe is preparing for her fifteenth birthday and quinceañera where she will be officially coronated as a princes of San Gregorio. But Solimar is more interested in the arrival of migrating monarch butterflies than in preparing for her fancy party. She sneaks out of the palace to observe the monarchs, when she is engulfed by spirals of butterflies that enchant her rebozo and give her the power to predict the near future. Her newfound gift becomes important when her father, the king, and older brother, the crown prince, leave San Gregorio to establish alliances with other kingdoms and a rival king takes the palace of San Gregorio hostage. Solimar escapes, and rushes to find her father and brother, save the kingdom, and protect the butterflies at all costs.

This new fairy tale from masterful storyteller Pam Muñoz Ryan is richly layered and beautifully told story. Solimar's voice rings out as an impassioned and virtuous leader, and readers will easily cheer for her in her adventures. The fantasy elements are well incorporated in a world imbued with Mexican culture which makes for a bright, glowing and magical world. Fans of Muñoz Ryan's many other books will surely want to seek this book out.

This audiobook would have been better if it was longer. I found the audiobook to be too rushed that it was hard to connect with the characters. The world-building was also very confusing, and I would like more information about Solimar’s magic and its consequences. As for the narrator, she read the story very fast. It was also hard to understand what she was saying with her Spanish accent. I had to rewind the story many times to understand what she was saying. Also, all her characters sounded the same because there was no distinction. I would have liked it more had there been a different narrator.