The writing was very beautiful, the book just wasn't for me, unfortunately. I think I expected it to be more historical fiction than fantasy, but still a very interesting premise!

this was a tough read at times but i really did enjoy this through and through! the magical realism, themes of family and historical aspects really kept me hooked and wanting to keep reading. can't wait for this to be released and see what others think!

Not what I was hoping for. I wanted a lot of of the folklore and mystical aspects of the culture.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Goodreads for the early copy of this book.
This was probably one of the most unique stories I have read. Haunting, bringing El Salvador's culture and history to the table this is a tale about two sisters who survived the genocide and built their lives from scratch. Told from the POV of ghosts this book combined humor, raw graphic scenes that would make you feel the pain these women felt, resilience, and the strength of community coming together.

Phenomenal debut with beautiful writing, this is a book I will think about for a long time.

Actual Rating 1.5

I found the premise of this one quite interesting and was fascinated to see how the author made this both “saucy” and engaging historically. Unfortunately, the sauciness generally just felt like cheap, crass asides and crude happenings that I didn’t really prefer. So I was hoping that the history and mythology might end up saving the work, but I was disappointed by that as well. I didn’t gain any insights into El Salvador during this time, the genocides, the class conflicts, and the plight of the indigenous peoples beyond some surface level things.

The author included the voices of four women that were interspersed within the chapters talking to themselves about the events that were happening, rather like the Greek chorus traditionally used. While some people might love this, I personally didn’t. It only served to break up the narrative and, especially near the beginning, make the work feel disjointed. Those characters rarely had anything interesting or insightful to say either, which made it more of a chore to read.

I honestly don’t recommend reading this one, and I’m not really sure who I could recommend it to (maybe if you’re just a huge fan of Greek choruses?). My thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon Publishing for allowing me to read this work, which will be published August 20, 2024. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Has a solid premise, but not for me. It’s too much in the vein of magical realism for my taste, and that genre doesn’t really work for me.

Consuelo and Graciela were both born in 1920s El Salvador from the same mother but grow up living in completely different places. Consuelo was stolen away from her home before his sister was born and grows up living rich and lavishly in the Capital. Graciela lives in a village by the volcano and meets her sister for the first time when she is lured to the Capital by her father’s death.
I enjoyed parts of this one and I loved the character development but I felt like the plot dragged a little for me. I found myself waiting to get to the end. In addition, the Spanish words and phrases sprinkled throughout made it so I kept having to stop and look up some words (I have a small amount of Spanish knowledge). That’s really my own shortcoming and I thankfully read it on my kindle, where I could easily translate things, but it makes a little less accessible for readers that have no Spanish experience. Thanks so much to Netgalley and Pantheon for an advanced copy of this ebook.

Gina Maria Balibrera’s debut novel, The Volcano Daughters, is a uniquely crafted novel that wonderfully doesn’t stay in a lane. A historical novel set in El Salvador’s dictatorship in the 1920 focuses on a generation of sisters and cousins who’ve been affected by the politics from the distant capital, San Salvador, racism descended from colonialism, and a world that placed little value on women’s lives. The country’s bogeyman, dictator El Gran Pendejo selected young Graciela to be his next oracle, to give directions to El Salvador or suffer the consequences. As thriller and a suspenseful notes are woven into the novel’s tapestry for the sisters, Graciela and Consuelo, to not only reconnect but rediscover the daughters of the volcano and what it means to hear and know your history.

A gripping debut novel about two sisters fleeing a political unrest and genocide in El Salvador, narrated by the ghosts of the genocide.

This is an engaging story about two sisters trying to figure out there place to each other and in the world at large while the world throws trauma after trauma at them. I cried for their poor mother and long lost friends and family while its ends on more upbeat ending. The trauma Graciela and Consuela go through is intense. I loved the mention of mythology and language in the story. It was fun to explore a different culture and world. Also i love a good sister tale.

I couldn't read this. I tried really hard but the amount of unexplained Spanish was my Waterloo. I speak some Spanish, but couldn't get through more than a few chapters of this. I don't know if a glossary will be included but when every 3-4 words is something I have to look up it takes away the flow and enjoyment.

A perfect balance of humor, humanity, and horror wrapped up in character-driven historical storytelling.

This book tackles the stark realities of coups and massacres in a straightforward way that helps the reader confront these tragedies alongside the characters.

The way the book uses a chorus of deceased women to tell the story of the ones who survived is moving and insightful.

Though hard to read at times, I loved this book for the perspective it gave me and the hope it conveys.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Volcano Daughters" is a deeply emotional story of two sisters, Graciela and Consuelo, who have been taken from their home in one of Mexico's Indigenous villages to the home of the General. He believes Graciela has special powers to see the future and keeps her as an advisor. The story is hauntingly told by a chorus of deceased Indigenous women. While I appreciated the beautiful writing style and characterization, I found the storytelling somewhat choppy and the pacing very slow, and the setting felt very vague. I felt that this book had a lot of potential that it didn't reach for me, but I believe there are other readers who will enjoy it a lot more than I did.

I enjoyed a lot of this book. I will say I wish I knew how much of this book would be in Spanish, it made parts of the book annoying to read. I don't speak Spanish and it made it hard to keep up with in parts. If you can read Spanish I think you will love this book. I will say I still enjoyed reading this. The time this book takes place in (1800 El Salvador) was very interesting to read about. I did not know much about what had happened and found myself looking up the things that really happened in that time. I definitely recommend this for Spanish/English readers and can say if you don't read both you should still be able to enjoy it, it is a good story.

Written with many Spanish words sprinkled throughout gave this novel a more realistic feel to the two main characters from El Salvador. (And challenged my memory of Spanish classes several decades ago!) Four of their good friends lost their lives in a political massacre and narrate this story which didn’t work very well for me. Instead of adding to the narrative, it felt like they were intruding and interrupting the flow. The way the main characters quickly managed to secure shelter and income in new countries seemed unrealistic. I did enjoy the strong relationships between all of the girls and those in their original hometown in El Salvador.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC to read and review.

THE VOLCANO DAUGHTERS by Gina Maria Balibrera

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC ebook to read.

3.5 stars rounded up.

A debut set in early 20th century El Salvador. Graciela and her four friends live a simple life along with their mothers on a volcano in a community of indigenous women indentured to a coffee plantation. Most of the children don’t even know who their fathers are. Graciela’s father, who was second-in-command and spiritual advisor to the the general, El Gran Pendejo, has died. Graciela, along with her mother are summoned to the capital to pay their respects. Upon arrival in the capital, the sister, Consuelo, who was kidnapped years ago is reunited with her mother and sister, Graciela.

This story spans decades and follows the two sisters and their quest to flee the genocide in El Salvador, under the rule of El Gran Pendejo. A massacre of indigenous people following El Gran Pendejo’s coup d’etat leaves their childhood friends and families killed. The novel is cleverly narrated by the four childhood friends beyond the grave. The author did a brilliant job of having these four ghosts doing the narration. The sisters each believing the other is dead have crossed the globe, and reinvented their lives; ultimately reconnecting.

This is a difficult review for me to try and condense, as so much happens when spanning decades. I was pleasantly impressed by this authors debut and style of writing. A novel of resistance, survival, sisterhood, political history, lyrical, and mythical. I will definitely be following her to see what she does next.

An illuminating and heart wrenching novel that skillfully blends historical fiction and magical realism to the tell the story of two sisters who live in El Salvador under the rule of a brutal dictator and flee the genocide of the country's Indigenous people. I enjoyed going on the journey with Consuelo and Graciela as they reinvent their lives and chart their own paths along with the memories of those who they have lost along the way.

Easy to read and hard to put down. Heartbreaking story,. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Four young girls grew up together among the indigenous peoples in the shadow of the volcano. Graciela is summoned to the capital by her step-mother. There she joins her sister Consuelo, who was taken from the volcano as a toddler. Graciela becomes an oracle for the countries dictator, parroting back his words. Years later, the indigenous people are targeted in an act of genocide.

This was an odd book. Graciela’s chapters were interspersed with the voices of her dead friends, victims of the genocide. El Salvador was not named until nearly the end of the book, which I found odd. Overall, I didn’t love the book and didn’ hate it. It is very hard to rate this one.

Gorgeously written historical fiction novel with characters I really rooted for. I highly recommend and think folks need to get over languages besides English being in a book. You know the entire world is not English based right? Grow up, this book was great!