DNF at 5%.

I can totally see the appeal of this book to others but unfortunately the writing style is just not it for me. I’m having trouble keeping track of who is speaking about what, and the switching between Spanish and English multiple times per sentence is throwing me off. I wish I enjoyed the writing a bit more because I was excited about this storyline and so think overall the writing sounds beautiful, but is just confusing.

The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera is a powerful and evocative debut novel that masterfully intertwines themes of family, heritage, and resilience against a vibrant and tumultuous backdrop. Set in El Salvador, the story follows two sisters, Graciela and Consuelo, who are separated at a young age and later reunite under extraordinary circumstances.

Balibrera’s storytelling is both poetic and visceral, drawing readers into the lives of her richly developed characters. The narrative is endlessly surprising and vividly imaginative, bursting with lush life and historical depth. The author skillfully weaves Spanish words and phrases throughout the novel, adding authenticity and a deeper connection to the cultural setting.

The novel’s strength lies in its ability to blend historical fiction with elements of magical realism, creating a unique and immersive reading experience. The depiction of the sisters’ journey from the shadow of a brutal dictator to their flight across the globe is both heart-wrenching and inspiring.

While the pacing can be uneven at times, and some readers might find the interwoven Spanish challenging, these aspects do not detract significantly from the overall impact of the story. The Volcano Daughters is a testament to the enduring power of memory, community, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood.

Overall, this novel is a dazzling accomplishment and a must-read for fans of historical fiction and magical realism. Highly recommended!

A sweeping, enchanting work of historical fiction and magical realism set around two sisters from El Salvador. It's a heartbreaking story full of violence, grief, and trauma, but also full of joy, creativity, and hope. I love the unique narrative voice of the story and the different corners of history the characters find themselves in. The second half of the book was faster paced and more compelling for me than the first, so if you find yourself thinking about quitting, I recommend sticking around!

🌋 Book Review 🌋

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: August 20, 2024

Rating: It was okay!

I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. I always love historical fiction because I end up learning something new.

The two biggest things that I struggled with are the intermingled Spanish phrases and the Narrators.

The Spanish phrases are minor. I knew enough that I could figure out most of the words. However, I think that may deter other readers.

The Narrators are four girls that are ghosts that follow the sisters. When they interject their thoughts, it would take me out of the main story. I don’t think I was quite the intended audience for this one.

For fans of:
🌋 Historical fiction
🫘 Magical realism
🌋 Lyrical writing
🫘 Spanish phrases sprinkled in
🌋 Where the Crawdads Sing

This book was such a gut punch but in the best way possible.

The Volcano Daughters follows the plight of two sisters, Consuelo and Graciela, who flee El Salvador during its brutal dictatorship in the 1980s. They escape the genocide in their indigenous village and are separated across the globe, circumstance and fate bringing them back together.

The book is raw, and I mean raw. Like clawing open your chest raw. The narration is done by the sisters’ friends from their village, who are assumed to have died in the massacre. It gives a mystical flare to the story telling, knowing that the ones telling it are ghosts. The prose is beautiful, weaving in Spanish and English together to full tell the sisters’ story. You feel the emotions come out of the page and into your heart - its simply genius.

The characters are also so vivid - you see their struggles and feelings and you feel like you just want to give them a hug and let them have peace and happiness, even if its not possible for them.

The one thing I thought would make the storytelling better was the pacing. Because we are covering many years, there is a lot of cover which bogs down the plot flow a lot. It doesn’t necessarily take away from the total experience, but definitely something to note.

Its not a dynamic plot by any means, but its a wonderfully done historical fiction about an often overlooked area of history. If you need to just sob over a book, this is the one for you.

I think that there are two separate stories in this book, one resonating closer with me and my own lived experiences and those of other people around me as a migrant. The narrative of this book is as raw, as any book tackling these topics should be, and although the characters sometimes feel flat, they take us through this story and their inner turmoils beautifully.

I do think that the first half of the book, following Graciela and Consuelo is a lot stronger than the second half, El Salvador at the turn of the 20th century is a stronger setting to me than France and the United States later on. Once again, for a story that explores societal and cultural issues through a very character centered narrative, the characters often fall flat and their interpersonal conflicts often go unresolved in a way that could enhance the narrative. And at the center of it, part of me gets it as someone who escaped her own country's dictatorship due to political persecution; sometimes you will not get resolutions, goodbyes and confrontations that should have happened otherwise, sometimes we just leave with the bitter taste that it will just be an abrupt ending to years of fear and ruin; however this ties up to how i sense the second part of the novel, following the genocide and into their immigration stories; this part is full of characters that just never fully develop, and just are there because someone needs to move the narrative forward.

I loved the narrators of this book, and to me they add a lot of the flavor and strength to this book.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. Unfortunately, I did not finish it.

The history of El Salvador has been riddled with revolution, corruption, dictatorship, terror, and genocide. One group that has ceaselessly fallen victim to these scourges has been indigenous women and children. Using magical realism, history, culture, fantasy, and folklore the author constructs a lush tale of the bonds between two sisters cast from this world but always a part of it. Many Spanish words and phrases both enhanced the book but rendered this reader stopping the narrative to parse out the meaning. A Greek chorus of comadres at the beginning was both confusing, funny, and poignant. But then I became lost and confused in the story. Still saw a lot of promise in this author and would try a future book by her. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

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.