3/5- I completely love the story of the two girls becoming sisters but you lost me with the ghost story! So it took me out the story! Made me not caring about the ending too much! Unfortunately this wasn’t it for me!

The Volcano Daughters is a historical fiction written by Gina Maria Balibrera.
It follows two sisters from El Salvador and how their lives played out during the 1932 massacre of the Pipil people.
The story is told over a span of 30 years. It’s a story of sisterhood, friendship and survival. The story’s pacing was the main struggle for me I got stuck in the middle portion of the book. I thought the plot got split with to many subplots. The Volcano Daughters does offer a beautifully scenic description of El Salvador.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera is a engaging and heartrending debut featuring the stories two sisters Consuelo and Graciela growing up in El Salvador and surviving political upheaval and genocide, often through the voices of their deceased cousins. This book is excellent for those who enjoy a blend of magical realism and historical fiction. I enjoyed reading both sisters stories both in El Salvador and elsewhere. I found Graciela's story to be the more engaging of the two. Spanish is sprinkled throughout which is something I love in books. Even if you don't speak or understand Spanish, it's easy to determine the meaning from the context. While their responses to trauma are very different, both Consuelo and Graciela grow throughout the book. The writing within the story was beautiful. It is a book meant to be read slowly.

Thank you to Pantheon and NetGalley for an ARC of this booking exchange for an honest review.

I throughly enjoyed this book. It followed the sisters over the years and I enjoyed seeing their growth and how they overcame so much.

I liked how the story was split into different timelines so we really get to experience all of the trials and the good times right along with the girls.

I am definitely interested in more from this author!

This book was a whole journey. Graciela and Consuelo are sisters in El Salvador. Graciela lives with her family in the shadow of the volcano. Consuelo has been taken by the (evil) dictator and lives at the palace. Graciela and Consuelo escape as things are getting rough. The story then moves all over the world, and there are ghosts involved.

I really liked this book. It gave me a perspective I had not considered from a country I embarrassingly know little about. These were strong women with strong personalities. It was their story to tell. The prose was superb, giving the reader a sense of immersion as well due to the beautiful way it was written. Some sad parts, some enraging parts, and some funny parts made this book a great read!

This is a beautifully written and captivating story about two El Salvadoran sisters. I enjoy a story that makes me want to research events and myths of that country. It was interesting that the sisters survived the massacres but they each thought the other was dead until they cross paths again later in life. This is a slow paced read and it makes sense for the topics that are covered but it was too slow for my liking. I wish I would have been able to connect with the main characters but I did find it difficult to get past the 4 ghost friends that had lots to say, which became distracting at a point. Once the sisters were navigating life as immigrants is when I really started to connect a little bit more with them and the story seemed to move a bit quicker by this point and kept my attention. Overall the topics and history were very important to talk about and well written and I think this would be great for those that prefer a slower paced read,

The Volcano Daughters was a good read.

I enjoyed the pace after about 10% the, the story pulled me in at parts where I couldn’t stop reading and at other parts it didn’t hold my attention for long enough. Once the sisters were both in the same place and things started happening to both of them and individually that’s when I became invested in the story.

The narrators of this story are questionable at best in the best way possible. The touches of magical realism were fun and the ghosts made for a good spooky read.

I want to extend my appreciation to NetGalley, Pantheon, and the author for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has such an interesting summary, there was no way I wasn't looking forward to reading. It explores the personal and familial struggles of two sisters in El Salvador in 1923. Garciela and Consuelo were raised separately, to be rejoined later in life, to then be torn from each other again. Living in a war-torn country, under the rule of a brutal dictator, they both understand the meaning of loss at an early age. I feel like the storytelling was a bit chaotic and made for a harder read.

I enjoyed reading this. It took me a little bit to figure out what was going on but I appreciated the detail and storyline. I love historical fiction so this was really interesting to me. I did struggle with understanding some parts because I don't speak Spanish so there were times that I didn't know phrases or words that were being used. Overall I appreciated being able to read a historical fiction book that's different than my usual historical fiction. I also appreciated the magical realism piece as well.

This book deserves all the hype! A tongue-and-cheek historical fiction centered around a massacre of civilians in El Salvador. Elegantly told with a bit of mischief from the slightly askew, this novel gripped my soul and left the reader with a knowledge about the importance of equity in humanity for all.

I loved how our two main characters were ordinary people who went through phases of both extraordinary circumstances and mundane ones. It felt real. I understood their desires and emotions.

Overall, hermosa!

Thank you NetGalley and Pantheon Books for providing me a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Disclaimer: I’m a big mood reader (including, but not limited to topic, format, pace, and genre)- so please take my review with that in mind.

Quick Response-
I enjoyed this more as an audiobook - it could be due to a multitude of factors. Among them being: I was in an audiobook mood, the narrators added to the storytelling in a way I could never, it’s a story that’s meant to be told out loud, etc.

Plot-
We follow two sisters: Graciela and Consuelo as they are forced to journey (together and separately) from their childhood home to a big city and then to a new country. This is a story about the strength of a sister’s bond. And I’m not just talking biological relationships- the sisters are accompanied by the ghosts of their childhood friends who perished in a terrible attack.

Characters-
The characters are three dimensional, even the spirits of the childhood friends. I found myself rooting for, shaking my head at, and laughing with the females in this novel.

Writing Style-
The novel is told in third person, volleying between Graciela and Consuelo’s lives; with interludes from the spirits and their informative/humorous/relatable input.
Mostly medium pace - there were times I lost interest and would just play the book without listening to what was really going on. I do think it was longer than it needed to be, but at the same time, think the last 10-15% was kind of rushed. That being said, the overall book was a good experience.

How I Read the Book -
I started this book with a digital ARC, but found that it felt I was just taking longer than I normally do to read a book of this length. That started to affect how I approached the book - I would almost not even want to open it back up. I began reading this book after the publication date, so thinking it was a screen time issue, I snagged a copy at the library, only to find out I had the same issue where I would be reading slower than usual*. I waited until I could listen to an audio version before deciding to DNF, because usually I didn’t go through this much effort to continue reading a book. I’m glad I waited, I’m glad I was able to listen to the story of these young girls who became wise women.

Credit to the narrators: Alma Cuervo, Inés del Castillo, Elena Rey, E.A. Castillo, Gisela Chipe.

*I am not saying reading speed matters, but me reading slower than I normally do is an indicator for me that I’m not interested in a book. But I had this strong feeling that this book was going to be good.

Why I Read the Book-
I pretty much judged this book by the cover - in a good way. The title, combined with the cover art exuded a fierce and powerful feeling. After reading that this was going to be a new-to-me-setting (El Salvador) and a new-to-me-author nationality I requested an ARC right away. It’s important to me to read stories from different countries and written by authors from different nationalities. Essentially, I wanted to expand my reading experience. And I did.

Do I Like this book?-
I did like this book - I’m glad I read it.

Do I Recommend this Book?-
I recommend this book (especially in audio format) to everyone who is able to get ahold of it.

Trigger warnings-
Miscarriage, sexual assault, kidnapping, immigration/deportation threats, racism, eugenics, genocide.

From the very first page, I was hooked! This historical fiction/magical realism mash up proved there is nothing like a mother's love. Additionally, we follow two sisters on their journey. As a self-proclaimed life-learner, I appreciated this story for providing insights into cultural and historical events with an authentic feel, which allowed me to fully appreciate the girls' journey, culture, and triumph in the face of adversity.

Volcano Daughters did an excellent job of highlighting history I had never heard of and had no context for - the 1932 El Salvador Massacre. While I have no regrets over reading this book, it fell short in many ways. Most notably, the lack of author’s note and historical context didn’t do the story the full justice it deserved. Consuelo is real! Consuelo Suncín de Sandoval. And “the aviator” is the famous author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of The Little Prince. Consuelo was his muse for part of that famous story and he went mysteriously missing during one of his 1940s flight. “The Mexican” is her first husband, Ricardo Cárdenas. Claudia is also a real person and poet - Claudia Lars and really is the daughter of Peter Patrick Brannon.
The magical realism of this book made me assume that while the background setting was real, the characters were all fake and I was shocked to learn that was not the case.
Unfortunately, this story did feel like it lasted absolutely forever, the beginning had 2 million characters (a mix of people and ghosts) that were quite difficult to follow, and I really wish Graciela and Claudia had been more developed. It also really stretched my high school Spanish, with not always enough context given to understand the informal slang. But, as I said, I don’t regret reading this and learning more about El Salvador’s tumultuous history. Thanks to NetGalley for the DRC!

A magical realism and historical novel starting out in 1920s El Salvador, as two sisters were separated and then brought back together all while under the dictator's regime. Interspersed between the sisters' story is a chorus of the ghosts of their friends who add another layer to the story, although it took some time to get used to the narration. Overall, a gripping story of a terrible time in history, with well written prose. Readers who like magical realism will appreciate this one, although the tone is definitely on the darker side.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was eager to read this book. The story offers a powerful depiction of life in 1920s El Salvador, following two sisters torn apart by a dictator's cruelty. While the plot is compelling, rich with themes of resilience and survival, I found the reading experience challenging due to the untranslated Spanish phrases. This made it difficult to grasp key elements. Additionally, the chorus of ghostly voices that narrate parts of the story felt excessive and disrupted the flow. Despite these issues, Balibrera's writing is often lyrical and poetic, and I appreciate her storytelling.

This book was an emotional read for me. I appreciate books that stay with me after I've finished them, and this one definitely does that. I particularly enjoy books that center around women. While I'm not a fan of books with a lot of suffering, I appreciate that the women in this book are portrayed with strength. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm interested in reading more from this author.

This novel spans from 1914 to 1942 and follows the lives of Graciela and Consuelo, two sisters who were separated during childhood, each facing so many adversities and for different reasons are far from each other.

Part of this story takes place in El Salvador during the dictatorship of "El Gran Pendejo " portraying the injustices and massacres.
It was interesting to learn about this period, and the historical part is what I enjoyed more.
Unfortunately, even if I found the narration original with a touch of magical realism, the Greek chorus didn't work for me. Sometimes, the interventions of those voices didn't add something relevant to the plot and was pointless, and it made me lose interest several times.

The premise was so promising, but it didn't fulfill my expectations.
I appreciate when I find expressions or key language according to a specific group of people, but I found excessive the use of Spanish, which is my native language, but sometimes the use was unnecessary.

Despite the hard life that the two sisters experienced, I couldn't connect with these characters even if I'm an emotional person. I guess this book wasn't for me after all.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this digital ARC.

I was so excited to read this and was heavily anticipating this being a 5 star reas. I think the author tried to do a lot and it didn't execute exactly as thought. It was somewhat of a struggle for me.

3.5

I was initially drawn to this stunning cover and then I saw that this was a historical fiction/magical realism narrative that follows two sisters during the rise of El Salvador's dictator and their flight from genocide. As someone who didn't know much about El Salvador's history, I found myself with an open Google tab up throughout this reading experience because I wanted to learn more about these people and events.

One thing that was really interesting about this is that the narrative has interlude commentary from friends of the sisters who are dead. I think once I understood that narrative structure, I found it really impactful but it did make the first 50 or so pages of this hard to get into.

Overall, I thought this story was compelling and emotional. Given that the story follows the rise of a genocidal dictator, there are some elements of this that are really hard to read but the prose was beautiful and the character voices felt fully realized. I found some elements of the plot and pacing a bit uneven, which is part of what keeps me from giving this a full 4 star, but I was really impressed by this debut and would be interested in seeing what else Balibrera writes.

This isn't the type of book I would normally pick up, but I'm so glad I took a chance and requested this one. It was both magical and moving, both fantastical and painfully realistic.