**Features:**
- Magical realism in an historical setting
- Set mostly in El Salvador during the 1920s - 1930s, depicting events leading up to and in the aftermath of La Matanza
- Indigenous main characters
- Disenfranchised characters trying to navigate a dangerous political world

**Summary**

Stolen away from her mother and home on the volcano, Graciela finds herself thrown into her father’s place as the oracle for El Salvador’s rising dictator. Though she has access to all of the comforts she could want, nothing can fill the void of losing her home. Thankfully, she still has her older sister Consuelo to lean on. However, the regime is falling apart and as a massacre hits Graciela and Consuelo’s home on the volcano, the two flee, unsure if the other has made it out alive. Through their struggle to survive, escape, and eventually reunite, Graciela and Consuela are accompanied by the opinionated spirits of their dead friends.

**Thoughts**

This is a dark and powerful piece that explores the subjugation and exploitation of indigenous women in a complex yet accessible way that I have to applaud. Where it doesn’t go into the details of the pseudoscience of racial mixing and the religious-like fervor around it, there is enough to understand the complicated position of Graciela and Consuela. Though the book discusses the indigo-turned-coffee plantation that the girls come from, more of it focuses on the socio-political ways they are exploited due to their mixed racial background. I could probably write a whole essay on all of the nuances this introduces that we don’t often get to see, but I’ll let you experience them for yourself!

From the beginning, you know that the story is being told by the ghosts of Graciela’s and Consuelo’s friends that are killed during a massacre. Their involvement as the story unwinds and the way that the mythology of the region is incorporated gives this book its magical elements. Where I like the chorus overall, the blunt and abrupt way some of the individual ghosts chime in feels at odds with the otherwise poetic prose in which the story is told. There are times that this still manages to work, but others where the interruption doesn’t add anything meaningful to the story and becomes irritating as a result. However, this happens less as the story progresses and the ghosts become more active in the story.

Though I have not practiced in awhile, I know Spanish well enough that I really wasn’t put off by the amount that is used in this book. In fact, I really appreciate how it unapologetically bounces between languages and embraces that cultural element. However, I feel like readers with more limited knowledge of Spanish will find this hard to navigate at times. Unlike many books that bounce between languages, this one occasionally uses Spanish for multiple sentences at a time rather than mixing just a few words in. As a result, there sometimes isn’t quite enough context to tell what is being said without knowing or looking up a few words. I could easily see some readers struggling to stay engaged with this book if they have to frequently pause to try and translate.

An amazing story of two sisters who escape the 1932 Pipil massacre in El Salvador. Their story has just the right touch of magical realism, and shades of '100 Years of Solitude'. The author intersperses Spanish with English to describe the lush, verdant jungles of El Salvador and the girls' lives growing up together. It's an amazing debut, as you journey with the two sisters across decades, as they are guided by the ghosts of the dead they left behind.

The novel has several narrators, all victims of the genocide in El Savador, friends and families of the two main characters. These multiple points of view might be challenging to follow, but you'll soon fall into the rhythm of their cadence. There are lots of historical references here and you can tell the author has done a lot of research into this time in history. The author also touches on many themes-racism, sexism, survival, and community. The two sisters travel from California, to WWII France, and many places in between. The relationship between the two sisters is the crux of the story, as well as the tale of the effects of the rise and destruction of political power. You'll root for these two girls as they try to make a new life for themselves, always surrounded by the memories of where they came from.

To be quite honest, I've been going back and forth in my mind about what I think and feel about this book.

What's it about? It's a historical fiction that follows two sisters from El Salvador who were there during the time of the 1932 massacre of the Pipil people. Graciela and Consuelo have their lives played out from when they were young and innocent to being manipulated by those of political power, and then how their lives unfold after the massacre. Along the way, the ghosts of the girls who grew up with them, who perished, continue to be by Graciela and Consuelo throughout their years, no matter how far they travel from their home town.

The very first portion of the book (say 10-20%) was a little difficult to follow. Establishing the different girls and characters was a mental hurdle to say the least. And what's very common in other reviews and I would agree with, you may need to find a Spanish dictionary, as there are many words and phrases written in with no translation. An dictionary or index at the end of the book may have been helpful, as the inexperience of not understanding the words really jarred me out of the story line versus being flowing. The only other part of the book that felt confusing at first is the POV parts that came from the childhood girls and figuring out how that played a role throughout the story.

However, the majority of the book telling you about two women piecing together a lives after escaping El Salvador is wonderfully told. Personally, it took me about the 40% mark for me to really feel invested and pulled away by their stories.

Overall, I will be giving this book 3 stars out of 5. It's a great story and didn't entirely blow me off my chair. However, this book will be great for many other readers out there.

Thank you Netgalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon, and author for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to Instagram, Goodreads, and Storygraph.

"Volcano Daughters" by Gina Maria Balibrera is an astounding debut and work of literary historical fiction. The story centers around two young sisters raised during the reign of El Gran Pendejo, the brutal dictator of El Salvador from 1931 to 1944. I'm ashamed to say that I was largely unfamiliar with the history and so I was shocked and horrified as the book detailed the massacre of thousands of indigenous people under the guise of a response to a communist uprising. The main characters fled to the United States, accompanied by the ghosts of their friends who perished in the genocide.

This is a story of incredible anguish, but also of the powerful desire to live. It certainly is an ambitious debut, not shying away from intense topics such as sexual abuse, genocide, racism, and sexism. However, it is beautifully crafted, with lyrical prose and vivid characters. I was moved to tears as I read of the sisters' hardships and celebrated with their successes. This is not a book to be read quickly; instead it should be savored. I loved the inclusion of folklore and Spanish slang (hijueseismilputas being one of my favorites). The chorus of tragic child ghosts lends a touch of child-like innocence and humor to this very heavy story.

This book will be an award winner for sure and fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende should add this book to their Autumn reading lists.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this marvelous debut novel. Five stars!

The Volcano Daughters is an extraordinary tale of two sisters, Graciela and Consuelo, who escape unrest and genocide in El Salvador. Guided by the ghosts of four childhood friends killed in La Matanza, the sisters rebuild their lives across decades and continents, from 1930s California to a WWII-era artists' commune in France.

Gina María Balibrera’s daring narrative pays off, blending magical realism with themes of survival, identity, and community. The novel is cleverly narrated by the ghosts of the sisters’ friends, who add humor and context to this tragic yet hopeful story. This narrative structure, along with Balibrera’s lush writing, evokes comparisons to Isabel Allende and Xochitl Gonzalez .

I was particularly drawn to the novel’s exploration of colorism, prejudice against indigenous communities, and the complexities of motherhood and sisterhood. The Volcano Daughters is ambitious in scope and deeply moving, offering readers a window into a lesser-known chapter of history.

Did I mention it was a debut?? Ill be keeping my eye out for more works by Balibrera.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage & Anchor for an advanced reader’s copy of The Volcano Daughters.

I was really intrigued with this one, but something about it was hard for me to fully get into. I was really excited about the premise, and some good reviews, but I struggled really hard with the writing and wanted more history of the country.

Amazing cover and interesting concept, but I had trouble connecting with the writing and keeping the sheer number of characters straight. I found myself having to re-read passages a lot to keep track of what was happening.

I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to an early access to this book. This was a story that intrigued me from the very beginning. I wanted to learn more about Salvador history and how govement brutality can affect an entire population. I loved the way we got a depiction of everything that went on from woman’s voices; most times it gets ignored or the people that were lost have no voice but, in this case, it was very important to get that across. I am impressed and love to read fiction that evolves around history that has affected deeply Latinx countries.

In the country of El Salvador, years and years ago, two girls, sisters, were born. The first was stolen from her mother when she was only four years old, taken to live a fancy live in the capital. The second was stolen years later, destined to be the new oracle for the dictator who kept a firm grip over the country. Consuelo and Graciela were taken from the volcano that was once their home, but they never forgot, nor did the volcano forget them.

At a time where things change quickly, where wars are about to break out overseas, where a few words can get entire communities killed, the sisters have to learn to survive when the world itself seems to be against them. And while they’re so different, it might just be their connection to each other that saves them both.

I received an advanced reading copy of The Volcano Daughters in exchange for an honest review.

The Volcano Daughters is a novel by Gina María Balibrera. It’s a book that’s kind of a magical realism historical fiction, taking place in El Salvador, starting in the 1920’s and moving forward as the girls age.

I have to admit that I didn’t know a lot about El Salvador or its history before I read this. I was always impressed at how small the country was, and could point to it on a map. I knew the name of its capital, since it was one of the easiest ones to remember in my high school geography quizzes, but almost nothing about its history. Through this book, I not only learned about El Salvador’s history, but I was also swept away by the story of the women in these pages. We have Consuelo and Graciela, of course, but we also have so many others. We have their mother, who mourned after they were taken from her. We have the other older women in their hometown, who practically raised them. We have the woman who kidnapped them for the dictator. And we have their childhood friends, all of whom were murdered, but their ghosts live on to continue forming the bridge between the lives of these two sisters, all the while telling the story of their own lives, and what they could have been, had their deaths not come so soon and so suddenly.

That was where the magical realism aspect came in, with the ghosts who tell the story of the entire book, but they also serve as a reminder of who both Consuelo and Graciela are. The sisters might have been forced to leave their birthplace over and over again, but it, and the volcano, keeps living in them, no matter how far they roam.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the magical realism aspect, but my favorite part was the sisterhood, as it so often is. We get the story of both of their lives, and while other relationships occasionally intrude, it’s the sisterhood that’s the most important aspect of this book. In fact, some romantic interests/flings aren’t even named, underlining how it’s the sisterhood that they have to go back to. I’ve said it so often here on my blog, but I love books about siblings, and especially sisters, and it’s so rarely the featured relationship in the book. Here, though, The Volcano Daughters never forgets what connects the two main characters, and how, even when sisters are so far apart, there’s a thread of shared history that pulls them back together.

The Volcano Daughters is the perfect read for those who love historical fiction with a dash of magical realism. As a Latine woman, I had a great time reading the occasional Spanish sprinkled in, and connected through the shared roots in our Latinidad, and people looking for that will be sure to enjoy that too!

The Volcano Daughters was released last week. You can order your copy from Pantheon, or buy it wherever books are sold.

The Volcano Daughters tells the important stories of two native women from El Salvador from the 1920's through WWII. It's a heavy story of poverty, racism, sexual assault, being torn from native lands, and the loss of Native voices. This story is often difficult to read, but that's exactly why it's so important. All of the struggles these women face add to the complexity of their stories, weaving a tapestry that needs to now be on display.

My only real issue with this book was the narrative switching between the ghosts of the village girls and the two main women the story follows. It just got a little too confusing, keeping up with the characters.

I have seen some reviews complaining about Spanish being thrown in without translation. I would argue that it adds to the narrative. We are not meant to understand, we are meant to feel and learn.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this story! It is one that I will be recommending to others.

I’m thankful for the ARC of this book.

It should be noted that this book covers some very heavy themes and I do wish there had been a trigger warning at the beginning of the book. In this day and age, I feel like it’s such a simple thing that can really show the author cares about their readers’ mental health.

That being said, this was a beautifully written book and with all the heaviness too it, there were also some spots of light.

4.5/5 stars

This one will stay with me for awhile. It was a heartbreaking story but also had it's bright moments, especially with the friends and found family that made this story beautiful. I loved the historical references, the Spanish phrases/Salvadoran slang, and the mythical influences. I highly recommend this book for fans of multiculturalism and historical fiction. Proceed with caution because this does discuss heavy topics (ie racism, genocide, violence, SA, kidnapping, grief, suicide, and self harm)

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Thank you to Net Galley and Pantheon for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is the story of two sister who are living near the volcano (or the wrong side of the tracks) in El Salvador. Graciela and Consuelo are two sisters who come from a community of indigenous women indentured to work on the coffee plantations of the wealthy. At nine years old, Graciela is called to be an oracle for a dictator, El Gran Pendejo, and will help to foresee the future of the country. Consuelo is already at the Capital and she and Graciela have never met as Consuelo was kidnapped from their home before Graciela was born. The economy tanks and a genocide begins, killing most of their community in the process. Both Consuelo and Graciela escape unbeknownst to each other. It become clears to Graciela that she has had a hand in this horrible time. We follow each of the sisters around the world as they try to make their way. This story tells a part of the story of El Salvador through the eyes of two women and the voices of those who were killed which they carry with them through their lives.

This was a powerful tale of sisterhood by both blood and founded family and how it can withstand the test of time, tragedy, and trauma. Spanning about 30 years, the reader is taken on a journey through the early 20th century El Salvador and how its history has forever marked its people. While I did love the history lesson in this Central American country and the mixing of Spanish and English, I do kind of wish there was a glossary of slang words that even my gringa brain with its decaying (Castellano 😅) Spanish couldn’t figure out. But that’s a personal preference over everything else! ❤️

The story is narrated by four ghosts: Lourdes, María, Cora, and Lucía. They are victims of the historical event called La Matanza (the massacre) and how they follow their friends and sisters Graciela and Consuelo as they continue to live their lives abroad. I really loved the way they “told” the story of the girls through the author, Balibrera, as it felt almost like being spoken to via a fourth wall breaking. Lourdes seems to be the main narrator/commentator of the story and I loved her biting humor in what is a rather dark tale. I do wish it was at least explained how the girls/ghosts came to find out events that happened before their time since it kind of feels like they know is from talking to a different ghost. 😢

Graciela and Consuelo were incredibly tragic characters to focus on. I loved how they felt real and that Balibrera didn’t shy away from difficult topics in history that played out in the sisters’ lives. 👯‍♀️

In general, I had a great time reading this though I did find myself wishing there was a smidge more folklore from the area. Big thank you goes out to Pantheon Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Balibrera, for writing a beautiful yet tragic historical tale of sisterhood.

Publication day: August 20, so go out and get it!

Overall: 4.25/5 ⭐️

This was a really hard book for me to follow. I struggled to figure out who was speaking, what year the dialogue was in, and what order events took place.

The premise was so cool. I just wish it was clearer.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this. I found this book a bit slow due to the writing style and I had to look up Spanish words and some cultural references. However, I appreciate the author's storytelling ability. It was also a great opportunity for me to learn about a part of history that I knew nothing about. Overall, I would give it 3 stars.

The Volcano Daughters is a character-driven novel that delves deep into the tumultuous history of El Salvador through the lives of two sisters, Graciela and Consuelo. Set against the backdrop of 1923 El Salvador, Balibrera's narrative begins on a volcano, where young Graciela grows up in a tight-knit community of Indigenous women. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she is summoned to the capital and claimed as an oracle by a rising dictator, known as El Gran Pendejo. It is there that she encounters her long-lost sister, Consuelo, who was stolen from their home before Graciela was born.

Balibrera's storytelling is rich with lush imagery and vivid detail, bringing to life the sisters' harrowing journey through war, genocide, and exile. The narrative spans decades and continents, from the oppressive regime in El Salvador to the glamorous yet isolating worlds of Hollywood and Paris. Each setting is crafted with precision, capturing the vibrant cultures and the stark contrasts between the sisters’ past and present lives.

What stands out most in The Volcano Daughters is the strength of its characters. Both Graciela and Consuelo are resilient, deeply human protagonists who embody the spirit of survival and adaptation in the face of unimaginable loss and displacement. Their connection to their heritage and the traditions of their community remains a central theme, providing them with a sense of identity and belonging even as they are forced far from home.

Balibrera has masterfully woven a narrative that is both deeply personal and broadly historical, blending fiction with the stark realities of political oppression and cultural displacement. The novel is endlessly surprising and bursting with life, offering a fresh perspective on the history and mythology of El Salvador.

This novel is not just a tale of survival but a testament to the power of memory and the enduring strength of cultural identity. Fans of historical fiction and stories that celebrate resilience in the face of adversity will find The Volcano Daughters to be a compelling and unforgettable read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Phenomenal debut! The pacing of this book as well as the incredible prose, entirely captivating! I simply could not put this book down until I finished reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed the perspective of the writing and the balance between being written in Spanish and English! I cannot say enough about this book!

I received this as an e arc, all opinions are my own, thank you NetGalley

I'll say this, I had an issue with this book and it was the pacing and maybe the continuous violence. Like it was interesting and I thought it was a good story but it was so long.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gina María Balibrera’s debut novel, “The Volcano Daughters,” is an epic fairy tale grounded in El Salvador’s troubled history. The central characters were raised in the humble Pueblo of Izalco on the side of a volcano where their great grandmothers grew xiquilite, the plant from which indigo is processed, and, later, coffee beans. The girls were educated by nuns who cared for them while their mothers worked. They did not know their fathers and their mothers did not speak of them. “We were of our mothers.”

But, there were men, and Consuelo’s father, German, abducts Consuelo and spirits her away to the capital to be raised by his barren wife, Perlita, as their daughter. German later returns, and impregnates Socorrito again, who bears a second daughter, Graciela. In 1923, the cunning Perlita tricks Socorrito into traveling to the capital with Graciela after German’s death intending to use her late husband’s daughters to her advantage. Neither girl, who meet for the first time, would return with Socorrito. Nine year old Graciela would be taking over her late father’s position at the palace as the advisor or oracle to the General because the General believed that Graciela had inherited her father’s “sacred mind.”

The General, contemptuously dubbed El Gran Pendejo (based on the Salvadoran president Maximiliano Hernández Martínez), is a spiritualist obsessed with the mystical powers of color (white being the “color of heaven”). El Gran Pendejo, like the ascendant Hitler, seeks to “cleanse” the country and civilize the darker Indigenous population. By the end of his purge, 30,000 Indigenous people will be massacred, including four lifelong friends of our heroines, Lourdes, Maria, Cora and Lucia. These four serve as a Greek chorus who “are dead but we sing, we cackle, we lose our s**t, we tell you exactly what we think. . . .”

Consuelo and Graciela miraculously survive the massacre, and both, assuming that the other had perished, flee El Salvador and sail to distant shores. Consuelo travels to San Francisco and, later, Paris, where she fulfills her ambitions as a painter, and Graciela goes to Los Angeles where she pursues a career in acting. The sisters come together and break apart over the years, but they are consistently haunted by the ghosts of their friends who are not done telling their stories.

Balibrera has crafted an utterly original tale that incorporates elements of historical fiction, alternative history, and magical realism. The novel is rich in detail and description, and the characters, of which there are many, are each multi-faceted and imaginative. Balibrera’s writing is so confident and assured, that it is hard to believe that this is a debut novel. She’s one to watch.