The Volcano Daughters: A Novel BY Gina Maria Balibrera

The Volcano Daughters is a powerful and original debut novel that takes readers on a harrowing journey from the ashes of El Salvador to the vibrant streets of Hollywood, Paris, and San Francisco’s Cannery Row. Set against the backdrop of 1923 El Salvador, the story begins with young Graciela, an Indigenous girl living on a volcano. Her peaceful life is shattered when she is summoned to the capital and claimed as an oracle for a rising dictator known as El Gran Pendejo.

In the capital, Graciela discovers her long-lost sister, Consuelo, who had been stolen from their home years before. The sisters are forced into complicity with the dictator’s brutal regime, living under constant threat as genocide ravages their community. Believing the other to be dead, they make separate escapes, each fleeing across the globe and forging new identities to survive.

Haunted by the ghosts of their murdered friends and driven by the need to tell their stories, the sisters’ paths ultimately converge in an unexpected and poignant reunion. Their journey is a vivid exploration of love, sisterhood, and resilience, blending mythological elements with a sweeping historical narrative.

The Volcano Daughters is a spellbinding tale that weaves together resistance and survival with a rich tapestry of El Salvador’s history and mythology. With its lush, imaginative storytelling and deep emotional resonance, the novel reveals voices and stories that have long been waiting to be heard.