When Among the Volcanoes was published in 1991, it did not attract widespread critical attention, although it was well-received by the critics who reviewed it. The novel appears on educational reading lists for its sensitive portrayal of teenaged Isabel and its vibrant and realistic depiction of rural Mayan life. The critical consensus is clearly that Castañeda made excellent use of the Fulbright research fellowship that enabled him to travel to his native Central America to study the Mayan people and their culture. One critic found the characters and their lives as realistic and informative as educational programming. Critics universally praised Castañeda's reverent treatment of the Mayan culture, acknowledging that the compelling presentation makes it interesting to American teenagers who know very little about Guatemala. Diane Roback and Richard Donahue of Publishers Weekly commended Castañeda for his "quietly realistic portrait of life...