With her spirit, courage, and tenacity, Solimar embodies female empowerment and inner strength. At the start of the novel, Solimar steps outside her comfort zone, choosing to be brave and cross the river, saying: “I’ll need to be courageous someday. Why not start today? I give myself permission” (3). This catalyzes Solimar’s journey and opens the door for her to discover the true extent of her resilience. Over the course of her quest, Solimar is helped by other strong female characters and discovers her girl power. Solimar shows readers that girls are heroes too.

Girl power is the feeling of being independent, brave, and confident. It is grounded in a sense of self-esteem. Strong girls, like Solimar, stand up for their beliefs and dream big. Solidarity with other women is another part of girl power: celebrating the bond between women and advocating for female empowerment. Solimar has all these characteristics.

Solimar shows her independence in the way that she bucks San Gregorio’s traditional female role. She rejects long hair, prefers her hiking boots to fancy shoes, and wants a say in governing the kingdom. Solimar envisions more to life than being a stereotypical princess. She is ambitious: She has big dreams of enacting social change, and she stands by her beliefs that women’s voices must be included in government.