book tour: furia by yamile saied méndez (#bookreview)
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Thanks to Colored Pages BT for including me in this book tour and to the publisher, Algonquin Young, for the ARC.
So, I am writing this review with no hope of it being coherent. Do you know how when you love a book, you rarely can summon words to tell people why? You just loved it so much it rendered you speechless. Well, that's Furia for me.
In any way, let me try.
Synopsis: A powerful, #ownvoices contemporary YA for fans of The Poet X and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter set in Argentina, about a rising soccer star who must put everything on the line—even her blooming love story—to follow her dreams.In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life.At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father.On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North American university.But the path ahead isn’t easy. Her parents don’t know about her passion. They wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol—and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Camila doesn’t have time to be distracted by her feelings for him. Things aren’t the same as when he left: she has her own passions and ambitions now, and La Furia cannot be denied. As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her.Filled with authentic details and the textures of day-to-day life in Argentina, heart-soaring romance, and breathless action on the pitch, Furia is the story of a girl’s journey to make her life her own
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez tells the story of Camila Hassan, a girl from Rosario, Argentina, who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player (preferably, in the US), as impossible as that may feel like. She plays for a small team called Eva María in secret while her brother gets to live the dream of being signed into a club.
On top of that, her childhood friend and crush, Diego Ferrari, comes back to town for a week after spending a year living in Italy and playing for Juventus and she cannot deal with that on top of the coming up Sudamericano tournament and the piles of lies she's told her family.
"The part of me that had been set free during the game stretched her wings and howled at the sun." — Yamile Saied Méndez, Furia.
Before signing up for this book tour, I was drawn to Furia for two main reasons: first, the Argentinian rep. I know it's easy to think about Latin America as being just one place but the truth is, the continent is huge, and just 'latinx rep' doesn't always hit home, you know? Well, even with our countries rivalry, Argentina and Brazil are close enough (don't tell anyone that, please), and reading Furia felt great.
The second reason was the soccer.
Growing up in Brazil, soccer (or football, really) was always everywhere. It's weaved within families and friends, it's in bars and bakeries and schools. And I'm proud of my country, I'm proud of the five World Cup titles and the incredible players we have. However, sexism is deeply rooted in Brazil's history, and, because of that, only recently women have been acknowledged in the sport with the respect they deserve (and we're still far from equality). Furia is a book that centers on women's experience with soccer and for that, I'm profoundly grateful.
Camila was a brilliant character. I was impressed with how determined and strong she was. She's by no means perfect, but she felt real to me. I connected with her through her love of soccer, through her difficult family background, through her struggles to make her dreams come true. South America can be a difficult place to grow up in as a woman and it's not easy at all to accomplish our goals, and, even though I can barely play soccer, I could relate to Camila every time she was on the field.
"The part of me that had been set free during the game stretched her wings and howled at the sun." — Yamile Saied Méndez, Furia.
The secondary characters (her family and her friends) were also written skillfully. Every one of them has virtues and flaws (some are worse than others) and still, most of them managed to grow throughout the pages.
I loved how the romance part was handled. Camila is a powerful character who knows what she wants (to play soccer professionally) and what she's willing to compromise to get there. Seeing how a relationship falls within those things, and, especially, how she never takes her mind off of her dream, was incredible (and refreshing!) to me. Regarding the love interest, Diego, well, I liked that he's cute, but not even close to perfect. He is the product of a society and, therefore, shares some of its beliefs and behaviors. That, added to his character improvement at the end of the book, made him realistic to my eyes.
"I’d leave this house the first chance I got, but not by chasing after a boy, including my brother. I’d do it on my own terms, following my own dreams, not someone else’s. And most importantly, no one would leech off my sacrifices. No one." — Yamile Saied Méndez, Furia.
Concerning the plot, it was gripping and original. I read Furia all in one sitting because I simply could not put it down (Yamille owns me some hours of sleep). Being able to follow Camila's journey was incredible. It was painful and hopeful and ultimately the best experience a reader can hope for. The ending was very coherent with the story (and the characters' growth). Reading the epilogue made me giddy with joy (after I went through a lot of very stressful pages, lemme tell ya)
The book is written beautifully. I hadn't known any of Yamile's work before reading Furia but now I'll surely check it out. She can write characters and stories in an exceptional way. Also, Yamile's love for soccer permeated the story and it was incredible to read it.
Oh, and Marta is one of my role models too.
“I’m not like Messi or Dybala, or even you. I’m like Alex Morgan. Like Marta. My team doesn’t compare to yours, but one day I’m going to play in the United States with those women.” — Yamile Saied Méndez, Furia.
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez is the perfect, gripping sports romance. I recommend it to anyone looking for strong female characters, breathtaking soccer matches, and some (realistic!) romance sprinkled on top.
my favorite quotes
(besides the ones already featured)
"Finally, I armed myself with courage. I was la Furia, after all."— Yamile Saied Méndez, Furia.
"Who would be next, and who would get to grow old? “Ni una menos,” I sang out. “Vivas nos queremos.” — Yamile Saied Méndez, Furia.
"It took so little for a spark of faith to ignite a fire. It took so little for that faith to turn into ambition." — Yamile Saied Méndez, Furia.
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