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therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I picked this up to finish one of my 2022 reading challenges. Sports stories aren't necessarily my jam otherwise. Yamile does an excellent job representing Camila's sports aspirations and how those clash with mysogeny in the culture around her, as well as her developing romance. Content warnings for mysogeny, abusive father, and murdered or missing girls.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Missing or murdered girlsbeautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Lies have short legs.
What a big-hearted roar of a novel this is.
In Furia, Yamile Saied Méndez skilfully and explosively explores the intersection between misogyny and football (soccer as we know it in Australia, fútbol in Spanish) that exists in Argentina.
On the pitch playing for her women's team, Camila is the fearless, brilliant "La Furia". Off the pitch, however, life is a bit more complicated. As well as the very real threat she faces just by walking home after dark, she has to deal with her overbearing, bullying father, her kind but cynical mother, and her elder brother Pablo, whose career in the professional men's league feels like a shadow she can't escape from under.
Then there's Diego, her childhood sweetheart - who has returned home for a visit after a dazzling career and international fame at the Juventus club in Italy. Now that he's back, he wants to pick up where he and Camila left off - but does she feel the same?
I'll confess that at first, I had a hard time getting into this one. There are a lot of Spanish words and phrases sprinkled throughout Furia, and I constantly felt the need to go and look up anything I didn't understand. But after a while, I let this urge go (mostly) and my reading experience was so much better for it.
I learned so much from reading this book. Firstly, I had no idea how multicultural Argentina was - Camila herself is of mixed Palestinian, Spanish, and Eastern European heritage (much like the author herself), and other characters are of Chinese and Indian ethnicity - and there are probably others which I don't remember. And the sense of place you get - as well as the Spanish language intermixing that I already mentioned - is really well done.
I had heard that gender-based violence (and murder) is a huge problem across Latin America (as it is in many other parts of the world), and it is in depicting this issue (and the attitudes enabling it) that Saied Méndez really excels. From casual misogyny to systemic, from domestic violence to
Diego was a sweetheart, and the way Saied Méndez writes him, it is easy to see why Camila
Furia is a novel that wears its heart on the sleeve of a fútbol jersey - and that's a good thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Lesbophobia
This book deals with heavy topics such as femicide and violence against women and in some scenes graphically. There is one strong scene of domestic violence wherezombiezami's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm not that into sports, but I found this book to be quite beautiful. I loved getting to know more about Argentine culture and the Ni Una Menos movement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
noyastan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Child death, Sexual violence, and Murder
thenovelmaura's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars! Furia has my whole heart and I'm still thinking about Camila weeks after reading it. Trust me when I say this #OwnVoices contemporary should be on your radar!
Camila Hassan lives in Rosario, Argentina and she dreams of becoming a professional fútbol player. While her older brother plays professionally and is lauded for it, Camila was told at the age of 12 that she was now too old to play sports. Having played soccer myself for nine years, the lengths that Camila went to to hide this part of herself from her father were really painful for me to read about. I couldn't imagine playing without having my parents cheer me on, and this showed how passionate Camila was about her dream. I also need to add a content warning here for domestic and child abuse, as well as violence against women. These topics are handled sensitively, in my opinion, and Méndez uses them to critique a patriarchal society where women are disregarded and silenced. Argentina's growing feminist movement was prominently featured in the story and demonstrated how women playing fútbol was just as powerful a statement as women marching in the streets.
But I'm doing this book a disservice by making it sound like it was bogged down by heavy topics! There was a lot of light here, and Camila brings joy to these pages whether she's on the field, on a date, or teaching at an orphanage. Like any other teen, she tries to balance schoolwork, friendship, crushes, and keeping secrets from her parents—often without success. And while Méndez had me swooning over Diego for most of the book, I did want to get past the romance and back to the field at times (this is my personal, soccer-obsessed preference, though). The games were so fun to read and I felt like I was standing on the sidelines, cheering La Furia on. Even if you've never touched a soccer ball in your life, try this book! I think you'll be as inspired as I was by Camila's fierce spirit, open heart, and courage to fight for her dream.
Camila Hassan lives in Rosario, Argentina and she dreams of becoming a professional fútbol player. While her older brother plays professionally and is lauded for it, Camila was told at the age of 12 that she was now too old to play sports. Having played soccer myself for nine years, the lengths that Camila went to to hide this part of herself from her father were really painful for me to read about. I couldn't imagine playing without having my parents cheer me on, and this showed how passionate Camila was about her dream. I also need to add a content warning here for domestic and child abuse, as well as violence against women. These topics are handled sensitively, in my opinion, and Méndez uses them to critique a patriarchal society where women are disregarded and silenced. Argentina's growing feminist movement was prominently featured in the story and demonstrated how women playing fútbol was just as powerful a statement as women marching in the streets.
But I'm doing this book a disservice by making it sound like it was bogged down by heavy topics! There was a lot of light here, and Camila brings joy to these pages whether she's on the field, on a date, or teaching at an orphanage. Like any other teen, she tries to balance schoolwork, friendship, crushes, and keeping secrets from her parents—often without success. And while Méndez had me swooning over Diego for most of the book, I did want to get past the romance and back to the field at times (this is my personal, soccer-obsessed preference, though). The games were so fun to read and I felt like I was standing on the sidelines, cheering La Furia on. Even if you've never touched a soccer ball in your life, try this book! I think you'll be as inspired as I was by Camila's fierce spirit, open heart, and courage to fight for her dream.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Violence
sonygaystation's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
3.5-3.75 but rounding up. I have mixed feelings about this one. It started out strong, dipped in the middle, dipped a lot more toward the end, and then went back up at the very ending. I LOVE sports novels, especially ones with women at the center, but I think it struggles because it's trying to do a lot of things at once with its message and while I really like what it's ultimately trying to say, a couple of the individual plot lines fall a little flat. I was rooting hard for Diego so I feel frustrated by his plot line even though I completely understand (I think anyway!!) the intention of the author with it. I feel the romantic aspect of the book could have been omitted entirely, honestly, because even in spite of the intention I think the culmination fell a little flat. For a lot of the book it wasn't really about soccer at all, but her relationship with Diego, which really didn't end up serving much for the plot. BUT that being said I liked Camila a lot, she is so strong and so easy to cheer for, which really carries the book a long way. Overall, Furia is feminist and unapologetic and handles what it can be like living under a very staunch patriarchy really well.
content warnings: femicide, mentions of child murder, domestic abuse, mentions of sexual abuse, cheating
content warnings: femicide, mentions of child murder, domestic abuse, mentions of sexual abuse, cheating
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: Child death and Sexual violence
jamesflint's review against another edition
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Infidelity
Minor: Child death, Homophobia, and Sexual violence
nitya's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't think I can write a coherent review, when some parts were unexpectedly triggering. (For the record, I do NOT blame the author.)
I'll just say that it's a powerful and ultimately hopeful book, and I am glad to have read it.
I'll just say that it's a powerful and ultimately hopeful book, and I am glad to have read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Child death and Sexual violence