espiri_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I remember watching the Ni Una Menos marches in Argentina on Democracy Now several years ago. I felt so connected to the women and the power in this movement. Just a few years later, Chile's Las Tesis wrote a protest song that went viral, "Un Violador En Mi Camino." It felt like a calling - a testament to all the work that feminists in Latin America have been doing for decades.
This is the backdrop of Furia. I didn't understand the novel at first. I kept wondering why I was listening to about 2 hours of a first date between Camila and Diego. And then the story evolved in the best way.
Teenager Camila Hassan wants to be a professional futbolista. As a young woman, Camila gets discouraged to take this path while simultaneously watching her brother and her love interest get treated like gods because of futbol. So she has to hide her involvement with a women's soccer league despite having the raw talent and discipline to successfully achieve this goal.
First of all, how amazing is the nickname Furia? There is so much in me that feels like Furia sometimes. I really wish it was my nickname!
The writing really helps you visualize the story. The romance is steamy. The soccer scenes are action packed.
Then comes the patriarchy. The author weaves the socio-political climate for women in Argentina into Camila's personal story. Every part of Camila's life is touched in varying degrees by the impact of the patriarchy just like it is for all women. All women have a story or know someone who [insert patriarchal impact here].
I love that Camila is not your typical rebel. In so many ways, she is the good girl that parents don't have to worry about. It's Camila's integrity combined with the community of women around her that pushes her to firmly reject the limited gendered options that were placed before her.
It's a great read. Please share with all the Furias in your life!
This is the backdrop of Furia. I didn't understand the novel at first. I kept wondering why I was listening to about 2 hours of a first date between Camila and Diego. And then the story evolved in the best way.
Teenager Camila Hassan wants to be a professional futbolista. As a young woman, Camila gets discouraged to take this path while simultaneously watching her brother and her love interest get treated like gods because of futbol. So she has to hide her involvement with a women's soccer league despite having the raw talent and discipline to successfully achieve this goal.
First of all, how amazing is the nickname Furia? There is so much in me that feels like Furia sometimes. I really wish it was my nickname!
The writing really helps you visualize the story. The romance is steamy. The soccer scenes are action packed.
Then comes the patriarchy. The author weaves the socio-political climate for women in Argentina into Camila's personal story. Every part of Camila's life is touched in varying degrees by the impact of the patriarchy just like it is for all women. All women have a story or know someone who [insert patriarchal impact here].
I love that Camila is not your typical rebel. In so many ways, she is the good girl that parents don't have to worry about. It's Camila's integrity combined with the community of women around her that pushes her to firmly reject the limited gendered options that were placed before her.
It's a great read. Please share with all the Furias in your life!
mayedayyy's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
3.75
kaoralg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
barbie16's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this one. Sometimes YA novels, especially involving romance, tend to be too cheesy, but this one gives a complete picture of a coming of age story for Camila Hassan, aka La Furia, as she pursues her dream of being a futbol star while dealing with difficult dynamics of family, friendship, and first love. I learned quite a bit about Argentinian culture too.
ailengarcia's review against another edition
4.0
× Thanks to Algonquin and Edelweiss+ for the eARC. It was provided in exchange for an honest review ×
Camila is a promising young fútbol player who keeps her dreams a secret from her family. Her brother is a fútbol player and her parents support him, but she is a woman and they expect another life for her. But as the opportunities become more real and closer, she must face her family and tell them the truth. She is la Furia and will do everything possible to achieve her dreams.
Furia is a coming-of-age story that touches on topics such as machismo, violence and the struggle for women's rights that is currently taking place in Argentina (and all of Latin America). This book talks about breaking stereotypes, leaning on your people and striving to achieve your goals.
I really liked it, it is written in such a way that it is impossible to put it down. It is very good paced and reflects very well what it is like to live in Argentina as a woman. It makes clear the levels of machismo in society and the importance of fighting for women's rights and for justice. Because yes, it also talks about the missing and murdered girls. A number that is growing alarmingly and it seems important to me that it is something that is known in other parts of the world.
I really loved Camila as a character. She seems real, with flaws and things to change. She is not depicted as a perfect person. She is fierce and I particularly enjoyed seeing her finding her voice and gain confidence off the pitch as well.
Her family reflects a sadly common reality, where the man exercises both physical, verbal and psychological domestic violence on his family. I really loved reading how things turn out for her family. Both her mother and her brother have attitudes to change, machistas comments to erase from their vocabularies and thoughts, but I think that towards the end it is shown that this is going to change gradually. Hopefully. Living in a patriarchal and machista society shapes us and makes us believe that these ways of thinking are correct and they are not. Here we use a term for this relearning: deconstruirse. Even Camila must deconstruirse herself. There are some comments from her towards the botineras that are not right but I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe that it is just because of this, she still needs to deconstruirse.
About the love relationship, I must say that I was not surprised by Diego's attitude, but I was very happy with the way Camila handled it and how she decides to follow her dreams even though it means ending their relationship. It was a very mature and wise decision. I also think that Camila had to change certain attitudes that she has with him. Several times she talks about who has the most power over the other and that is not right, is not healthy or would lead to a healthy relationship. Growing up seeing her parents' relationship must have led her to think that way.
Another little thing that seemed strange to me is the handling of money, I feel that it is not entirely real. Surely it has to do with the fact that the author does not live here or handle pesos in her day to day life, so the concept of what is little money and what is a lot of money is not quite right. But it is a detail that only those who live here or know our economy and its costs well could notice.
One last thing that sounded strange to me is a comment at the beginning about the feminist movement and the struggle to achieve the right to legal, safe and free abortion. At one point Camila talks about the handkerchiefs (the green represents the pro-choice movement and the lightblue the pro-life movement) and she does it as if it were a football club fight and it is not like that. That trivializes the issue and that is not okay. It is a serious and important issue and it does not seem right that it is presented to the world as a team fight when we are talking about the right of pregnant people to choose about their bodies and lives.
4,5 estrellas | Recién lo termino y me encANTÓ. Hay una o dos cositas que me hicieron ruido, molestaron o lo que sea que hacen que no le ponga las 5 estrellas pero me gustó muchísimo. Me lo devoré. Después hago una reseña decente aunque no sé si la puedo publicar ahora o tengo que esperar hasta la fecha de publicación, pero como sea estén atentos a este libro (al final sí la publiqué ahora pero en inglés, la voy a subir en español a ig para la fecha de publicación).
Camila is a promising young fútbol player who keeps her dreams a secret from her family. Her brother is a fútbol player and her parents support him, but she is a woman and they expect another life for her. But as the opportunities become more real and closer, she must face her family and tell them the truth. She is la Furia and will do everything possible to achieve her dreams.
Furia is a coming-of-age story that touches on topics such as machismo, violence and the struggle for women's rights that is currently taking place in Argentina (and all of Latin America). This book talks about breaking stereotypes, leaning on your people and striving to achieve your goals.
I really liked it, it is written in such a way that it is impossible to put it down. It is very good paced and reflects very well what it is like to live in Argentina as a woman. It makes clear the levels of machismo in society and the importance of fighting for women's rights and for justice. Because yes, it also talks about the missing and murdered girls. A number that is growing alarmingly and it seems important to me that it is something that is known in other parts of the world.
I really loved Camila as a character. She seems real, with flaws and things to change. She is not depicted as a perfect person. She is fierce and I particularly enjoyed seeing her finding her voice and gain confidence off the pitch as well.
Her family reflects a sadly common reality, where the man exercises both physical, verbal and psychological domestic violence on his family. I really loved reading how things turn out for her family. Both her mother and her brother have attitudes to change, machistas comments to erase from their vocabularies and thoughts, but I think that towards the end it is shown that this is going to change gradually. Hopefully. Living in a patriarchal and machista society shapes us and makes us believe that these ways of thinking are correct and they are not. Here we use a term for this relearning: deconstruirse. Even Camila must deconstruirse herself. There are some comments from her towards the botineras that are not right but I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe that it is just because of this, she still needs to deconstruirse.
About the love relationship, I must say that I was not surprised by Diego's attitude, but I was very happy with the way Camila handled it and how she decides to follow her dreams even though it means ending their relationship. It was a very mature and wise decision. I also think that Camila had to change certain attitudes that she has with him. Several times she talks about who has the most power over the other and that is not right, is not healthy or would lead to a healthy relationship. Growing up seeing her parents' relationship must have led her to think that way.
Another little thing that seemed strange to me is the handling of money, I feel that it is not entirely real. Surely it has to do with the fact that the author does not live here or handle pesos in her day to day life, so the concept of what is little money and what is a lot of money is not quite right. But it is a detail that only those who live here or know our economy and its costs well could notice.
One last thing that sounded strange to me is a comment at the beginning about the feminist movement and the struggle to achieve the right to legal, safe and free abortion. At one point Camila talks about the handkerchiefs (the green represents the pro-choice movement and the lightblue the pro-life movement) and she does it as if it were a football club fight and it is not like that. That trivializes the issue and that is not okay. It is a serious and important issue and it does not seem right that it is presented to the world as a team fight when we are talking about the right of pregnant people to choose about their bodies and lives.
4,5 estrellas | Recién lo termino y me encANTÓ. Hay una o dos cositas que me hicieron ruido, molestaron o lo que sea que hacen que no le ponga las 5 estrellas pero me gustó muchísimo. Me lo devoré. Después hago una reseña decente aunque no sé si la puedo publicar ahora o tengo que esperar hasta la fecha de publicación, pero como sea estén atentos a este libro (al final sí la publiqué ahora pero en inglés, la voy a subir en español a ig para la fecha de publicación).
longstorieshort's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jessicolio's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-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? N/A
4.0
jessmo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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
sophiesyareads's review against another edition
3.0
I’m just going to put it out there, I don’t like fútbol/soccer. However, I did enjoy the soccer scenes in this book. They were action packed and I felt like I was really watching it. I also really liked the romance, as I’m a big romance fan. This book had me on the edge of my seat in the last third of it. It was a bit slow to start but once the plot picked up it was very good. I would recommend it to any sporty people out there!
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
Finished reading: October 30th 2020
“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 dreams, not someone else’s.”
*** A copy of this audiobook was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Workman Audio in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
I confess that I have a weak spot for any story with a Latin American setting, and any story set in Argentina will instantly have a special place in my heart. As an immigrant who has had the opportunity to live in Argentina during (most of) the last decade, I love seeing the Argentinian culture and customs portrayed in my stories. As soon as I read the blurb of Furia, I knew I was going to be in for a treat. The setting in Rosario (a city I've had the chance to visit a couple of times over the years) as well as the prejudice the main character has to face as a female soccer player had me fully intrigued... And it most definitely turned out to be a powerful listen.
I know that I'm still a newby when it comes to the whole audiobook experience, and I also confess that I still prefer reading the stories myself, but there is just something about listening to a book set in Argentina that is narrated by someone with an Argentinian accent. While I do understand that some might be put off by this as non-Spanish speakers might be having a more difficult time understanding the many Spanish phrases thrown in, I personally felt it gave the story a real sense of authenticity. Sol Madariaga's voice grew on me almost immediately and I applaude her fluidity switching between English and (Argentinian) Spanish flawlessly. The pace and flow of the audiobook were just right for me, and I had no problems at all keeping up with the story. And I think that this audiobook might just only have enhanced my experience with this story for me.
Like I mentioned before, Furia is set in Argentina and it shows. Not only do we have many thorough descriptions of Rosario and Argentinian customs in general, but this story also deals with social issues including domestic abuse and violence. The all-popular soccer is another very important element of course, and the power of this sport can be felt throughout the story. It doesn't stop there though, as Furia is made even more authentic through the use of many many (Argentinian) Spanish words and phrases that are woven expertly into the plot and dialogue. While I do understand that non-Spanish speakers might seem them as a burden, I personally loved how it gave the story that true Argentinian flavor.
I personally more of a rugby fan, but I have seen with my own eyes just how important soccer is in Argentina and I really liked how the sport was incorporated into the plot. Furia is about soccer as well as the struggles of the main character as a female soccer player, and the writing really made the sport and its players come alive for me. As for the characters... Camila was quite easy to warm up to, although I did end up having mixed thoughts about her. Why? I don't want to give away spoilers, but the constant lying and 'hot and cold' treatment of Diego did get on my nerves... And I particularly found the whole keeping her soccer playing a secret for over a year unbelievable. Again, why? Well, let's just say that people love to talk and gossip down here, and the soccer passion is in the blood of most... So I just don't believe nobody ever mentioned something to her parents before, especially with her brother being a well known player too.
That said, I did enjoy most of this story and it felt like a true ode to Argentinian soccer and culture. Lighter moments and romance are mixed with heavier topics, and all in all Furia turned out to be a satisfying story to listen to. I can definitely recommend the audio version, but I would advice non-Spanish speakers to approach with caution as you might struggle understanding the Spanish words and phrases in the audio even though they do make the story feel more authentic.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.