Furia

Camila is struggling with living the life that society in her hometown in Argentina expect her to live—marriage, babies, obedience—and the life that she wants to live—soccer, college abroad, independence. She has not even told her parents that she has been playing soccer for years behind their backs knowing that they would never allow her, a girl, play a sport. To make matters worse, her community worships her older brother and her childhood friend Diego, who have fulfilled the dream she cannot even admit she wants for herself; to become a professional soccer player. Will her family stand in the way of her dreams just because she is a girl?
Yamile Saied Méndez has written a thought provoking young adult novel. While many purport show more that the world is now a postfeminism society, the author writes a fictional example of how society can hold back the ambitions of youths because of preconceived notions of gender norms. I enjoyed this realistic portrayal of a young woman struggling figure out what she wants in life.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#OwnVoices #Furia #NetGalley show less

A sports romance with a twist: Camila loves the boy but she loves her futbol dreams more. Especially as she faces opposition from her own family and is secretly playing girls' soccer while nurturing her dream of someday playing for a U.S. professional team. It would be easy for a girl to get swept up by Diego, the local boy turned handsome, rich, international soccer star. But Camila stays grounded and true to self even when her heart breaks. The author's own passion for soccer informs Camila's story but there are also moments of swoon over Diego, making an unexpectedly solid balance of sports and romance that could appeal to a broader audience.

I finished in tears—I truly loved this !!

Méndez organically weaves both the tender, intimate moments of first love with the heavier, complex issues throughout 'Furia.' This is most notable in the keen insights into the sociocultural scripts and performance(s) of gender identity as it relates to the construct of machismo. Machismo's depicted from a nuanced lens within 'Furia.' Here, both positive and negative attributes and impacts of machismo are present—(at times, even coincidingly). This bifurcated framework allows the intended YA audience to have a more flexible understanding of masculinity by including positive traits. YA readers, then, are afforded a deeper dive into the intersectional factors of one's identity.

I finished in tears—I truly loved this !!

Méndez organically weaves both the tender, intimate moments of first love with the heavier, complex issues throughout 'Furia.' This is most notable in the keen insights into the sociocultural scripts and performance(s) of gender identity as it relates to the construct of machismo. Machismo's depicted from a nuanced lens within 'Furia.' Here, both positive and negative attributes and impacts of machismo are present—(at times, even coincidingly). This bifurcated framework allows the intended YA audience to have a more flexible understanding of masculinity by including positive traits. YA readers, then, are afforded a deeper dive into the intersectional factors of one's identity.

I finished in tears—I truly loved this !!

Méndez organically weaves both the tender, intimate moments of first love with the heavier, complex issues throughout 'Furia.' This is most notable in the keen insights into the sociocultural scripts and performance(s) of gender identity as it relates to the construct of machismo. Machismo's depicted from a nuanced lens within 'Furia.' Here, both positive and negative attributes and impacts of machismo are present—(at times, even coincidingly). This bifurcated framework allows the intended YA audience to have a more flexible understanding of masculinity by including positive traits. YA readers, then, are afforded a deeper dive into the intersectional factors of one's identity.

I finished in tears—I truly loved this !!

Méndez organically weaves both the tender, intimate moments of first love with the heavier, complex issues throughout 'Furia.' This is most notable in the keen insights into the sociocultural scripts and performance(s) of gender identity as it relates to the construct of machismo. Machismo's depicted from a nuanced lens within 'Furia.' Here, both positive and negative attributes and impacts of machismo are present—(at times, even coincidingly). This bifurcated framework allows the intended YA audience to have a more flexible understanding of masculinity by including positive traits. YA readers, then, are afforded a deeper dive into the intersectional factors of one's identity.

4.5 Stars

CW: domestic abuse/family violence

Well that was a powerful story about female strength and self determination.

As a YA librarian I work hard to ensure our collection is diverse and that all Readers can find themselves represented on our shelves. When I find quality books about young women in sport I am like "mine" (I am not a competent GIF user but in my mind I can see the seagulls from Finding Nemo). I say quality because some of the 'girls in sports' lists contain books about young women who like boys who play sports, or are cheerleaders at sports games (cheerleading itself is a demanding sport), or where a girl goes on a date to a sports game...you know what I am saying right? Furia was not only an important book about women show more being recognised as being able to be professional sports people but it was also actually about Camila's exceptional ability on the football field. I simply loved her on field persona of La Furia. She was unashamedly hungry to win, she played with aggression, and she played with incredible skill. Note I am not saying she played with heart or was an amazing team player *said in Ra-Ra Go Team voice*. She wanted to be the best and was putting in the hard to work to get there. Like all the professional sportswomen out there have had to do.

This story also looked at her home life and the future that her family had decided was best for her (and them). Camila is forced to hide her ambitions as sport is not seen as an appropriate or useful hobby for young women. I had a few blinking back tears moments during some of the wonderful scenes with her mother. I can't say too much about the romance without spoiling things but I was thrilled with the decisions Camila made in regard to this.

All in all this was a fabulous book and I loved reading about a country and a culture I know very little about. show less