Furia follows Camila, an Argentinian teenager whose dream is to play professional fútbol in a society that's wholly focused on men in the sport. She believes she has what it takes, but she has to play in secret because she knows that her parents would never allow their daughter to play seriously. It's her brother that's supposed to be the fútbol star, and he's the one who has her parents' attention and support. To complicate things further, she's in love with Diego, a local boy who has gone off to find his own fame on the fútbol field. She has to balance her parents' expectations, her budding relationship with a superstar player, and her own love for the game and her ambitions. These things don't always play well together, and she's often left choosing between her dreams and her relationships. The story puts a spotlight on a misogynistic society, and how women are often expected to fill very specific roles in a family and in their careers. The book put a bit more focus on the romance than I expected, but I loved the way it all worked out in the end, and I think the book gives an important perspective on what it truly means to choose yourself over what others might want for you.

NARRATION: I loved that the book was narrated authentically by Sol Madariaga, a native speaker. Her voice added depth and realism to the character.

***Disclosure: I received this audiobook from the publisher for review via NetGalley. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

This was a beautiful story about overcoming obstacles and not letting anything or anyone stand in your way. I’m here for all the feminist sports stories.

The audiobook:
Sadly I was not captivated by the narration by Sol Madariaga. I didn't think the characters were distinguishable, but I did think this particular narrator was a good fit for our main character Camila. The narration did help me complete the novel (as I was having a hard time just reading it on my own physically due to the fact that I wasn't captivated by the story in general. This audiobook is split up in a way that is easy to determine what chapter you are starting; ultimately I think that readers would enjoy this audiobook.

The novel:
I was really excited to get my hands on this one, but I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would.

I was so intrigued going into this novel because the plot sounded right up my alley but ultimately it felt all over the place: it felt like a bunch of subplots rolled together to the point where I was unsure at times what the novel was 100% about (I knew what the overall message was, but I didn't know which event was supposed to serve as the climax as multiple pivotal events took place at different points). While all the subplots discussed important "hard-hitting" topics, it became overbearing - I think that the novel would've benefitted from a more streamlined sequence of events. For lack of a better phrase: less is more!

I found it really hard to care about Camila and her story at times. I wanted to root for her, but I felt such a strong disconnect from the plot that I wasn't really intrigued by her story. It was really great seeing her come into her own and beat the odds by the end of the novel, but I didn't feel as much gratification from it as I expected. That being said, I feel the same way about all of the supporting characters - I felt "meh" about them all: even her father and Diego! I wish we got to know them all a bit more, they all felt one-dimensional to me.

I was just left wanting a lot more. :(

content warnings: domestic abuse, misogyny/sexism, adult/minor relationship, infidelity, mention of murder, allusion to rape and child death

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really great book! i was able to get the audiobook and its so great, love the narrator!

"'You lied about med school? I've been telling everyone how proud I am of you. What will people say now, hija?'
But these were my dreams, not hers. Even if the path I chose led to more heartbreak, the decision would be mine."

Furia tells the story of Camila, a teenager living in Argentina. She works hard at school so she can, maybe, just maybe, earn a scholarship to go to college in the United States. Yet, Camila has this secret she can't tell anyone in her family: she lives and dreams of fútbol (soccer to us U.S. folks) and she is pretty damn good at it too. Camila's all girls soccer team has qualified for a South American tournament and Camila is careful to keep herself out of the news cycle so her family doesn't find out about her secret.

Camila's family life is difficult, at best. She spends most of her time hidden away in her room with her trusty dog dreaming of a different life and dreaming of Diego. Diego is Camila's childhood friend who is a breakout soccer star playing in Europe. When Diego comes home for a few days and rekindles the romantic flame between himself and Camila, Camila is forced to face some hard truths she wasn't expecting to revisit. All of a sudden Camila finds that her worlds (family, soccer, and Diego) colliding in ways she wasn't necessarily ready for and she has to figure out what path she wants to take for herself.

There was nothing inherently wrong with this book, but it wasn't one that I found myself overly excited to pick up. I enjoyed Camila's story, her romance with Diego, and the new information about the challenges of living in Argentina (especially as a young girl). This book was entertaining and I found myself rooting for Camila in various ways throughout the course of this book. Unfortunately, entertaining is the most excited I got about this book. It was missing that pull of a 4 or 5-star read for me. Perhaps I read it at the wrong time or the soccer references were too much for me or maybe it was something else altogether. And you know what? That's ok. Not all books will be winners.

This book would be appropriate for readers in grades 8-12. There are some references to abuse, sex, and the disappearances of young girls.

TW: disappearance of teenage girls, parental abuse

This is a wonderful LATINX contemporary coming-of-age story about a young girl on a journey to compete for the Sudamericano while trying to navigate the waters of expectations from the adults around her, relationships, and being a teenager on the verge of adulthood. An amazing book with a strong and relatable female lead.

I can see why this book won the Pura Belpré Young Adult Award this year.  Furia who is known to most as Camila, is just another girl in Argentia with dreams of making it big.  For her, big is playing professional football (i.e. US Soccer).  Her brother is a local semi pro player, her dad was once a player, and the boy she loves is big leagues professional player.  But things where she lives are not great.  Dad is abusive, mother is submissive, and girls are expected to live a traditional life.  Go to school.  Become a doctor.  No play football. Football is for men.  This is a character driven novel, and it was excellent, just not my thing.  I’m an action reader and this moved much to slow for me.  However, I can think of the perfect hands to place this book into when they come into the library.  It totally deserves every award it receives. But for me personally, it was okay.
#BBRC  - Latino in a non-issue book
#Booked2021 Latinx author
#ReadHarder -

Cute YA book about soccer and family!! I liked how real the experiences were that the characters went through. It got 3 stars from me because it was just average to me, like any other YA story with a happy ending, nothing wowed me.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher!

“The rest of my life is a mess, but at least on the pitch I get to do what I love.”

☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★

Furia is, without a doubt, my biggest surprise of 2020. This gem, not as mainstream as other books published this year, is without a doubt one of my favorite books. Yamile Saied Méndez KNOW how to write in a way that appeals to your feelings. She manages to directly impact his readers and it is amazing how I felt identified and represented in this book. Feminism in Latin America, the LGBT struggle, the #NiUnaMenos movement, the normalization of street harassment, interfamily abuse and the role of women in the family, are issues that I, as a Latin American, see every day in my reality, and that readers around the world can see it through the eyes of a 100% realistic character is fascinating.

That US publishers bet on books that tell reality beyond their own borders, by authors who only want the world to know their reality, their vision of the world and everything that is right and wrong in their own worldview. Furia is, without question, a book that SHOULD be studied in schools. A book that everyone SHOULD read to understand the current Latin American reality. I hope Furia will be translated into Spanish. I can't wait to recommend it to everyone. It is a perfect book to understand our reality and how it affects us.

Furia i> tells the story of Camila, an Argentine girl who, hidden from her family, plays soccer and becomes La Furia, an excellent player who promises a lot in the future. When her team is selected to play the South American championship, she will fight to pursue her dreams: to be a professional player. Although she… has a little problem. Diego, her crush from her childhood-adolescence, returns from Italy, where he plays professional soccer with the Juventus team, and will turn the world upside down. Can Furia convince her family to allow him to play soccer? Will Diego finally realize the crush she has in him?

Furia deserves all the hype she has. It is an incomparable book, which makes the Latin American reality visible in a raw and true way. It talks about many topics that touch your heart, and all of a VERY important context for Latin Americans, soccer. Thanks to Furia many girls can realize that their passion for a sport does not make them “less women” or “ marimachos ” (A derogatory term for a woman who does not like things "for woman"). That feminism is not a bad thing, and that it seeks equality among all equally, without exception, and that they are not " feminazis " for defending what they believe in. That street harassment and domestic abuse are intolerable, and that they should never remain silent. That anyone could be Camila and always fulfill the dreams that are proposed. Be that as it may, they should always be them and not be overshadowed by anything or anyone, and they should shine as brightly as the stars.

The story was as pure, tender and beautiful as I could read. The development of the story and the growth of the characters is beautiful. The references to soccer, all the Latin vibes that this book gives you are incredible and very important for readers around the world to know our culture and daily life.

@AnyLatinPublisher I need this book in Spanish. Not for me (Although who I lie to, I would still buy it), but to give it to everyone. Furia is, without a doubt, my favorite contemporary book (Or one of them). I hope this book gets all the recognition it deserves, because without hesitation, I can say that this book deserves to be read and each of its pages is completely worth it.

MontFort says bye.

☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★

I don't know what's up with me and sports books lately, but I've read multiple this month already and I'm all sports out. I'm the opposite of a sports fan, in fact, I kinda hate them, but I refuse to let that hinder my rating of this book. So, please know that futbol is an huge part and main theme of this book and you may not like it if you're like me. 

What I liked:
-Camila. She is a badass main character and I loved her. She is tenacious and strong willed and thoughtful. 
-politics: I think the way Argentinian politics were woven in to bring awareness to violence against women and violence perpetrated by men was incredibly important. Some moments were difficult to listen to, but I think it worked with the story. 

I do think the men in this story get way too much on page time. Between her brother, dad, and boyfriend, they take up entirely too much space and I could've done without it. 

However, seeing Camila grow and learn that she is worthy of love and respect and deserves to follow her own goals and dreams was a great message. Please give me all the books with girls who learn they don't need a man and who are able to see their own worth beyond the love of a man. 

CW: murder, violence against women, domestic abuse, slut-shaming, body-shaming, cheating

I got through about 30% and just couldn't get into the story or care about the characters. I think it was just a bit too slow paced for me, but I'm glad other people seem to enjoy this book.

I am glad I had the audio version of this book because the narrator really made the story so much better.  I couldn't get very invested in the story though.  I think if I would be a younger reader I would have been more intrigued.  Furia is a great character though and has a fierce personality. I am sad this wasn't the book for me.

This is one of those books that had me nervous throughout. The entire book I was nervous that Camila would get in trouble.

I enjoyed the soccer aspects and that it was set in Argentina but there was so much going on that I was constantly stressed and unable to become invested in one particular plot line.

Despite my issue with the story, the narrator was great. Even when I wasn't as invested in the story, she made me want to keep listening.

This was SO good. I loved Furia's story. She kicked ass and didn't let a dude derail her life. You don't need to love soccer to love this book and this family. Trigger warning for domestic violence.

Not much into YA before  but Acevedo got me hook  last year and made me look at YA books in a different light. 

I enjoy listening to this  audiobook and I like the narration as well. I also like that this is the author #ownvoice novel. More than football, this is about rising up to the society’s expectation and that proving everybody wrong is a triumph in itself.  With pure talent and passion for something you love, breaking the stereotype that girls  do what are expected of them and not given the opportunities and chances as boys, Camila struggles to prove herself doubly hard to break the cycle, be free and live her dream.

Summary
Camila is an obedient daughter, trying yo live up the expectations of her mother and her abusive father.  While outride in the field she is La Furia,  full of talent and skill that brings her team to qualify in the tournament and makes her dream come true.  Her parents did not know she plays football and she’s good at it, while they gave  all the support for her brother who plays. To complicate things, her first love, Diego, is back in town. Diego is making his name in the international football scene. As he gets entangle with her feelings for Diego and her love for football, she is face with her decision that will change her fate.

The book also tackles domestic violence, patriarchy, misogyny and sexism.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the audio book copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fierce! I think my lack of sports knowledge may have left me with the tiniest of disconnects, but the overall story was phenomenal as was the leading character, Camila. I appreciated how the author was able to make Camila complex and independent, while also intertwining the way in which violence against women was constantly present in her life. Definitely worth the read, but a content warning is necessary for the above mentioned violence against women, discussion of murdered and missing women, and domestic violence.

I started this book but didn't finish, it was just not for me. Nothing wrong with it but I didn't realise it was going to be about football (again, my fault) and my eyes (ears) were just glazing over. Hopefully others will enjoy it. The narrator has a nice clear voice and was easy to follow.

Yamile Saied Méndez's Furia is an engaging #ownvoices YA tale that mixes romance and athleticism. Camila Hasan is a fútbol phenom, but the sport is more than just a hobby - it's a way out of her life in Argentina and a way to make her dream of attending university in North America a reality. 

Add in a romance with fellow star Diego, and things get complicated as Camila navigates her dreams and ambitions with the demands of her family. 

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Algonquin YA for sharing this fabulous book with me. All thoughts are my own.

It's nice to see more own voices doing books like this! "Furia" is wonderfully written, full of passion that the main character has for soccer (football). Yet it also tells us about her worries being a woman and coming from her background, how that could limit her. It shows us the prejudices of those around her that would hold her back if she let them. It even has a long arc about her first love, which is wonderful. I feel like stories like this about a woman being held back who breaks through anyways often forget to show her more human side. Telling us her love story as part of a larger story gives her more layers that are often missing from this genre. Overall a very satisfying read.

This book was a lovely story. Real situations that every young person lives, fights and grows with them. How these things are forming your character.

It's a good book and autobiography. Bring very complex and sensitive topics like abuse, phalocracy, the hate again women, and fighting for your dreams. Camila a young girl who fight for hers dreams even against hers family.