#ReadAroundTheWorld #Argentina

This is a YA novel about soccer, family and love by Argentinian author Yamile Saied Méndez. Camila Hassan is a 17 year old living with her strict family in Rosario, Argentina and sneaking out to secretly play on a women’s soccer team without her parent’s approval.

Keeping this secret is a pressure on Camila, but she cannot give up the exhilaration she feels when she plays her beloved fútbol and becomes the talented and passionate La Furia. She has to negotiate the high standards and expectations set by her mother, the difficulty of living in her footballer brother Pablo’s shadow, and the toxic masochistic behaviour of her father. Lastly there is another big secret she carries, a deep feeling towards an old friend and now famous footballer Diego, currently playing for Juventus in Italy. Will he still feel the same towards her despite his fame and success? And will she be able to achieve her own dream of playing fútbol with all the obstacles she faces?

This was an enjoyable story that gives insight into the culture of Argentina, particularly that involving fútbol. The romance is sweet. The most unsettling part of the story is the behaviour and attitudes of her father. The fact that Camila needs to put a lock and chain on her bedroom door to give herself a sense of safety speaks volumes. This is a fairly simple story but does speak to young women about having the courage to stand up for yourself, for other women, and to pursue your goals even in the fact of opposition and sexism. ( )

I used this for the "a character on the run" part of my 2021 reading challenge. I thought it was really well done, the characters were lively and realistic and the location was really easy to visualize. I was really proud of her for standing up for what she wanted and standing up to Diego, it's great to see a woman focused on her goals and not caving or settling. I'm not a sports fan but I didn't find the soccer focus to take away from the story at all, it was easy for me to fall into even without common interests. ( )

A beautifully written book about a young girl named Camilla Hassan, who has different plans for herself than what has been drilled into her by her controlling father and societal expectations. Nothing gets between Camilla la furia and her love of soccer dreams, not family or romance. Camilla uses Argentinian poets through out the story to fuel her ambitions as she secretly grows into an athlete to be rivaled. ( )

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 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. ( )

Amazing! I’m already a fan of futbal but this story made me a bigger fan! It wasn’t just a book about playing the game it was about playing the game of life and fighting for what you believe is the right thing to do and believing in yourself. Definitely a MUST read! ( )