Title: Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
Genre: YA Fiction, Romance
Targeted Age: 9-12th grade
Plot Summary: Camila lives in a culture that elevates men and their achievements at the cost of the women in their lives. She is not content with living in the shadows. In secret, she has become a talented Argentinian youth fútbol player with the nickname La Furia. Camila's life has been full of fútbol with a brother in the professional league, a boyfriend in an international league, and her secret participation in a competitive girl's club. She dreams of continuing her athletic pursuits in the US and obtaining a scholarship to a US university. Is her traditional path with the man of her dreams possible? This is a story centered in traditions both familial and cultural and the desire to choose your own path.
Justification for book choice: I chose this book because it was outside my normal preference. I like mysteries, but there were no mysteries in this book. I was looking for additional viewpoints and voices. I liked that the setting was international, it included romance as an element, and it was an audiobook that allowed me to listen while doing other things.
Evaluation:
M
Mood: I have seen Argentinians cheering on their national soccer team. They are passionate, loud, and loyal. That is the same mood that is exemplified in this book when it comes to soccer. As a character in the show Ted Lasso would say "Futbol is life!" When I encountered the fans in a restaurant in Florida, it was mostly men that were gathered together. In this book, the passion that the young ladies have for playing is just as strong and the other professionals in the book.
T Theme: Furia is a twist on the rebellious teenager or especially rebellious daughter theme running away from home. It has been used many times from Dorothy in Wizard of Oz to Ariel in the Little Mermaid. In this story Camila is a rebellious teenage daughter, but she wasn't leaving a happy home nor did she actually leave home. But she did rebel from the life her parents laid out for her. She did lie and keep secrets from them. In the end there was a positive resolution, but it was a complicated one.
D Drawing a line in the sand: Early in the book, it is clear that Camila is lying to her parents about playing fútbol and yet, the title of the book is Furia which refers to Camila's nickname on the field La Furia. The reader will understand that if the nickname is that important the exclusion from playing fútbol is probably going to be overturned in some way.
Citation:
Méndez, Y.S. (2020) Furia. Algonquin Books.