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merylmakreads's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity and Injury/Injury detail
zombiezami's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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? Yes
4.5
I'm not that into sports, but I found this book to be quite beautiful. I loved getting to know more about Argentine culture and the Ni Una Menos movement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Murder
zeebookdragon's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Misogyny and Infidelity
ashlightgrayson's review
inspiring
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
3.75
This book was an excellent exploration of patriarchy in Latin America and how that affects the advancement of women outside of the roles assigned to them by society. Camila is an Argentinian teenager of Middle Eastern descent who wishes to become a professional soccer player, against the wishes of her parents. Her father is abusive, unhappy, and sexist man. Unfortunately we see how some of his attitudes trickle down to his son (Camila's brother) Pablo. There is a particular conversation between Pablo and Camila that highlights this. It is pertaining to the recent murder of a local young woman. Pablo believes that her death could have been avoided had she not been out so late at night, effectively blaming the victim for the tragedy. Despite adopting some of his father's thoughts on issues like this, he is also another victim in his household. Pablo's father consistently compares him to others in terms of where he is in his soccer career and expresses his disappointment in his son's aspirations. Pablo serves as a foil for Camila as well. By the end of the story, he makes choices about his life that are the opposite of Camila's. Whether those choices are damning or not is open to interpretation. However, I found it incredibly interesting that Camila and him end up in seemingly opposite positions than at the beginning of the story.
Throughout the book it feels like Camila is encased in this protective bubble by the men around her, including her love interest, Diego. As the story progresses, Camila takes steps to gain her independence and prioritize what she wants despite her circumstances. She bumps into opposition in this process and is forced to reevaluate her relationships with the men around her. Overall, I think the men in the story are given nuance. Overall, with the exception of maybe Camila's father, have good intentions. However, those intentions don't always translate well into seeing Camila as a respectable and independent equal that does not require rescuing. Overall, I think Camila is able to gain the respect of most of the men in her as well as her own mother. Camila's mother also finds her own independence as Camila finds hers and by the end is happier for it.
In terms of representation, Camila is of Arabic descent and also has an Arabic last name. Her friend Roxana is also an Argentine with Asian parents. I appreciated that these details about the characters highlighted that Latinxs have diverse backgrounds. We also see Roxana's wealth and the support her family provides her juxtaposed against the poverty and lack of support Camila has from her family. They do have issues that they face and eventually overcome throughout the book in their relationship. I think their friendship was well written and compelling and I always love seeing that in books.
If you are looking for a story that is hopeful and has excellent character development and commentary on machismo culture I highly recommend this book.
Throughout the book it feels like Camila is encased in this protective bubble by the men around her, including her love interest, Diego. As the story progresses, Camila takes steps to gain her independence and prioritize what she wants despite her circumstances. She bumps into opposition in this process and is forced to reevaluate her relationships with the men around her. Overall, I think the men in the story are given nuance. Overall, with the exception of maybe Camila's father, have good intentions. However, those intentions don't always translate well into seeing Camila as a respectable and independent equal that does not require rescuing. Overall, I think Camila is able to gain the respect of most of the men in her as well as her own mother. Camila's mother also finds her own independence as Camila finds hers and by the end is happier for it.
In terms of representation, Camila is of Arabic descent and also has an Arabic last name. Her friend Roxana is also an Argentine with Asian parents. I appreciated that these details about the characters highlighted that Latinxs have diverse backgrounds. We also see Roxana's wealth and the support her family provides her juxtaposed against the poverty and lack of support Camila has from her family. They do have issues that they face and eventually overcome throughout the book in their relationship. I think their friendship was well written and compelling and I always love seeing that in books.
If you are looking for a story that is hopeful and has excellent character development and commentary on machismo culture I highly recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Infidelity
kawooreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a mood read for me, I picked it up in my last library haul. It was beautifully written, from the perspective of Camila, an Argentine girl who has big dreams despite the barriers she faces in her life. This is a journey of figuring out what you want and who you want to be. Living in a place that offers few opportunities to girls and women, what path will you choose that is best for you, the love of your life, your family, your community? What I love about this book is that it's impossible to tell this story without the presence of Argentine culture, environment, and identity politics. Because of how well the author interweaves Camila's story to becoming La Furia with the modern-day environment of this area of the world, I feel I walk away with a deeper understanding of the Argentine lived experience. I recommend it to all teen readers and those looking for a coming-of-age type tale.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Infidelity, Murder, and Sexism
arlangrey17's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexism
jessspeake's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Camilla aka "Furia" is a strong young woman living in Rosario, Argentina. She has dreams of playing futbol in the USA. When her childhood love, Diego, visits Rosario on a break from his professional futbol career, the two rekindle a romance. Now Camilla must choose which dream to pursue: playing futbol, or a relationship with Diego.
I listened to this story as an audiobook, and really enjoyed it! It was fascinating to learn more about Argentina, and what it would mean for Camilla to try and pursue her dreams from Rosario.
I think her character was written beautifully, and as a young woman she has so much strength, conviction, and heart. I was rooting for her the whole time, no matter what path she chose.
I don't know if I see myself rereading this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it while listening to it. This is a great book to pick up if you love young adult books, futbol, strong female characters and romance!
I listened to this story as an audiobook, and really enjoyed it! It was fascinating to learn more about Argentina, and what it would mean for Camilla to try and pursue her dreams from Rosario.
I think her character was written beautifully, and as a young woman she has so much strength, conviction, and heart. I was rooting for her the whole time, no matter what path she chose.
I don't know if I see myself rereading this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it while listening to it. This is a great book to pick up if you love young adult books, futbol, strong female characters and romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Blood
Minor: Child death, Kidnapping, Death, and Murder
brittstagram's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
wenwanzhao's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Abortion, Sexism, Misogyny, and Infidelity
catherreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
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? Yes
4.0
CW: domestic abuse, abusive relationship, kidnapping, infidelity
I loved this more than I expected to given how the first half of this book was going. I don't play football/soccer, and because I listened to it on audio, I was missing out on the spellings of various words, making it difficult for me to remember who was who and what their names were.
The ending was amazing, giving me what I consider to be a perfectly happy ending with a powerful message about not letting anyone stand in the way of your dreams.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity and Kidnapping