A review by sonygaystation
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

3.75

3.5-3.75 but rounding up. I have mixed feelings about this one. It started out strong, dipped in the middle, dipped a lot more toward the end, and then went back up at the very ending. I LOVE sports novels, especially ones with women at the center, but I think it struggles because it's trying to do a lot of things at once with its message and while I really like what it's ultimately trying to say, a couple of the individual plot lines fall a little flat. I was rooting hard for
Diego
so I feel frustrated by his plot line even though I completely understand (I think anyway!!) the intention of the author with it. I feel the romantic aspect of the book could have been omitted entirely, honestly, because even in spite of the intention I think the culmination fell a little flat. For a lot of the book it wasn't really about soccer at all, but her relationship with Diego, which really didn't end up serving much for the plot. BUT that being said I liked Camila a lot, she is so strong and so easy to cheer for, which really carries the book a long way. Overall, Furia is feminist and unapologetic and handles what it can be like living under a very staunch patriarchy really well.

content warnings: femicide, mentions of child murder, domestic abuse, mentions of sexual abuse, cheating
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