Great book for today's young girl!
Live your dreams - don't let anyone hold you back or deter you from your path!

Great characters - great story - great ending!

Vamos Furia!!

Furia is exactly the type of YA novel I love to read. Camila is a headstrong, smart protagonist who is fighting to become a futbolera in a male-dominated barrio in Argentina. Despite her prowess on the soccer field, all the attention is placed on her soccer-playing brother Pablo and sometime-boyfriend Diego. Known as Furia on the field, Camila is leading a double life, playing the role of dutiful daughter and hard-working student while keeping her soccer skills a secret from her family. Camila must worked harder and be smarter than the boys in her life in order to achieve the life she wants. Furia is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Tiffany Jackson; recommended for high school and up.

Furia tells the story of Camila Hassan, an argentinan girl who’s amazing at fútbol and dreams of going pro in the U.S. Set in Rosario, Argentina; it’s full of mentions and nods to its places, food, customs and dichos. It’s a book in which I could see myself and the situations that surround me, I could see how women’s sports are handled in Latinamerica, I could see how we talk, I could see how we live, I could se both the good and the bad. Because Furia also talks about the ingrained machismo in Argentina’s culture, how the feminist fight is still rejected by many and how hard girls have to fight against the world if we want to follow our dreams. I see so much of me in Camila and I see so much of the people that surround me in Diego, Pablo, Roxana, her mamá and her papá. And I feel so thankful to have had the opportunity (and that many more girls like will have it) of reading a sports YA set in Latinamerica written as perfectly as Furia was❤️

i am left speechless at the beauty that is this book. carefully and beautifully crafted, Furia is a story of sacrifices and a love letter to football.

throughout the author’s writing, i could feel her love and dedication to the story and to the topics handled in it. i was gripped from the first page and found myself stealing glimpses of the book during classes and in public transports. i was utterly in love with it.

the plot? excellence. i loved how the story drove into the climax, how it handled issues like patriarchy in sports fields as well as in a domestic setting, how it captured the way women fight for basic human rights, how we live in a man’s world, and how even our most loved ones can be biased by that.

the author created a beautiful, strong and inspiring main character. camila, or la Furia, is the woman i aspire to be. she is strong at all moments and she goes through so much i wanted to hug her. every other character represented an aspect of society, and i am in awe of how well the author personified them.

in conclusion, this book is everything. i am in love. even if i write pages and pages, i wouldn’t be able to explain how it made me feel. watch me throw it to everyone’s faces.

An #ownvoices novel all about a ferocious young woman with dreams that society would want her to believe are useless and she is absolutely unworthy of actually achieving those dreams!

You, each female reading this knows EXACTLY what I am talking about - because we have all been there. No matter how supportive our own people may have been for our dreams, and ambitions; there would have been always someone, at least a few people will always be there to rain your parade!

It never surprises me anymore, as to how people, especially males tend to hate and loathe when a woman starts to dream for herself.

Case in point, our protagonist, Camilla lives in a small town in Argentina with her conservative parents and brother - though a family like most others in their town; obsessed with football.

For her father; and his dead dreams, it’s her brother’s talent for playing football is their ticket out of their poor economic status while Camilia would be better off trying to score a professional footballer to take her along for the ride.

But Camila has her own dreams and aspirations - the fact is that she is La Furia - a nickname she earned as a football player in her own right with her fiery attitude and talent on the field!

She knows that she has giant obstacles in her path to playing professional football but she has made her choice; and it is a goal that she is determined to achieve; no matter how many heartbreaks she has to endure in that path.
And she has to endure a lot.

I had nothing but admiration for Camila - it is her strength and her determination that forms the basis of her own life - she is the kind of role model I sincerely wish every youngster, no matter what gender they identify with, needs when they pick up a book to get away from reality!

Fiercely honest and dearly ambitious; Furia is the kind of #ownvoices novels that need to read and that need to spread throughout the reading community!

Que livro poderoso! Adorei que ele se passa perto do meu país e muitas coisas eu consegui visualizar! Um YA com todo esse peso não tem como dar errado, espero que faça muito sucesso! Amei!

Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez flows like the most exciting game you’ve ever sat in the stands to watch. It arcs, it soars, you fall, you run, you feint, you hope. And at halftime, you think you know how it will go but all of a sudden you’re down again and heading into the heat of overtime. What a ride!

I loved every second of this novel. Furia tells the story of Camila, an Argentine teenager on the cusp of finishing high school who dreams of playing pro futbol. When her league wins the championship and qualifies for a FIFA tournament, she earns the nickname of Furia and her life as a futbolera seems like it could finally come true. But it’s a secret she keeps from her family, and especially her abusive father. Camila must find a way to keep everything under wraps until the right moment, the right time of the game. Meanwhile, her crush Diego returns to visit home for a brief few days in between practices for his pro team in Italy. Their romance rekindles but will it stand in the way of Furia’s dreams?

This is my favorite YA book of 2020. It’s brilliant and unexpected and has an incredible message. It’s empowering in a million ways.

Wow, just wow. Furia immediately grabbed my attention because of the title, synopsis and colourful cover. I loved Bend It Like Beckham which is something unusual for me as I am not into football at all.

It was the same things that gripped me about that movie that did about Furia: the being bound to a certain set of cultural norms and wanting to prove you are more than just where you are from. The fight and grit in the main character and her determination.

Furia is a novel that shows you should never stop fighting for what you want despite everything that gets in your way. It is a novel that breathes Argentinian and fútbol culture. I have had a passion for Spanish and Latin American culture since I spoke my first word of Spanish at school at age 11 and love anything about different cultures and ways of life.

Thanks to Yamile Saied Méndez and Algonquin publishing for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

4.5 stars. The book was a little long at times and that is why it doesn't get 5 stars from me but be prepared for an immersive cultural experience! Great pacing and attention to detail as well as the ability to get "inside" characters' minds which is always a winning writing technique for me.

I really really really loved this book. The brutal honesty how it was written, the setting in Rosario, the characters and how not even one of them was one dimensional, they were all complex and so vivid. I loved Camila’s strength, how fierce, passionate and determined she is in just surviving, making the best of what she’s got all while managing and dealing with her family.

Super grateful to Algonquin Young Readers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, I think in the beginning it may have been difficult to read, but I'll explain more about that later, in general, it was incredible, and I managed to love this story more and more as it progressed to ended up in love with that ending. It has a wonderful progression, the author has done an incredible job with a fluid and easy-to-read style even when dealing with tough topics such as patriarchy, domestic violence, and femicides. This is a piece of work with many feelings that goes beyond football and manages to reach you in a raw and honest way, and I'm happy to have the chance to read it before its release date.


This is the story of Camila, a girl from Rosario, Argentina whose passion for soccer makes that once she's on the field playing she forgets all her problems at home to become "La Furia" as her team has baptized her. When her team has a chance to qualify for the South American tournament, Camila is hopeful that her talents can earn her an athletic scholarship for the United States university. But no one in her family knows Camila's true passion for soccer and they'll not admit that a girl plays, now her childhood love Diego, a renowned world-class soccer player, has returned to Rosario but Camila doesn't have time to be distracted with her feelings for him because now she has big ambitions and dreams for which she must fight if she wants to live off her passion.


Well, I want to start by saying that I'm Argentina myself, so some things resonate more with me than with other readers and that can be super positive, in fact, it was with this book in millions of aspects, but on the other hand, I have at least one thing super important that I want to talk about and express my feelings about it before starting so I can get that out of the way. There were a couple of moments, I would say several ones, where the author decided to add the words "Mami" or "Mama" as a symbol of affection, compliment, or love within the plot, and many of the characters reacted to this in a surprising way as if this meant something huge. I live 5 hours from Rosario, in Entre Rios, I've been there a couple of times, I just wanted to make that clear. Well, my problem with this situation and the use of this word is that it felt very uncomfortable for me, here in my country there is a lot of street harassment when men yell at you or say disgusting things to women on the street, you know? and the word "Mamita" is used a lot, which is a derivative of the same word, and is used to degrade and make the female gender feel less, it's even used as a term to sexualize women, so maybe I'm not so in accordance with its use. I do want to clarify that this is a personal opinion, I know that other girls who have read it and are from Argentina had no problem with this, I don't mean that the word "Mama" is not used with affection, it can be done but perhaps it's something older and now over time can be used in a negative way. So I wanted to mention it because it made me feel uncomfortable a couple of times and it gave me a little cringe, and I didn't want to pass it up.

Now, let's put that aside. The plot itself I LOVE with my heart, you know that I'm not the biggest sports fan, in fact, it's super funny because I just made a post about that on my blog, but this book showed me that I can enjoy a very sports-centric storyline, which is great. Obviously I think that it helped me a lot that the characters and the plot outside the sports were so interesting and compelling to follow, it's an excellent plot indeed, which has important and impactful components, so I really appreciate the work of the author. In this book, we can see conflicts that are very much alive in Argentina at this moment, and I think that even so it surely happens all over the world, here's all people talked about and the focus is sexist violence and how we have had to live in a society highly patriarchal where the man decides on the woman in all aspects, and as it's told in the book even in our own lives. Here, so far in 2020, there have been almost 500 cases of femicide, so it's super worrying, I honestly am tired, and I don't stop horrifying with the number of female victims in my country who have died at the hands of their own partners or unknowns men, every day is a new face seeking justice and it's heartbreaking. How Camila's father acts on the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl, saying "it's her fault for being with the wrong people" already speaks for itself, right? I know that we have advanced a lot as a society, I have to give ourselves that, but we still have a lot to solve. So, the book touches on this topic, even though it's secondary it is there, like domestic violence and how the characters act around it, is super interesting to see, also sad, no doubt, but very real and important of portray in a book.


I'm very sorry if this review is a bit heavy or dark, but I needed to talk about those hardpoints before throwing myself into the story as such. The plot is super solid as I said before, I really enjoyed following Camila, I think her personality is wonderful, she's a great fighter at home and outside of it, she doesn't give herself all the merit she deserves for her actions, though, and I see her blaming on herself a lot, but that's another reflection of our society, right? Even so, I loved accompanying her on her journey, seeing her growth and how she discovered herself, and how she established her priorities makes me feel proud for her, it's refreshing to see a main female character who doesn't need a man to be happy and who decides to continue with her dreams and support her family above a romantic relationship.

Even so, I liked the romance, I don't think it was my jam from the beginning, but then it grew on me and I liked it more and more, Diego is a good person you can see that through his actions, and in the end even when he's wrong, I think it helps Camila grew a lot and the ending seemed very appropriate and beautiful. I enjoyed their moments together and had a lot of fun following them on their dates around the city.


Camila's family structure is complicated, her mother struggles to keep the family together as she can or as she knows, but she has to deal with an absolutely horrible husband, with a violent and aggressive attitude all the time on her family, and on the other hand, Camilia's brother, Pablo, who must live to meet his father's expectations and play soccer to be the best of the best. There are many emotions with which you find yourself when reading this book, especially the family scenes are very powerful and very strong to read, I felt so bad for all of them and the toxic and macho environment in which Camila must live and deal with . I don't want to do any kind of a spoiler, so I couldn't tell you my feelings in a 100%, but you have to read it, I highly recommend this book.

On the other hand, and I think this is a super important pillar in Camila's life, we have the soccer team and all the girls who are part of this, and I liked seeing this dynamic a lot, I don't like soccer, so I have nothing to say about it, but I do love the dialogues and interactions of the girls of the team, they're a family, and they're very close and I love that spirit of unconditional support that the Couch has instilled in them. I love Roxana above all, she's great, I think she could be my favorite character, she's funny and always says what she thinks, but she also has a great heart and is always doing things super selflessly for Camila, it's beautiful to see, this friendship is my favorite thing & also I can't fail to mention Karen, a little girl whom Camila teaches English to, and she's EVERYTHING, I love her forever.


Rosario is a beautiful place, I'm very happy that the author has created the story in this historic and beautiful place. I was afraid that it would be located in Buenos Aires, which wouldn't have to be a bad thing, it's just that Buenos Aires is what people always talked about when talking about Argentina, so it's refreshing and great to see a little more of my country this time & I also appreciate how the author has portrayed our culture and customs, it made me laugh a lot, but I think everything is very successful, I loved it!


I think this is a book that's much more than about a girl who likes to play soccer, you know? It's a daring story of a girl with enormous dreams for the society in which she lives and yet we see her continually challenging everyone in her life, creating bridges and knocking down adversities to meet her goals and break with a toxic family cycle. It's absolutely rich in content and will leave you thinking a lot, in addition, due to its social portrait and its discussion about it.

I'm kind of speechless, I could continue talking about the book because it has a lot of wonderful details, but I think it's worth reading to discover it. I highly recommend it if you want to read a book that pushes the limits of a macho society, and if you want to read about a highly empowered woman like Camila is, you'll love this book. It's also super fun, easy to read, and dynamic. The characters are very realistic and incredibly constructed, the author gives us a new face of romance and a beautiful friendship and family union above all things. I loved it, and I feel a bit emotional, so just go and support this amazing author by purchasing her book. I feel very proud to be able to read it and share my feelings with you, it means a lot to me.

First of all, I want to start by saying that I’m not an ownvoice reader. As thankful as I am for receiving this eARC and being part of this blog tour, I can’t really say much about the Argentinian representation. This is why I’m gonna link you to those two reviews written by ownvoices and latinx readers — not saying that all latinx are Argentinian. Please be sure to also read these reviews who are really great and will give you more in-depth thoughts about the book.

Read Soffi’s review on her blog: a book. a thought. here
Read Alicia’s review on her blog: a kernel of nonsense. here
Read Sofia’s review on her blog: aelin’s kingdom. here

With Furia, we’re following Camila Hassan’s journey to become a professional soccer player while she also deals with familial conflicts and a cute boy coming back in her life.

I actually don’t know how to start with this review except by saying that we should all read this book. It is a powerful, feminist and impactful story. It is, I believe, the story of so many girls around the world — girls fighting against expectation, against patriarchy, against all the odds to reach their dreams. The author shows that it’s never easy, especially for marginalized girls of color like Camila.

You live with Camila when you read this story. You feel joy with her, you also feel her pain and her despair. But even though sometimes you feel like you lose hope while reading her journey, the author always manage to give you this hint of hope. It’s like the author is giving you a thread and as long as you’re following it, you still have this hope even if the story becomes darker. I mean, I’m not sure about that, it is still my interpretation but I feel like it was what the author was trying to do: give us hope even in the darkest time.

No one had given us anything. We had taken it. But no one wanted to hear the truth. Most importantly, this wasn’t the time or place.

Going back to Camila and her journey to become a professional soccer player: I loved that part of the story. I don’t look like it but I actually like consuming contents which involved sports. Well, to be perfectly honest, I don’t watch soccer but I do watch soccer animes? I also read mangas about soccers? So all I want to say is as long as it’s in fictional work I’m kinda into sports. So I was actually really happy when I got the opportunity to read Furia. YA books with sports as a main theme aren’t that common — or at least, for me? Maybe I’m not look hard enough to find them — especially featuring an all latinx cast. Anyway. Camila’s journey is inspiring. You can’t help but root for her and hope she’ll reach her goal. What I liked for most is how she fights for her dream because she knows she has to. She has to fight because nobody will give her the career she wants. She’s a girl; nobody expects her to be a soccer player so she has to prove them she can. And when you think about it, it’s infuriating: she has nothing to prove to anybody but ultimately she still has to prove herself.

Camila knows what she wants and knows that she can’t reach her goal if she doesn’t give up other stuff along the way. This is what makes the story so realistic in my eyes: sometimes you have to give up to rise higher. I don’t know if it makes any sense because you usually don’t want to give up things, especially if those things are important to you. Camila knows she can’t have it all but also knows that soccer is what she wants so she does everything in her power to achieve her goal: even if it means to give up on someone dear. You what what was so refreshing? The fact that Camila knew she didn’t need a man to reach her goal and support her family. How many time did I read a story where the girl gave up on her dream because of the guy? Too many times.

I like to play, and I happen to be very good at it. I have choices, and futbol is my choice. I won’t ever give up when I have a chance to make it.

Talking about romance, I liked the one between Camila and Diego. You know, they have chemistry and it’s honestly what I ask for when an author try to put two characters together. Diego is also the type of love interest I particularly like: he’s kind and genuinely care about Camila and you can really feel it while reading the book. Pretty quickly in the story, you understand that Camila is his top priority and that he would basically do everything he can for her. But then, you also see the other side: that what he wants doesn’t systematically match with what she wants and that’s when everything fall apart. As heartbreaking as it was — because you end up wanting to root for them and their love — I believe this part of the story solidifies Camila’s character development. By making the choice she made, you really feel like she made her mind about what she wants and it was incredible to read.

You can’t ask me to choose between you and my dreams.

Besides the soccer part of the story, what I really appreciate is how the author talked about the current events which takes place in Argentina — and I believe also in several countries in South America. I believe the author didn’t write this book to educate non-latinx readers but more to raise awareness to people who may not know about what is happening. Though feminicide is a plague around the world, newspapers don’t talk about it frequently, even more if it happens in countries they don’t consider « developed » — here I mean that newspapers usually focus on Western countries.

You feel angry when you read those parts. I felt angry with Camila, with all these Argentina girls. But you also feel scared, at least it was what I felt when reading. For some reasons, when Camila was walking in the streets, stopping to look at those missing girls posters, I couldn’t stop thinking that it was going to happen to her. I don’t know if the author make you feel that way on purpose but if it was, then she did a really great job. And between the fear and the anger, you also want to fight withe these girls. They fight for their lives, for what they want but can’t have because society denies it. And I believe Camila’s journey to become a professional soccer player is a great parallel to that part of the story; she fights with all she has to reach that goal as she fights for her rights and her life.

None of the girls and women whose faces plastered the walls of our city had ever intended to become statistics, either, but they were blamed for the crimes committed against them.

Trigger warnings/content warnings: mention of murders, domestic violence, sexism, abusive father, homophobia
Diversity tag: all latinx cast, argentinian-palestinian mc, argentinian-chinese side character, #ownvoices

Deeply powerful Latinx coming of age story. Camila "Furia" Hassan is such a strong and independent female lead. She has one dream, to leave Argentina and to play soccer professionally in the United States.. With an short-tempered father, a dangerous town, and numerous setbacks, Camila does everything it takes to make her dreams happen. The topics of the book are domestic violence, sexism and masculinity. Empowering and great book for Latinx heritage month! I highly recommend this book to everyone. Thanks to Algonquin Young Reader books for the E-ARC!.

I loved Furia so much! This was one of my favorite books of the year so far. I love a good YA and was an #OwnVoices novel, even better! Camila/Furia was such a strong and independent female lead. She has one dream, to make it out of Argentina and reach the US to play soccer professionally. With an overbearing father, a dangerous town, and numerous setbacks, Camila does everything it takes to make her dreams happen.

I love a powerful diverse read about a woman able to rise above obstacles to plow her own path. I highly recommend this to every young girl. What I loved:

A powerful female protagonist.

The way that everything was depicted so beautifully so I felt like I was really there and could see and smell the atmosphere.

How gracefully the author navigated the tough subjects of sexism.

Overall it was just such a strong, beautifully written novel I suggest to all young girls.

On the field, Camila is La Furia, an amazing and talented fútbol player. At home, Camila is the silent daughter living in her brother’s shadow. When Camila’s team qualifies for the tournament, Camila will finally have a chance to achieve her dream of playing on a North American team, but it won’t be easy. Even tough fútbol runs in her family, her abusive father would never let a girl play. On top of all of this, Diego is back in town from playing fútbol in Italy and things have changed since he left after kissing Camila over a year ago. 

I loved every page of this book. Each time I set it down was only because I had to. This such a strong feminist story that’s written so well. The author catches everything from the double standards between Camila and her brother to the expectations placed on her by her father. 

I’m not usually a huge fan of books based on sports, but Camila is such a great character and her passion for fútbol is palpable. She was strong-willed and passionate from the very beginning of this story and only got even stronger as the story went on.  

This is a story about following your dreams, even when your surroundings are constantly putting you down or telling you that you can’t. It’s a story for girls with dreams of doing something seen as something only boys can do. This is a story about passion and breaking free from whatever is holding you down. 

I am so glad I got to be a part of this blog tour and had the chance to read and review this amazing book.

Thank you, Algonquin Young Readers and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received an arc and a finished copy from the publisher! Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Furia

Author: Yamile Saied Mendez

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Argentinean ownvoice main character

Recommended For...: contemporary lovers, feminist novels, #ownvoice!

Publication Date: September 15, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, slight gore, domestic violence TW, masculinity, romance)

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Pages: 368

Synopsis: In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan lives a double life.

At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother’s narrow expectations, in her rising-soccer-star brother’s shadow, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father.

On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. In her wildest dreams, she’d get an athletic scholarship to a North American university.

But the path ahead isn’t easy. Her parents don’t know about her passion. They wouldn’t allow a girl to play fútbol—and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international star, playing in Italy for the renowned team Juventus. Camila doesn’t have time to be distracted by her feelings for him. Things aren’t the same as when he left: she has her own passions and ambitions now, and La Furia cannot be denied. As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world with no place for the dreams and ambition of a girl like her.

Review: I really loved this book! I loved the writing and thought the pacing was wonderfully managed and done. The character development was masterful and I was so invested in Camila’s journey! I loved how the author conquered the tough topics of domestic violence and masculinity. Definitely a book I’ll reread and pass onto other women.

The only compliant I really had is that I wished there was a bit more world building, but the book was wonderful overall!

Verdict: A highly recommended read!

Ah, "sports" books. Not my thing. Not going to lie, I was not looking forward to this one, & it took me awhile to get into the groove of it. But wow!

This story is a force to be reckoned with. The layers in this story are so profound and I am just still reeling from all the feels. And thank goodness for that epilogue-my heart was a bit broken.

For libraries: Buy it! Read it! Book talk it!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.

Furia is full of feminism and heart. This is the story of Camila, a seventeen-year-old Argentinian soccer player whose ferocity on the pitch has garnered her the nickname "la Furia." But at home, once she's removed her cleats, she must face her family and community's narrow expectations of a girl's place. When Camila's team gets the opportunity to play in a tournament which could lead to a contract with a team in the US, her dream of becoming a professional soccer player seems within her grasp. However, with her parents in the dark about her participation on the team and a possible romance blooming with a childhood friend who returns home an international soccer star, Camila must decide where her heart lies.

Camila's determination to do everything she can to pursue her dream of being a professional soccer player is inspiring to read. This book portrays many of the difficulties girls face every day, from limited expectations, to victim blaming, to violence. Many times, Camila passes posters of all of the girls who go missing in Argentina, and she struggles with a personal loss. I think Yamile Saied Méndez handles these topics with care as well as a depiction of parental abuse. Overall, I'd recommend this book to people who enjoy reading fierce feminist stories.

I wish I could express all the enthusiasm I feel about this book but damn, it is A LOT. In this review I'll be trying to convey how much everyone needs to pick this story of empowerment and hope, but I already know words will fail me. So let's start step by step.

When Algonquin invited me to be part of their Blog Tour for Furia, I didn't know about this book. Had never even seen it around. So I read the plot, and expected a story about football. At first I've been careful, since sport isn't really my thing, but I was also intrigued about a story which seemed so unlike the usual YA contemporaries, also because it would revolve around a part of the world which is hardly the focus of books for young readers--Latino America. Furia is basically an #ownvoices story, more or less the story of its author, and I was drawn to the authenticity of it. You know, sometimes it's good to see the world from someone else's perspective.

With these premises, I started the book. It was middle/end of July, the weather was HELLA HOT, and I was in Madrid to visit my boyfriend--perfect atmosphere to read a story set in a Spanish-speaking country. So, I started Furia without knowing that well what to expect, in an almost-reading slump... And I was SUCKED INTO it. Did I devour it or did it devour me? Impossible to tell. All I can say is that I couldn't stop reading, and that doesn't happen frequently to me.

I was intrigued not only by Camila's first-person narrative of her lies, but also by those latino atmospheres, rendered just perfectly, with all of their superstitions and alegría and dances around the street that made me want to visit Argentina. Even if you didn't know that this was an #ownvoices book, you could tell from the amount of particulars about everyday life in Rosario, Argentina this book holds. It's as if you're living at Camila's, as if you've been invited to a mate party by her mom. You live with her family, you experience life through their eyes, and I think that's incredible.

From the very first page the reader is drawn to root for Camila, for her independence from a family and a society that only expect her to be the good housewife. And I know we can think that that's a surpassed idea, that we overcame that obstacle society imposed on us as women, but well... That's not completely true if we think of all the internalized patriarchy we still have to fight. Plus, there are countries in which growing up as a girl is even harder. And so Camila has to hide her dream to become a famous fútbolera because that is not what is expected from her, and also because her ambition would throw shade on her brother, the only legitimate star of the family. Football is not a sport for women in Camila's house, especially for her abusive father, an ex local fútbol star. Sure, she can practice it, but make a living out of it? That's unthinkable. That's her brother's role. That's the main reason why Cami decides to hide her practice from her family.

Well, this plot stole my heart. The chance to explore such delicate themes through an intriguing narrative kept me holding my breath until the last page, hoping Camila would be okay. The narration was handled just perfectly and was a crescendo of emotions until the end.

And then there's Diego. And OH. MY. GOD. I didn't know I could fall for a football player, and of course my first football crush would have been fictional. Of course. In Diego--our love interest, childhood friend and star-crossed lover--I saw so much of a character I didn't think I could compare to anyone else: Yousef from Skam season 4. His kindness, his cutest flirting and his honest heart had me daydreaming. And THE WAY HE ADDRESSES HER IN SPANISH WITH THOSE LATINO EXPRESSIONS LIKE “MAMI” had me fall at his feet. Seriously, how can he be so cute and so good at flirting? And that's not even the end of it! In fact, our lovely Diegui is non other than a Juventus player! Juventus. An Italian team. I am Italian *insert national anthem*

Seriously, I'm not into football, never been, couldn't care less, BUT HAVING MY CHILD DIEGO IN JUVENTUS? That made me a patriot. A proud Italian.

As an Italian, I actually noticed many references to our culture and that made me so happy, because they all were accurate, and that doesn't happen that much. It also made me realize how much of my culture got exported and how similar our nations are in terms of traditions and warmth within the family and neighborhood. Of course, there are also similarities in the closed-mindedness of certain people.

But getting back to the romance, we have a friends to lovers, exes to lovers and a celebrity crush trope. I didn't know I could love each and every one of them so much. I really appreciated that for once, the footballer guy wasn't a means for conveying toxic masculinity. Well, I guess we can say that in certain scenes Diego was even too perfect to seem real, but that hit even harder when he finally proved to have flaws. I also loved that the two of them were very mature, and their relationship was well-established and consolidated since the beginning.

Camila, our protagonist, is exactly the type of strong female character I love: she's strong but she's fragile, she makes mistakes, but she is NEVER passive. She strongly believes in her value and she doesn't let anyone stand in the way of her ambition, even when the choice is not easy. Even when she loses everything she loves. In that regard, there is also a brief mental health rep and I loved the way it was handled. She doesn't change for anyone, and being that strong-willed in a society that still hasn't completely understood the value of women demands an incredible amount of strength. Can we appreciate the fact that this isn't the usual YA that only revolves around love? Camila puts her ambition on top of everything, and I think that she can be of great inspiration for many young women.

The way the author conveys her love for fútbol made me interested for the first time in a world I didn't think I could appreciate. Méndez is a true talent in portraying the small, simple, local reality in all its warmth and glory and flaws. She isn't afraid of engaging in social themes like domestic violence, child neglect, and feminism, even shedding light on the “Ni Una Menos” movement. Furia is undoubtedly a well-written love letter to fútbol and Argentina.

The story ends just perfectly and coherently in my opinion, carrying a message of great hope and empowerment.

Of course, just like all things, it isn't perfect - sometimes a bit too unrealistic, sometimes things just happen so fast, and I believe I spotted some small incoherent scenes, but all in all, it was an amazing debut for the author in the Young-Adult section. It contains some typos (but take into account that I am reviewing an advanced reading copy), and I believe that some words in Spanish could be a bit difficult to understand if you have no clue of common Latinamerican expressions. I wasn't 100% sure about its feminist message at the beginning, but the end convinced me.

Nonetheless, this book was an incredible discovery for me, a true gift. I learnt so much and felt so many feels. It was the perfect balance between entertainment /romance and important themes / diversity. The world needs more books like Furia.


[E-arc provided by Algonquin Young Readers, Edelweiss+ and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Immensely thankful to the publisher for this opportunity]

Stay tuned for my Instagram post about it!

This was a delight! I wasn’t sure if the soccer storyline would throw me off a bit since I’m not much of a sports person, but I actually found it really interesting. Camila is a fantastically written character and I really admired her fire and passion, not only for soccer but for her family. I also really like how the romantic relationship was handled. Looking forward to seeing what this author does next!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me an e-ARC on NetGalley!