h o l l i s 's Reviews > Furia

I was | | close to rounding up on this one because there are aspects of this story that are so strong, so wonderful, but I can't quite boost it.

In my barrio, most of the people didn't know my name or even that I existed. To them, I was only Pablo's sister, or Andrés and the seamstress' daughter — my mom, too, was nameless. But I was determined to leave my mark.

If what you've always wanted in life is a YA version of KULTI by Mariana Zapata but with a heavy dose of feminism and very relevant, and present, topics of life in Argentina, you absolutely have to pick this up. This story is both empowering and heartbreaking and sometimes those conflicting feelings are rooted in the same moment.

Fútbol could do that — make people forget about the price of the dollar, the upcoming elections, even their love lives. For a few hours, life was beautiful.

There were many triumphant moments both for our protagonist, Camila, and for her team. But not every triumph was due to winning. I loved how the author made a point to balance this group of women's ambitions, including that of the coach, but constantly remind the team — and through them, us — to play for themselves, for joy, no matter the score. I feel like if you take away nothing else from this story, particularly the younger readers, that would be enough. But there are even more powerful messages within the pages, too.

I'd leave the house the first chance I got, but not by chasing after a boy, including my brother. I'd do it on my own terms, following my own dreams, not someone else's.

I think what really took away some of the enjoyment for me were the family dynamics. I have no doubt it is more common than not but some of it just felt a little OTT or extra and while much of it shaped Camila, drove her, to be something else.. I don't know, I just wanted those moments over with. So that's definitely a personal thing. As for the romance, I initially thought it might have been the weaker element of the story but I was pleasantly surprised to have been wrong and, also, surprised by how that turned out. No spoiling!

Overall, I think this is definitely a book worth picking up, even moreso as it's #ownvoices. And, I mean, did you read Micky's review? Even I wanted to award this five stars after reading her thoughts — and even though I'm not, I would definitely read this author again.

3.5 stars

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.