Furia / Yamile Saied Méndez / 2020
As a YA novel marketed most heavily towards girls of color, especially Latinas, I did not expect to fall in love with Furia, but I definitely did. In her YA, Méndez writing finds its stride with fast-paced writing, relatable characters, and issues of gender on the forefront. In Furia, our protagonist Camila Hassan secretly plays soccer against her family’s wishes. She’s good enough she’s vying for a spot in an elite league that regularly gives rise to professional athletes. Her strong personality, career ambitions, romantic interests, safety in Argentina, and family expectations all come to a head in this page turner that juggles each of these big issues seamlessly.
As a Latinx person, I sometimes watch soccer during the world cups. I played the sport on a team briefly and terribly during middle school for a year or so, but other than that, I am not hugely into soccer, especially as much as some of my global south peers. Even the nerdiest of them seem to be fluent in futbol-ese, the best players, rivalries, so forth. I was skeptical whether I would find the writing around sports engaging at all, or whether it would come across as a little meat-heady. Méndez does a fabulous job instilling the games with personal and communal stakes important to the story. For Camila, futbol is not just a game—it becomes a means towards financial security, a place where women can be strong in a society that obsessed with their supposed inferiority. The action is narratively swiftly with a clarity that is almost lyrical.
Méndez has a knack for writing strong female characters. As in On These Magical Shores, Camila is again strong-willed, risk-taking, and excellent young woman. She shoulders the burden of being the eldest or only daughter in a Latinx/Latin American family. For those familiar with Avatar, Camila is written in the same vein as Korra. If Méndez continues along this path, I might long for a more flawed and nuanced depiction of her heroines, but for now, I think it’s necessary and useful for her to write these powerful, excellent young heroines into the world.
Furia does an excellent job capturing the “bigness” of young love. There’s an insecurity, a longing, and idealism that makes young love especially big. I found myself fondly swooning for and reminiscing about the infatuations of my youth. Camila’s love interest throughout the novel is Diego, a sexy-flexy hot shot soccer player, who—plot twist—actually turns out to be a decent guy for the most part. Her relationship with Diego is strained by long distance (I can deeply relate), Latin family nosiness (I can deeply relate), and competing career interests (I can deeply relate). Before long, I found myself rooting for these young lovers, as they found themselves in difficult situations all too familiar in modern romance. My favorite part is that Camila models what it is like for women to advocate for their careers in relationships and, to my delight, when push comes to shove Camila doesn’t sacrifice her career for her dream boy; instead she gets him to see her vision with a bit of effort and tension. For those concerned about explicit content, the novel only implicitly alludes to potential sexual activity by referring to the pressure and expectations of young Latinas to be sexually conservative.
Furia also does a great job discussing #niunamenos and the politics around femicide in Latin America, where female victims are blamed and villainized for their own deaths and sexual assaults. Camila faces lots of scrutiny around her clothing, times she leaves the house, who she hangs out with, and what activity she engages in, especially compared to her brother. Camila’s story shows how all these issues are connected. In advocating for herself, Camila provides young readers with the feminist arguments they need to fight for their passions and freedom in their own lives. These lessons will be invaluable for many of the youth picking up this book.
Lastly, in a Q&A with the author, a young Argentina said she found Méndez’s portrayal of Argentina true-to-life.
I recommend this book for anyone interested in YA lit, especially Latina writers, feminist books for youth, LDS authors, and Sports literature. I bought a copy for my niece for Christmas.
PS I know no one asked, but Furia >>>>>>>>>>>> I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by a lot!