GZLA

FURIA

September 2020, Algonquin/Workman Publishing, 368 pp

Camila “Furia” Hassan has a dream—to play professional fútbol. She lives in the cradle of fútbol legends, Rosario, Argentina, but Rosario only exports fútbol players of the male kind. No one believes a girl can play, except for Coach Alicia, who recognizes Camila’s gift. When she receives an offer to play in the US, the land of the multi-World Cup champion women’s team, she can hardly believe it.

And then Diego, her childhood sweetheart who made his professional fútbol dreams come true, wants to take her away with him to Italy where he plays. She’d have everything, except the chance to go to America and truly become Furia. Camila has always known what she wants, but can she sacrifice the beautiful life she’d have with Diego for the beautiful game?

STARRED REVIEWS

KIRKUS – “A riveting coming-of-age story.”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY – “Méndez (Where Are You From?) infuses her YA debut with sparkling vitality straight from the pitch in this powerful coming-of-age story set in Rosario, Argentina…Weaving rich cultural specifics and electric energy into her prose, Méndez crafts a dynamic, feminist narrative that commands attention from the very first line.”

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