Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez

17 reviews

year23's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.0

I loved the last half of the book, there was more futbol, more exploration of the challenges Camila is facing (family, relationships, career dreams), all while shedding light on the day-to-day for women in Argentina. 

It is terrifying to see the trend of missing women show up in multiple countries, though not surprising. Having recently read more about Argentina's history, it was interesting to see the ways things have shifted (in positive ways), though still lag behind in others. This story feels, at its heart, a love letter to these women (those still here and those not), celebrating their continued dreams and ambitions, pursuing them even at risk to their lives and agency. 

This is a profoundly hopeful story, even as oppression and other horrors are detailed here. Do check the content warnings (only one scene). 

Do recommend it - it's a slow burn, as it spends too much time on the romantic relationship with Diego for the first half. But once he leaves, the story opens up and it's definitely worth your time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

leahkarge's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Sexism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, and Medical content

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I picked this up to finish one of my 2022 reading challenges. Sports stories aren't necessarily my jam otherwise. Yamile does an excellent job representing Camila's sports aspirations and how those clash with mysogeny in the culture around her, as well as her developing romance. Content warnings for mysogeny, abusive father, and murdered or missing girls. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual assault

Missing or murdered girls

beautifulpaxielreads's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Lies have short legs.

What a big-hearted roar of a novel this is.

In Furia, Yamile Saied Méndez skilfully and explosively explores the intersection between misogyny and football (soccer as we know it in Australia, fútbol in Spanish) that exists in Argentina.

On the pitch playing for her women's team, Camila is the fearless, brilliant "La Furia". Off the pitch, however, life is a bit more complicated. As well as the very real threat she faces just by walking home after dark, she has to deal with her overbearing, bullying father, her kind but cynical mother, and her elder brother Pablo, whose career in the professional men's league feels like a shadow she can't escape from under.

Then there's Diego, her childhood sweetheart - who has returned home for a visit after a dazzling career and international fame at the Juventus club in Italy.  Now that he's back, he wants to pick up where he and Camila left off - but does she feel the same?

I'll confess that at first, I had a hard time getting into this one. There are a lot of Spanish words and phrases sprinkled throughout Furia, and I constantly felt the need to go and look up anything I didn't understand. But after a while, I let this urge go (mostly) and my reading experience was so much better for it.

I learned so much from reading this book. Firstly, I had no idea how multicultural Argentina was - Camila herself is of mixed Palestinian, Spanish, and Eastern European heritage (much like the author herself), and other characters are of Chinese and Indian ethnicity - and there are probably others which I don't remember. And the sense of place you get - as well as the Spanish language intermixing that I already mentioned - is really well done.

I had heard that gender-based violence (and murder) is a huge problem across Latin America (as it is in many other parts of the world), and it is in depicting this issue (and the attitudes enabling it) that Saied Méndez really excels. From casual misogyny to systemic, from domestic violence to

the murder of a young girl

, it's all here - and I appreciate that the author didn't shy away from the topic but confronted it head-on.

Diego was a sweetheart, and the way Saied Méndez writes him, it is easy to see why Camila

falls for him all over again

. He's effortlessly charming, down-to-earth, and caring. I was thinking that maybe he was a little too perfect, but towards the end of the novel, when

he revealed that he had come back to take Camila back with him to Italy

made him a bit more realistic to me.

Furia is a novel that wears its heart on the sleeve of a  fútbol jersey - and that's a good thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, Child death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Lesbophobia

This book deals with heavy topics such as femicide and violence against women and in some scenes graphically. There is one strong scene of domestic violence where

a teenager is hit with a belt

and another where a young girl

goes missing and is later found dead

.

aharper's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Kidnapping and Abandonment

Minor: Murder

mads1706's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Kidnapping and Violence

alabiblioheck's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death, Murder, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.25

This book was amazing. Although it delt with difficult subjects like poverty, murder, sexism, and domestic abuse our main character is spirited Camila, a young adult, who might not always make the right decisions, but tries to stay true to herself and achieve her dreams of being a futbolella (female soccer player) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I'm not that into sports, but I found this book to be quite beautiful. I loved getting to know more about Argentine culture and the Ni Una Menos movement. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Murder

floorvandalen's review

emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy