One Book Baltimore
Presents
Furia
One Book Baltimore
This program was created to give our youth the opportunity and space to discuss relevant topics and issues such as non-violence, peace, decision-making skills, and resilience.
One Book Baltimore’s broad group of local community-oriented organizations will connect students and community members to increase student discourse to develop actions toward peace and anti-violence through schools, libraries, and other community spaces, with the dual goals of promoting literacy and enriching our community.
This initiative is made possible through the efforts and contributions of Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore Ceasefire, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, Johns Hopkins University, Arts & Minds Labs, Maryland Humanities, and the T. Rowe Price Foundation. These efforts are further supported and amplified by the partnerships with Barnes and Nobel, the Maryland Book Bank, CityLit Project, and others.
Furia
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 ambitions of a girl like her.
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About the author
Yamile Saied Mendez
Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) Saied Méndez is the author of many books for young readers and adults, including Furia, a Reese’s YA Book Club selection and the 2021 Inaugural Pura Belpré Young Adult Gold Medalist. Her books have received many accolades such as the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard, Whitney Award, Cybils Award, Américas Award, Bank Street Spanish Language Book Awards, among others.
They have also been featured in the Best of Year lists of the New York City Public Library Library, Salt Lake Public Library Library, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and those of many states’.
She was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina, but has lived most of her life in a lovely valley surrounded by mountains in Utah. An inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, she’s also a graduate of Voices of Our Nations (VONA) and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA Writing for Children’s and Young Adult program. Yamile is also a founding member of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latine authors. She taught herself English with a Spanish/English dictionary, and now has been faculty at TinHouse Workshop and a keynote speaker at The Vermont College of Fine Arts.
How do I pronounce my name? Click on this clip from Teaching Books
For additional information, please visit: https://yamilesmendez.com/
Furia
Before passing out the books to students, please do the following:
Check out the book review.
Read the Parent Letter from our leadership team.
