AMB FIL DE SEDA

(SEMBRA Llibres, 2022)

Critics’ Award by the Interuniversity Institute of Valencian Philology

Recommended by the Program for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity in Catalonia (Department of Public Health)

Novel: young
Literary style: narrative
Language: catalan
Tags: music, gender, family, friendship, body
Recommended for: secondary education
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Teaching guide

When Carla enters the ICU, the world she knew seems to have collapsed. Or, at least, that’s what it seems. She and her high school friends live facing their own ghosts. Their passion for music has brought them together in the creation of a rock band. And through songs they learn to feel alive. But it’s not easy. Prejudices and obstacles multiply on all sides. Although they will not give in. And they will continue to walk the tightrope between euphoria and tragedy.

In Amb fil de seda, Muriel Villanueva captivates us with the story of a music group formed by young women willing to not give up. A vibrant story about how a fall into the void, a move, a separation, an imminent death, aesthetic pressure and the questioning of one’s own gender bring together four young people who find in art the language with which to understand each other. A journey through an internal revolution of a choral, adolescent, rural and loving dimension that rides on the unstoppable wave of creativity.

«I recommend it if you like friendship books about special boys who love music and are in their teens.»

@Supertramp.books, teacher and school librarian.

«Muriel Villanueva perfectly brings us closer to the keys to friendship in a stage as complex as adolescence.»

Enric Codina, Faristol – Clijcat.

«It is very easy to identify with at least one of the characters in the book, as they all go through problems, fears and traumas that are often seen in society.»

Aída Heane, @lassagasdeaida.

«A story where mystery and intrigue surround the plot until the end of the book. A nimble novel, with a fast pace.»

Ciutat de Llibres

«Muriel Villanueva’s books are intimate, emotional and poignant, as they deal with uncomfortable topics that are often not addressed in youth literature. […] In this choral work, current issues such as self-esteem and acceptance of non-normative bodies, gender identity or family conflicts appear, and it invites us to reflect and empathize with them.»

Mixa

«Abril, Noa, Carla and Berta connect directly with anyone eager to break taboos and to relive and remember that any being —adolescent or not— is a social animal in search of a silk thread that surrounds collectivity, acceptance in the group and artistic passion.»

Andrea Torres, FULL Foundation.

«Muriel Villanueva’s grace in including these types of characters and representing their problems in a novel aimed at a sensitive audience will ensure, on the one hand, that many readers can, probably for the first time, see themselves reflected in a book and, on the other, that the rest open their eyes and educate themselves in understanding, acceptance and equality.»

Aitana Amorós, Caràcters Magazine