Title: Dreams Come True
Author: Delvirah Sabatini
Published by: GagasMedia
Published on: 2014
Pages: 295 pages
Namun, sama seperti dunia nyata, kekalahan bukan berarti kita gagal dalam hidup. Kekalahan memberi kita kesempatan untuk menjadi lebih baik lagi.
Vero XIV, Group Stage
Hello! Risa Salafiyah here, for Egg & Co.'s Guest Review. The book we are going to discuss is the kind you should read NOW, while in the midst of the biggest footballing tournament like the Euros or the World Cups. Scroll down to read my thoughts!
When Delvi told me she wrote and published a book about the World Cup in Brazil, I immediately looked it up! I am not as much of an avid reader as she is, but I love football and our friendship started at around the same time during the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Before moving forward, though, let me try to translate the above quote in English.
Yet, just as in real life, losses [in football] does not mean we fail in life. It's a chance for us to get better.
The cover art is very gorgeous and really encapsulates the festivities of the biggest footballing tournament in the world. According to Delvi, it's basically a story of two sisters trying to heal from past wounds with the Brazilian World Cup in the background. Knowing her, though, I was sure the book would also be full of footballing tidbits and, especially, Spain NT.
Those two sisters are Vero and Brenda. Vero was on her final year of college and Brenda was about to graduate high school. Their father had left when they'd been very little; Brenda was too young to remember, but Vero was traumatised. This created a rift between them.
As a communication/journalistic major who interned at her uncle's newspaper, Vero was offered a chance to tag along with the senior journalists doing the coverage on the World Cup. Problem is, she hated football with every fibre of her being. Yet, the chance was too good to pass up on. After discussing it with her friend and her mother, she decided to take it up.
Brenda, on the other hand, was enrolled in some sort of an ancient-dormitory-like high school. Her best friend, Lisa, was a football fanatic who supported Spain NT (SEE HAHAHA) and FC Barcelona. After her cousin, Sinta, got married to a wealthy executive named Rama, the pair gifted Lisa with two return tickets to Brazil. And of course Lisa offered Brenda to join her. Brenda declined at first, but when she found out her sister went to Brazil, she immediately changed her mind.
Brenda and Lisa stayed at a motel owned by Rama's friend named Gabriel in São Paulo. It was a modest place but full of warmth, thanks to the matriarch, Mãe Maria. Gabriel made fast friends with the girls. It becomes more interesting when the annoying boy they met at the opening match turned out to be Gabriel's childhood friend, Carlos. The four of them often roamed around the city, mostly hung out in fanzones, though sometimes they got lucky to buy tickets into the stadium. While Brenda and Lisa were having fun, Vero's plot thickens the moment she caught the attention of one Spanish goalkeeper.
I see what you did there *winkwink*
The rest is a balance of personal problems clashed with the World Cup celebration. Could Vero and Brenda overcome their personal issues and try to bridge the crack between them? What actually broke their family apart? And who was Carlos, precisely?
I don't need to mention Vero and the Spanish goalkeeper. We all know where Delvi went with this. ;)
EGGLYSIS
This book is such a hidden gem, it's a shame not many people know or have read it!
The main conflict is something simple yet not often explored: a family issue that sends a deep crack between siblings. Delvi spreads hints here and there about what actually happened with Vero and Brenda's parents in the past, but when the big reveal occurred it isn't this jawdropping moment. It could easily have been an anticlimax, but it was written so naturally that as a reader I feel it could happen to just about anyone.
However, despite the rather heavy conflict, this book feels fun! And not at all heavy. The narration is very clear, it's like Delvi is guiding the reader through the maze of her imagination. Brazil, particularly São Paulo, feels so clear and concise in my mind's eye. It's so easy to put yourself into either Vero's and Brenda's shoes. I also love the vibe of the Brenda, Carlos, Gabriel, Lisa foursome. Their togetherness, the jokes and laughter they shared with each other deserves its own plot.
In case you readers haven't noticed, Delvi is a HUGE Spain NT fan, in particular of one goalkeeper, Iker Casillas. Dreams Come True reads as an ode to her beloved team and player. Vero's arc especially feels like her wish fulfilment -- which she didn't deny when I asked. It's perfectly okay, as I am also a big fan of Spain and Casillas. Vero's love story is cute and pure, it gets me, yanno. It helps me to have a more positive outlook on love and life, especially the fact that if you're meant to be with that person, there is always a way no matter how impossible it seems.
Overall, Dreams Come True...
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