True stories (Children's/YA)
April 2020
El Capricho De Amarte
by Nacarid Portal
Julie is in her last year of high school. She was granted a scholarship for Harvard's medical school, and that has become her main goal in life. Even though she lives in Venezuela, she remains oblivious to her country's political upheaval, as well as her need to be aware of the current situation. She is a very private person, who only has two close friends, and doesn't like to share her emotions or engage in any recreational activities. On her first day of school, she meets Sophia. From the very start, she is befuddled by Sophia's wild, volatile, and irreverent personality. Friendship begins to flourish between them, and it slowly evolves into a much stronger feeling. Sophia encourages Julie to fight for their country's freedom, until her best friend dies during a violent street demonstration. Julie gets to ride Caracas subway for the first time by the hand of Sophia, and visits one of the city's most dangerous slums, known as Petare. The story portrays the contrast between Sophia, who daily struggles to survive her own reality, and Julie, who has it all and is not even aware of how lucky she really is. They both begin a journey to learn about life and true friendship, until Julie finally accepts she has fallen in love with her best friend. She also learns that her long-life dream of saving lives has changed, and now, her main objective is to save Sophia, who has become suicidal when her life lost all meaning. With more than 1,500,000 reads. The Whim of Love is a catchy story from the very first page, which por trays Venezuela's current reality.
