Blanca is the young protagonist of Fire in the throat, the second novel that earned a finalist nod for the Planeta Prize. The story follows a girl raised in a Valencia neighborhood marked by male violence and heavy drinking, a place she left behind when her mother abandoned her as a child. She is a survivor, yes, but she also grapples with understanding herself and is frequently misunderstood by others.
The realist fiction centers on mental health and the stigma it carries, yet the book grants Blanca a supernatural power she discovers when a schoolgirl mocks her family situation. The moment brings a fierce, physical reaction: Blanca grabs the girl by the ponytail and wishes she would die. The girl dies by accident. If Blanca possessed such power, she says, she would use it to help the sick, echoing the idea that great power carries great responsibility.
I once visited Fatima and watched how the town grew around three children who claimed to have seen the Virgin in a cave. Believers and people of faith mingle with those who have none, while others facing illness or despair cling to what science has not provided. The commercial side of Fatima did not feel different from the energy seen at big concerts in current times.
One year earlier, the debut The Discontent appeared, a satire of the workplace driven by a thirty-something who feels disenchanted with the modern job world.
Adolescence Gothic
Unlike Blanca, the writer did not experience a gothic adolescence but a more pop phase. The transformation was both in style and mood, as a girl who was once seen as well-behaved grew drawn to gothic aesthetics, black clothes, and music by bands like Marilyn Manson and Joy Division. It was a defining moment of the early 2000s, a time when identity often formed through urban tribes built around musical tastes.
Chats and Internet Forums
That path leads Blanca to seek her own identity in online chats and forums before the social media boom. There was no Facebook or YouTube yet; the Internet was accessed through communities linked by shared interests. Relationships in those spaces felt more intimate than today’s networked connections, and the risk of someone misrepresenting themselves lurked behind anonymous nicknames.
Still, social networks were not demonized. They carried positives, but mindful use is essential—timing, verification, and boundaries matter. Attention spans are a concern, and those who build these platforms often restrict their own children from excessive screen time for good reason.