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challenging
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Carrie Soto is Back is exactly what I look for in a TJR book - unlikeable women that I can't stop loving anyway. This book was so good, and it hit me like a gut punch.
It's always harder for me to explain why I love a book than it is to say why I don't, so this is going to be short.
Carrie Soto is Back is a book for the girls who were told they were bossy; for the girls who were told to smile more; for the girls who were too competitive, or too loud, or too much. It's a book for the perfectionists, the high achievers who burnt out, and the people who cared too much about the "wrong" things.
I saw so much of myself in this book. I'm don't sugar coat things if I don't need to. I don't stop working toward what I went when most people think I should have already moved on. I am too competitive, and not nice enough, and too much. And Carrie Soto OWNED it! They called her a bitch and she ran to 'The Bitch is Back' with a smirk on her face. I hope I have the passion and the drive that she did for the rest of my life.
Her relationships with her father, her fellow players, her agent, and herself were so beautiful to read about. Her growth from the Australian Open to the US Open was ASTOUNDING, and she played some beautiful tennis. I know exactly nothing about tennis, and I came out of this book feeling like I understood exactly enough.
I understand why TJR has received the backlash that she has about writing latina women when she herself is not a woman of color, and I absolutely support anyone who doesn't want to read this book because of that. I'm glad I decided to read it though. 5 stars.
It's always harder for me to explain why I love a book than it is to say why I don't, so this is going to be short.
Carrie Soto is Back is a book for the girls who were told they were bossy; for the girls who were told to smile more; for the girls who were too competitive, or too loud, or too much. It's a book for the perfectionists, the high achievers who burnt out, and the people who cared too much about the "wrong" things.
I saw so much of myself in this book. I'm don't sugar coat things if I don't need to. I don't stop working toward what I went when most people think I should have already moved on. I am too competitive, and not nice enough, and too much. And Carrie Soto OWNED it! They called her a bitch and she ran to 'The Bitch is Back' with a smirk on her face. I hope I have the passion and the drive that she did for the rest of my life.
Her relationships with her father, her fellow players, her agent, and herself were so beautiful to read about. Her growth from the Australian Open to the US Open was ASTOUNDING, and she played some beautiful tennis. I know exactly nothing about tennis, and I came out of this book feeling like I understood exactly enough.
I understand why TJR has received the backlash that she has about writing latina women when she herself is not a woman of color, and I absolutely support anyone who doesn't want to read this book because of that. I'm glad I decided to read it though. 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Lesbophobia
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some of the best character growth I've ever read even though the plot was a little predictable. If you've ever competed at a higher level, this book will resonate with you. The story is a beautiful lens to use as a means for coming to terms with aging, acceptance, and confronting sexism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Car accident, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honorary 5 stars for Javier
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoy TJR’s historical novels and this one is no exception. I really loved learning more about tennis and seeing multiple timelines tell the story of Carrie Soto. The dynamic audio was also really immersive to listen to! Carrie was unlikeable (on purpose) but occasionally she did/said things that were so egregious that I would have set boundaries and cut her out of my life, and yet her closest friends stuck around for her. She did have character growth towards the end of the book, but it felt like such a stretch compared to where she was at just prior to that turning point since she had little to no growth for the majority of the book. The romance was pretty subtle, which was nice that it didn’t overpower the rest of the story. Overall, not my favorite by this author, but I still really enjoyed it. I think the high emotions from the game play-by-plays bumped this book up in rating just a little bit for me, I definitely felt emotional a couple times throughout this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i loved the relationships between carrie and everyone else, but sometimes i cannot stand her arrogance. the pride comes before the fall!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As someone who knows nothing about tennis, seeing the events of the tournaments play out was riveting. Carrie is a tough personality to love but I can’t help but hope she accomplishes all that she strives for. What makes this tough is it’s also difficult not to root for her main opponent Nicki Chan. Both characters have such compelling reasons to fight for their legacy, and still the end results are so satisfying.
However, I did wish TJR gave more depth to Carrie and her tennis career prior to her comeback, in a more showing and less telling way, but even so, I was able to feel her strength and determination with the sport, as well as the love between her and her father.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Blood
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
taylor jenkins reid does the whole historical-fiction-with-a-biographical-angle thing pretty well. i must admit, i preferred the focus on entertainers (the rivas, evelyn hugo etc), however it could be argued that athletes also fit under this umbrella...and carrie soto is back presents a strong case.
whilst i thought the use of tennis terminology felt a tad too textbook-ish, my admiration of the sport and the GOAT serena williams kept me invested in the story.
there were times when both carrie and the commentary on feminism were flat and checkbox-ey...TJR tries her best, but i ultimately thinks this comes from a lack of deep understanding and familiarity of the identities she is writing.
where TJR shines is her portrayal of both familial and romantic relationships. the fate of carrie's father. i knew he was going to die, and i STILL wasn't ready... was extremely predictable, however their relationship was easily the highlight of this book. i also enjoyed carrie and bowe's dynamic!
overall, this was a quick - and by no means perfect-- read that kept me entertained this summer!
whilst i thought the use of tennis terminology felt a tad too textbook-ish, my admiration of the sport and the GOAT serena williams kept me invested in the story.
there were times when both carrie and the commentary on feminism were flat and checkbox-ey...TJR tries her best, but i ultimately thinks this comes from a lack of deep understanding and familiarity of the identities she is writing.
where TJR shines is her portrayal of both familial and romantic relationships. the fate of carrie's
overall, this was a quick - and by no means perfect-- read that kept me entertained this summer!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Back with Taylor Jenkins Reid books and this one was unsurprisingly another hit and incredibly well written. I will preface this by saying that I cannot say whether or not this is a good representation of a Latina character and the Latino community, but I do wish that for those that can give an accurate account of this aspect, that she has done this in a careful, well thought out and well-respected manner to the community and its culture.
I really liked this book even though it is based on a sport I never thought twice about: tennis. The way that Reid wrote the tennis matches and the tennis rules was extremely engaging even if I did forget some of the rules sometimes. The tennis aspect was kept as a constant focus and was well used as a means of facilitating the larger themes and developments of the story, something that reminiscing on Malibu Rising, cannot really be said as if my memory serves me right, the surfing aspect of the book became less critical as the book went on and the party started. I also really liked the return of news articles and interview/talk show transcripts which we last saw that type of documenting format in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which allowed for there to not only be breaks in the story but also see the larger world's view on the current events and state of tennis.
Something that I also found quite strong was the themes of the book and its characters. The discussion on the difficulties faced by women and people of colour in sports in the past such as when this book is set (E.g. the mid-1990s) and even now was remarkably interesting and is a very topical discussion now and in my opinion is dealt with very well. It expertly highlighted these issues as well as those affected by these issues and how they must hide their anger with this system to appear their absolute best for the public eye. The book has a very focused look on a few characters rather than having a wide stretching one allowing for the story to feel much more intimate as we only really focus on Carrie, Javier (A standout in this book to me due to how willing he was to train his daughter and not be jealous at her success and actually understand her better than she did herself - their relationship and father/daughter bond was probably the best-written part of this book), Bowe, Nicki, and Gwen.
Carrie has to be one of my favourite protagonists that I've read about in a long time, not only does she have the fiery attitude that many of TJR's female protagonists have but she also has incredible character development. She goes from being someone who must win every single game she plays even if it means coming off as an awful person to the public and those that she cares about to being someone who still wants to win but also recognises that losing is not the be all end all of the situations and that it is the journey and the game itself that is the most important part of it all. I also really liked how Carrie developed emotionally as well going from being perceived as cold and remorseless to being someone who gives genuine thanks and appreciation to those who help her and even respect to those she is facing off against.
I really liked this book even though it is based on a sport I never thought twice about: tennis. The way that Reid wrote the tennis matches and the tennis rules was extremely engaging even if I did forget some of the rules sometimes. The tennis aspect was kept as a constant focus and was well used as a means of facilitating the larger themes and developments of the story, something that reminiscing on Malibu Rising, cannot really be said as if my memory serves me right, the surfing aspect of the book became less critical as the book went on and the party started. I also really liked the return of news articles and interview/talk show transcripts which we last saw that type of documenting format in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which allowed for there to not only be breaks in the story but also see the larger world's view on the current events and state of tennis.
Something that I also found quite strong was the themes of the book and its characters. The discussion on the difficulties faced by women and people of colour in sports in the past such as when this book is set (E.g. the mid-1990s) and even now was remarkably interesting and is a very topical discussion now and in my opinion is dealt with very well. It expertly highlighted these issues as well as those affected by these issues and how they must hide their anger with this system to appear their absolute best for the public eye. The book has a very focused look on a few characters rather than having a wide stretching one allowing for the story to feel much more intimate as we only really focus on Carrie, Javier (A standout in this book to me due to how willing he was to train his daughter and not be jealous at her success and actually understand her better than she did herself - their relationship and father/daughter bond was probably the best-written part of this book), Bowe, Nicki, and Gwen.
Carrie has to be one of my favourite protagonists that I've read about in a long time, not only does she have the fiery attitude that many of TJR's female protagonists have but she also has incredible character development. She goes from being someone who must win every single game she plays even if it means coming off as an awful person to the public and those that she cares about to being someone who still wants to win but also recognises that losing is not the be all end all of the situations and that it is the journey and the game itself that is the most important part of it all. I also really liked how Carrie developed emotionally as well going from being perceived as cold and remorseless to being someone who gives genuine thanks and appreciation to those who help her and even respect to those she is facing off against.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Alcohol