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ellelockley's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a surprise, another TJR 5 star book. I am in awe with how well she writes. She knows how to make loveable characters that are human beings and have flaws. I don't bawl my eyes out at books for no reason, and this is not am exception. I may not understand tennis but I could relate to Carrie in so many ways which made me love her even more. Don't get me started on Javier, I'll start crying. The book is so well written, so well structured. I loved Bowe and I loved Nicki. This book is phenomenal. I could not recommend it more. The only thing I have sort of negatively to say is that it dragged a bit at the start, but i demolished the last 75% in 3 hours. I recommend this book to everyone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer and Addiction
wisteria22's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Carrie Soto is Back” is the best book I’ve read in ages and had me at the edge of my seat the whole time. Carrie Soto might be my all-time favorite female character and TJR managed to let her shine in all of her complicated facets. The novel is an inspiring portrayal of female ambition and even though I’ve never watched a single tennis match in my life, I fell in love with the sport through TJR’s words. Simply stunning. A phenomenal read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexism
Moderate: Terminal illness, Body shaming, and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent, Addiction, and Car accident
sunkissed_aidie's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had a very hard time with this book at first, but as I kept reading it kept growing on me, Carrie kept growing on me
I think I had a hard time cause she reminded me a lot of myself at times but I could see what she needed to do to be better, and in turn what I need to do. But I kept going because something about Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing just showed me “there’s more to come. There’s far more to this story than just tennis” and I was right and I’m really glad I didn’t DNF it
But it’s still 4 stars because it did take a while for me to actually start enjoying it, but once I did I flew through it and finished it very easily. If you’ve read other books by Reid and liked them, I can safely say you will like this as well, it’s definitely different from Seven Husbands but it’s still an amazing story that in the end if you look at it the right way can teach you a lot, even if you’re angry at it because of it
I think I had a hard time cause she reminded me a lot of myself at times but I could see what she needed to do to be better, and in turn what I need to do. But I kept going because something about Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing just showed me “there’s more to come. There’s far more to this story than just tennis” and I was right and I’m really glad I didn’t DNF it
But it’s still 4 stars because it did take a while for me to actually start enjoying it, but once I did I flew through it and finished it very easily. If you’ve read other books by Reid and liked them, I can safely say you will like this as well, it’s definitely different from Seven Husbands but it’s still an amazing story that in the end if you look at it the right way can teach you a lot, even if you’re angry at it because of it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Xenophobia, Misogyny, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Cancer
chrisljm's review against another edition
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
4.0
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, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Addiction
Minor: Infidelity, Blood, Sexual content, Racism, and Bullying
denisejochems's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
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
5.0
Wow! I did not know what to expect from this book, but I really enjoyed this book. It is definitely a must-read if you’re a tennis or sports fan. I am a fan of Carrie Soto 🌟
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Addiction
Minor: Racism
thebankofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Body shaming
Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
david_slack110507's review against another edition
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
4.25
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, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Death of parent, Racism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Bullying, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Infidelity
madflatt's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Addiction
martapsalvado's review against another edition
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
4.5
I played tennis a total of two times in my life. I hated it.
But I trust Taylor Jenkins Reid and she did NOT disappoint. This was so much fun to read.
You know those books that you need to read 50, 100 or so pages to really start to get into them? This is not one of them. I was hooked from page 1.
The writing and characterization are, once again, incredible. Carrie is not the type of character that I particularly relate to, but I found myself very much inspired by her. I felt a sense of connection, of understanding to her.
Carrie Soto Is Back is about winning and losing in all of its forms and all that comes in between.
But I trust Taylor Jenkins Reid and she did NOT disappoint. This was so much fun to read.
You know those books that you need to read 50, 100 or so pages to really start to get into them? This is not one of them. I was hooked from page 1.
The writing and characterization are, once again, incredible. Carrie is not the type of character that I particularly relate to, but I found myself very much inspired by her. I felt a sense of connection, of understanding to her.
Carrie Soto Is Back is about winning and losing in all of its forms and all that comes in between.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
isabelleborc's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
This book has saved me from a long reading slump. It was so enjoyable and the characters all felt like real people. I think every TJR book is better than the last this may be one of my favorite books ever. I may become a tennis fan now because the way she writes the games I want to watch one now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Addiction