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thebookpaiges's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
katywhyte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Racism, Misogyny, and Alcoholism
bookishaddictions's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Racism and Sexism
atamano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Body shaming, Medical content, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Alcoholism
kirstym25's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Sexism, and Body shaming
Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Infidelity
helsbelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: August 30, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Addictive • Riveting • Immersive
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular.
By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach.
But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan. At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked the 'Battle-Axe' anyway. Even if her body doesn't move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.
In spite of it all: Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Taylor Jenkins Reid's Carrie Soto Is Back was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022, and it did not disappoint. TJR has quickly become an auto-buy author for me simply because of her unique ability in writing nuanced and vivid characters. As someone who considers themselves to be a huge sports fan, I was equally intrigued knowing it would involve tennis.
Firstly, I could not put this book down! From the very first page I was fully invested and wanted to keep reading to see how everything would pan out. The characters are complex with multiple layers to each. While Carrie's character comes across as arrogant and entitled, as the story progresses details are reveled that allowed me to get to know and understand her better. The author's writing made me feel like I was sitting in the stands watching every move of the matches, and rooting for Carrie in her comeback. One of the little extras I love about her books, is how she'll gives little hints or snippets of characters from her other books (or maybe future books?), yet she keeps it minimal, so you can easily read the books independently of one another.
Secondly, I absolutely loved the father/daughter relationship portrayed in this book. It was messy and complicated, yet never once did I doubt the father's love for his daughter. I am so used to the mother/daughter relationship trope, that this one was a breathe of fresh air. In fact, the romance development was also very well written.
Thirdly, while the world of tennis takes up much of the narrative, in my opinion, you don't need to be knowledgeable about the game in order to appreciate the narrative, yet if you are a tennis player and/or fan of the sport you'll likely have an even greater appreciation for this story. I know I came away with a greater appreciation for game, and female athletes in general.
And lastly, the audiobook featuring a full cast was fantastic! There are little extras, including parts of it felt like a real live broadcast of the matches. And it allowed for a completely immersive reading experience, and I would highly recommend going that route.
Carrie Soto Is Back is completely different from any of her other books, yet it I loved it just as much. I wouldn't be surprised to see it turned into a movie or mini series at some point in the future. TJR manages to combine plot driven and character driven stories unlike anyone else. Her latest certainly solidifies her place on my author read-it all list, and I cannot wait to read whatever she publishes next.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• mixed media fans
• TJR devotees
• Tennis enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Grief is like a deep, dark hole. It calls like a siren: Come to me, lose yourself here. And you fight it and you fight it and you fight it, but when you finally succumb and jump down into it, you can't quite believe how deep it is. It feels as if this how you will live for the rest of your life, falling. Terrified and devastated, until you yourself die."
"What a gift it is, to be able to guide someone to a point and then let them finish it themselves. To give someone all the knowledge you have and then pray they use it right."
"I am no longer the greatest tennis player in the world. For the first time in my life, I can be...something else."
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content, Body shaming, Cursing, and Racism
Minor: Car accident, Alcohol, Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual content, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Cancer
onthesamepage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Note: While I'm aware of the discussions surrounding the author and the way she continues to write Latinx characters despite not being Latinx herself, this is not something I can comment on. However, I urge you to seek out Latinx reviewers if you're looking for more details regarding the representation. The only thing I can say about it is that there was a lot of Spanish dialogue in the book.
When I was young, I was never interested in tennis, even though my mother was an avid watcher, but that changed after I happened to see a Federer vs. Nadal match. I still can't explain it, but I loved the way Nadal played, and that's how I kind of got into watching the sport, which would eventually lead me to reading this. I do think a familiarity with the rules helps—while I wouldn't say the author throws you into the deep end, she also doesn't explain everything. The other thing that's important to know is that there is a LOT of tennis in this book. Everything else ends up taking a backseat. I personally didn't mind it, but if you're looking for a character-driven story, I don't think this will scratch that itch.
Carrie is an unlikeable heroine, not because she's extremely ambitious and competitive, but because she's abrasive, rude, and has no filter. It was hard to root for her when she never showed a sense of sportsmanship, and hid behind a shield of "(brutal) honesty is the best policy" regardless of how that made other people feel. Her motivation at the beginning of the story is clear: someone is about to beat her record of Grand Slam titles, and she's determined to prove to everyone that she was, is, and will always remain, the best in tennis. But as you progress through the story, the way she clings to this conviction makes less and less sense, and it's almost like she's only clinging to it so we have a book to read. There are moments of her starting to realize that what she's doing isn't logical or in her best interest, but every time they simply get pushed away in favor of, "I must win!" This means that the growth we see at the very end feels very abrupt, and not in line with how she was acting for the other 95% of the story.
There has always been a double standard when it comes to women who play sports, and the expectation that they should always smile, and be pleasant, and not say an unkind word to anyone, whereas men receive more leeway when they have a bad day and start slamming stuff. I've never understood the latter—personally, I expect all professional players to show professionalism, which means not breaking rackets on the court, and being polite to the people they work/play with. I understand what the author was trying to do with Carrie, but I think there's a way to discuss this topic without making Carrie as unlikeable as she was.
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
scottyreadsstuff's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Racism