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nora_knight's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Everything that Taylor Jenkins Reid writes is so so beautiful. Her characters are so intricately crafted, so perfectly flawed, and entirely human; it takes my breath away every time. I don't particularly enjoy tennis but this book was so incredibly engaging, I couldn't put it down. I absolutely adore how TJR truly understands her characters, what motivates them, and their truths (the ones they've admitted and the ones they haven't); it shines in the ways her characters interact and form relationships. Reading her writing is like reading art.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Cursing, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical content, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
serena_hien's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Lesbophobia
m4rtt4's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.25
I've never been so invested in any sport as I was in tennis while reading this book! So intense. Through Carrie Soto I could see what I would have become as an athlete - the ever-so-greedy perfectionist that hates losing - but also I'm glad that my imposter syndrome reminds me to be humble. The book could have had some more scenes outside the tennis courts, as if Carrie didn't have a life outside them, but then again she probably didn't and the storyline perfectly reflects that. It's so weird but also cool af that Taylor Jenkins Reid always manages to create characters that feel so real, like any real-life celebrities and whatnot, while still being completely fictional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Sexism
jaimc's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, and Body shaming
soobooksalot's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-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 do I know about tennis? Little to nothing. I'm not even a sports person.
But as with her previous books, Taylor Jenkins Reid takes characters in their areas of fame and makes you care about their experiences. About their world and everyone around them, like we are in the know.
Much like Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and Nina Riva; Carrie Soto is a formidable and unforgettable main character.
I adored Carrie Soto Is Back. I adore how TJR rewards her loyal readers with associations to her other books. I adore being in the world of her books, the uniquely vibrant places they are, and references of the time.
Absolutely recommended!
But as with her previous books, Taylor Jenkins Reid takes characters in their areas of fame and makes you care about their experiences. About their world and everyone around them, like we are in the know.
Much like Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and Nina Riva; Carrie Soto is a formidable and unforgettable main character.
I adored Carrie Soto Is Back. I adore how TJR rewards her loyal readers with associations to her other books. I adore being in the world of her books, the uniquely vibrant places they are, and references of the time.
Absolutely recommended!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Alcohol, Cancer, and Death of parent
lauramparis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Classism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Body shaming
genny's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
Huh, I'm surprised by how much I ended up liking this. Nothing about this was surprising - around 20% in, I wrote down my predictions for the plot in my reading journal, and I was pretty spot on. This was my note: "After coming out of retirement, Carrie is going to get win after win (after a grueling re-training montage and some early losses, maybe) and then realize it was all for nothing and that winning doesn't equate to happiness. Maybe her dad dies." Oof. đ It's like a classic feel-good sports movie, y'know. I got the audiobook and kind of zoned out during the tennis matches, but those were always pretty quick, and as a whole it made for a nice listen. I know nothing about tennis though, so I can't speak on the accuracy (based on others' reviews, it was not accurate, lol).
Overly competitive people irk me to no end, so you can imagine how incredibly annoying Carrie was to me at first, even though it made sense due to her upbringing. Of course she became more likeable as she learned to acknowledge her faults and I found myself rooting for her eventually. I especially enjoyed her banter with Nicki Chan (the best character, hello?!). This was much more entertaining than Malibu Rising, though at this point I don't think anything can live up to Daisy Jones for me.
I loved the ending! What a fun last line.
Overly competitive people irk me to no end, so you can imagine how incredibly annoying Carrie was to me at first, even though it made sense due to her upbringing. Of course she became more likeable as she learned to acknowledge her faults and I found myself rooting for her eventually. I especially enjoyed her banter with Nicki Chan (the best character, hello?!). This was much more entertaining than Malibu Rising, though at this point I don't think anything can live up to Daisy Jones for me.
I loved the ending! What a fun last line.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Grief, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
tinybluepixel's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I received an ARC of this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is what y'all are saying is the epitome of modern literature? Her best book yet? A literary masterpiece?
If that's true, I have no hope for modern literature.
First of all: After receiving so much (valid!) criticism for her portrayal of Latine characters and their experiences, Taylor Jenkins Reid has, instead of taking that criticism to heart and working on bettering herself, doubled down upon it.
There's an interview in the Cut I have read in preparation for this book. In this interview, TJR says this: "I am a white woman, but the people I love and engage with on a daily basis, theyâre not all white women. The people that influence me, who Iâm talking to on an intimate level, some of the closest women in my life are not white."
What? "I'm allowed to write Latine characters because I have friends of color?"
She goes on: "I am a white woman living in a society that caters to white people, and my ability to understand the life of someone who is a woman of color is very, very limited because of the way that society caters to my gaze. I lie awake nights literally unable to sleep because I do not know what the right thing to do is. I just approach it with the feeling that the women of color in my life deserve to be the center of stories. The most important thing I can do to make that happen is to recommend and uplift and support women of color. That is my main priority. Me writing a woman of color does not replace the active work I have to do, and I spend a lot of time recommending books by women of color and blurbing books by women of color."
I am losing my mind.
Yes. Women of color deserve to be the center of stories. Women of color also deserve to be published authors. And I cannot believe that TJR thinks that because she has a Spanish editor looking over her book, this enables her to write Latine characters.
A majority of CSiB consists of conversations between Carrie and her father, Javier. Javier is from Argentina, and he came to the US as a grown adult, where he married Carrie's racially ambigious mother. So yeah, it's natural that he would speak Spanish. However, it is not natural that he speaks Spanish the way a bilingual character speaks in a fanfic written by a 13-year-old who desperately wants to show that the character is actually bilingual. No one who is bilingual inserts random Spanish words into an English sentence. Carrie and Javier would, in all likelyhood, not even speak English to each other at all. TJR further states in her Cut interview: "I am very bad at languages and can read Spanish but cannot speak it. I am very fortunate in that I have a Spanish-speaking editor who took a lot of time and helped me through it, specifically through Argentine Spanish."
Taylor. No one forced you to make these characters Argentine. You did that all on your own.
I cannot believe that the author felt knowledgable enough to write about the experiences of a Latina in a sport such as tennis.
Because it's fucking tennis. Not soccer, not, idk, running, but tennis. AKA, one of the most elitist and whitest sports in all the world. So here's where things get really dicey.
Carolina Soto's story is not her own. In a Vanity Fair article about TJR, it says this: "When it comes to womenâs tennis, of course, one name looms above the rest. Reid inhaled Serena Williamsâs books, her father Richard Williamsâs book (Black and White: The Way I See It), and Serenaâs MasterClass. âI watched that thing three times. Itâs watching her play: the way she describes it, the terms that she uses, what she focuses on, the way she trains, her attitude about all of itâand her attitude about excellence. [Carrie Soto Is Back] doesnât exist without that MasterClass.â"
Oh, it is clear. I read that particular article after I read the book, but holy shit, the similarities between Carrie Soto and Serena and Venus Williams are too many to be coincidential. The whole "reporters asking her to smile and her telling them off" thing is recreated almost word for word. When I read that part in the book, I actually said "no way" out loud, because no way did the editors let her get away with that? There's a fine line between inspiration and blatant copying, and I fear it has been crossed in this case.
So. Getting all of this out of the way because I'm running out of space: The book isn't even good. An estimated 70% is extremely repetitive and boring. I can only read so many accounts of tennis games and the same training session over and over. The first part, titled "The first time around" is basically just Carrie saying: I won that game, and then I won that game, and then the mean reporters were being mean to me, and then I won that game, and then the mean reporters were being mean to me AGAIN, and then I won that game ..."
The only interesting part to me was the relationship between Bowe (what kind of a name is that, btw?) and Carrie, because it actually furthered Carrie's character development. Same with her relationship with Nikki, because she actually had to think about her actions for a second instead of just pouting and stomping her foot like a toddler, saying "But I want to be the BEST, Dad! You don't understand!!!"
The ending felt rushed, the twist that was supposed the be the tearjerker of this book was so obvious it was almost ridiculous, and the characters felt flat and one-dimensional, most of all Carrie herself. What a disappointment. The writing wasn't even good! I saw someone on Tiktok basically say, "shame about the racism, because TJR's writing is exceptional and so unique!" It is not. It is the epitome of white mediocrity. The writing is not bad. But it is by far not unique. It is nothing special. I cannot believe people are raving about this the way they are.
To close this out, once again: White writers should write diverse characters, but they shouldn't write solely about characters of color. These are not our stories to tell. And ultimately, nothing would have been taken away from this story had Carrie and Javier been white. Nothing would have been different. Carrie's issues with popularity and the press are not because of her heritage. It still would've worked exactly the same had Carrie been white. And ultimately, that's not what the reality should reflect, and if Taylor Jenkins Reid really wanted to accurately and meaninfully portray the experiences of a woman of color in tennis, she failed. Plain and simple.
Interview in the Cut: https://www.thecut.com/2022/08/taylor-jenkins-reid-carrie-soto-is-back-booktok.html
Vanity Fair Article: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/08/taylor-jenkins-reid-daisy-jones-evelyn-hugo-carrie-soto
This is what y'all are saying is the epitome of modern literature? Her best book yet? A literary masterpiece?
If that's true, I have no hope for modern literature.
First of all: After receiving so much (valid!) criticism for her portrayal of Latine characters and their experiences, Taylor Jenkins Reid has, instead of taking that criticism to heart and working on bettering herself, doubled down upon it.
There's an interview in the Cut I have read in preparation for this book. In this interview, TJR says this: "I am a white woman, but the people I love and engage with on a daily basis, theyâre not all white women. The people that influence me, who Iâm talking to on an intimate level, some of the closest women in my life are not white."
What? "I'm allowed to write Latine characters because I have friends of color?"
She goes on: "I am a white woman living in a society that caters to white people, and my ability to understand the life of someone who is a woman of color is very, very limited because of the way that society caters to my gaze. I lie awake nights literally unable to sleep because I do not know what the right thing to do is. I just approach it with the feeling that the women of color in my life deserve to be the center of stories. The most important thing I can do to make that happen is to recommend and uplift and support women of color. That is my main priority. Me writing a woman of color does not replace the active work I have to do, and I spend a lot of time recommending books by women of color and blurbing books by women of color."
I am losing my mind.
Yes. Women of color deserve to be the center of stories. Women of color also deserve to be published authors. And I cannot believe that TJR thinks that because she has a Spanish editor looking over her book, this enables her to write Latine characters.
A majority of CSiB consists of conversations between Carrie and her father, Javier. Javier is from Argentina, and he came to the US as a grown adult, where he married Carrie's racially ambigious mother. So yeah, it's natural that he would speak Spanish. However, it is not natural that he speaks Spanish the way a bilingual character speaks in a fanfic written by a 13-year-old who desperately wants to show that the character is actually bilingual. No one who is bilingual inserts random Spanish words into an English sentence. Carrie and Javier would, in all likelyhood, not even speak English to each other at all. TJR further states in her Cut interview: "I am very bad at languages and can read Spanish but cannot speak it. I am very fortunate in that I have a Spanish-speaking editor who took a lot of time and helped me through it, specifically through Argentine Spanish."
Taylor. No one forced you to make these characters Argentine. You did that all on your own.
I cannot believe that the author felt knowledgable enough to write about the experiences of a Latina in a sport such as tennis.
Because it's fucking tennis. Not soccer, not, idk, running, but tennis. AKA, one of the most elitist and whitest sports in all the world. So here's where things get really dicey.
Carolina Soto's story is not her own. In a Vanity Fair article about TJR, it says this: "When it comes to womenâs tennis, of course, one name looms above the rest. Reid inhaled Serena Williamsâs books, her father Richard Williamsâs book (Black and White: The Way I See It), and Serenaâs MasterClass. âI watched that thing three times. Itâs watching her play: the way she describes it, the terms that she uses, what she focuses on, the way she trains, her attitude about all of itâand her attitude about excellence. [Carrie Soto Is Back] doesnât exist without that MasterClass.â"
Oh, it is clear. I read that particular article after I read the book, but holy shit, the similarities between Carrie Soto and Serena and Venus Williams are too many to be coincidential. The whole "reporters asking her to smile and her telling them off" thing is recreated almost word for word. When I read that part in the book, I actually said "no way" out loud, because no way did the editors let her get away with that? There's a fine line between inspiration and blatant copying, and I fear it has been crossed in this case.
So. Getting all of this out of the way because I'm running out of space: The book isn't even good. An estimated 70% is extremely repetitive and boring. I can only read so many accounts of tennis games and the same training session over and over. The first part, titled "The first time around" is basically just Carrie saying: I won that game, and then I won that game, and then the mean reporters were being mean to me, and then I won that game, and then the mean reporters were being mean to me AGAIN, and then I won that game ..."
The only interesting part to me was the relationship between Bowe (what kind of a name is that, btw?) and Carrie, because it actually furthered Carrie's character development. Same with her relationship with Nikki, because she actually had to think about her actions for a second instead of just pouting and stomping her foot like a toddler, saying "But I want to be the BEST, Dad! You don't understand!!!"
The ending felt rushed, the twist that was supposed the be the tearjerker of this book was so obvious it was almost ridiculous, and the characters felt flat and one-dimensional, most of all Carrie herself. What a disappointment. The writing wasn't even good! I saw someone on Tiktok basically say, "shame about the racism, because TJR's writing is exceptional and so unique!" It is not. It is the epitome of white mediocrity. The writing is not bad. But it is by far not unique. It is nothing special. I cannot believe people are raving about this the way they are.
To close this out, once again: White writers should write diverse characters, but they shouldn't write solely about characters of color. These are not our stories to tell. And ultimately, nothing would have been taken away from this story had Carrie and Javier been white. Nothing would have been different. Carrie's issues with popularity and the press are not because of her heritage. It still would've worked exactly the same had Carrie been white. And ultimately, that's not what the reality should reflect, and if Taylor Jenkins Reid really wanted to accurately and meaninfully portray the experiences of a woman of color in tennis, she failed. Plain and simple.
Interview in the Cut: https://www.thecut.com/2022/08/taylor-jenkins-reid-carrie-soto-is-back-booktok.html
Vanity Fair Article: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/08/taylor-jenkins-reid-daisy-jones-evelyn-hugo-carrie-soto
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Body shaming and Grief
biancabuysbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Carrie Soto is back on the tennis courts, coming out of retirement at age 37. Her Grand Slam record is in jeopardy, and she's determined to play one more year of all four major tournaments. Her nickname, "the Battle-Axe," isn't for nothing. She's an incredibly fierce, determined, and savage competitor.
Honestly, I would have LOVED to see Carrie Soto play in real life! I feel like she's the kind of player I would have loyally cheered for. I love this other universe TJR has created with her characters and we see a few cameos from past books, which is always fun! Her writing was addictive, keeping me up way too late some nights, and the audiobook is performed by a cast of characters!
While the tennis elements were heavy, one of my favorite pieces was the father/daughter relationship. It was refreshing that the romance plot took a backseat, although I enjoyed that part too! Carrie's Dad, Javier, coaches her on this comeback attempt and their bond through tennis is unbreakable. It made me think of my own family and tennis. My Grandparents taught me how to keep score, my Mom and I track all of our favorite players, and my Dad bought me my first racket in middle school, which I still use today. So thank you to TJR and Carrie Soto for bringing back all the fond memories!
Also, I have TJR and Carrie Soto to thank for getting me back out on the tennis court! I obviously had to find a court for the booksta picture and then went back to play the next day!
Honestly, I would have LOVED to see Carrie Soto play in real life! I feel like she's the kind of player I would have loyally cheered for. I love this other universe TJR has created with her characters and we see a few cameos from past books, which is always fun! Her writing was addictive, keeping me up way too late some nights, and the audiobook is performed by a cast of characters!
While the tennis elements were heavy, one of my favorite pieces was the father/daughter relationship. It was refreshing that the romance plot took a backseat, although I enjoyed that part too! Carrie's Dad, Javier, coaches her on this comeback attempt and their bond through tennis is unbreakable. It made me think of my own family and tennis. My Grandparents taught me how to keep score, my Mom and I track all of our favorite players, and my Dad bought me my first racket in middle school, which I still use today. So thank you to TJR and Carrie Soto for bringing back all the fond memories!
Also, I have TJR and Carrie Soto to thank for getting me back out on the tennis court! I obviously had to find a court for the booksta picture and then went back to play the next day!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Cancer
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.
Wow. Just wow. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to love this as much as the rest of Taylor Jenkins Reid's books, but holy shit was I proven wrong. I think this hits the top of my reading list for the year so far. I love the way Carrie is written and how her thought process changes throughout her life. Yes, she's still super direct when she's speaking to others and still has a bite when dialogue is happening, but her internal monologue ESPECIALLY once the Paris Open happens changes the course of the rest of the book. I love that TJR sets up not just Carrie's come back in tennis as the GOAT, but also Bowe's last chance as a parallel to one another. Like the realization that both characters have throughout their training with all of the ups and downs truly allows the reader to see Carrie as less cold hearted than the media inside the story would have us think. I also really enjoy the fact that Carrie's main competition is also set up to have something to prove in holding her titles in the second 2/3rds of the story. It raises the stakes tremendously by pitting them against one another.
Wow. Just wow. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to love this as much as the rest of Taylor Jenkins Reid's books, but holy shit was I proven wrong. I think this hits the top of my reading list for the year so far. I love the way Carrie is written and how her thought process changes throughout her life. Yes, she's still super direct when she's speaking to others and still has a bite when dialogue is happening, but her internal monologue ESPECIALLY once the Paris Open happens changes the course of the rest of the book. I love that TJR sets up not just Carrie's come back in tennis as the GOAT, but also Bowe's last chance as a parallel to one another. Like the realization that both characters have throughout their training with all of the ups and downs truly allows the reader to see Carrie as less cold hearted than the media inside the story would have us think. I also really enjoy the fact that Carrie's main competition is also set up to have something to prove in holding her titles in the second 2/3rds of the story. It raises the stakes tremendously by pitting them against one another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming
Minor: Cancer and Alcoholism
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