Scan barcode
A review by jacks_beloved
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
And she does it again. Another release, another masterpiece. It's like with every character she creates, Reid sets out to break a record (yes, numerous puns derived from the book itself)
Carrie Soto is probably the most real potrait of a person Reid has ever created. A person who flew too close to the sun and is now afraid of getting scorched. This book is so many things. It's a feminist commentary of women in sports, it's about father-daughter relationships, it's about mentors, but most importantly, it's about learning how to fail. Carrie is poetry. She is the legend Reid describes her to be in the book. Carrie teaches you that life doesn't belong to the winners, nor does it hate the losers. Life belongs to those who live every moment, and feel every breath. It belongs to those who enjoy. (I'm sorry, she just makes a sap out of you). Carrie is a mentee but she's also a mentor when it comes to teaching women to be fearless and heartless, and unapolegetic about it. The world will always hate confident women, but you need to stand up to the world and give them a big "fuck you".
As long as I've spent praising Carrie, my favourite character of the book was definitely the sunshine Chan. The rival. The opponent. The reason Carrie Soto is back. Her character is the reason this book has the most satisfying and full-circle ending I could think of (though I can understand why it'll probably be extremely frustrating for some people, but it is in keeping with the tone of the rest of the book). Nicki Chan is the personification of the kind of explosions that can be created if women just start supporting women, whether in their rights or wrongs, in whatever way possible. Nicki Chan is kind but tough. She's an inspiration. She is everything I would want to be at the age she is said to be at. (Additionally, her British accent in the audiobook won me over. Fell more in love right that second. Also, bi-rep.)
One would think that all the tennis talk would bore the reader. That the plot is bound to get predictable and boring. Yes, it was predictable. No, it wasn't boring for a goddamn second because the characters were interesting. They kept you on your toes. They were always doing something complex and out of the box. (Although, the book can definitely get repetitive and monotonous with its technical tennis talk for everyone who is not invested in the characters).
I've said it once and I'll say it again, Taylor Jenkins Reid is an icon. She is the best writer out there in the genre of contemporary women's fiction, which is, arguably, one of the realest and most important genres out there. She has the potential to make history with her style of writing (I'm still in the sports commentator mood, obviously).
Needless to say, every work of Reid's need to be read and analysed and talked about till they achieve the label of modern classics.
Carrie Soto is probably the most real potrait of a person Reid has ever created. A person who flew too close to the sun and is now afraid of getting scorched. This book is so many things. It's a feminist commentary of women in sports, it's about father-daughter relationships, it's about mentors, but most importantly, it's about learning how to fail. Carrie is poetry. She is the legend Reid describes her to be in the book. Carrie teaches you that life doesn't belong to the winners, nor does it hate the losers. Life belongs to those who live every moment, and feel every breath. It belongs to those who enjoy. (I'm sorry, she just makes a sap out of you). Carrie is a mentee but she's also a mentor when it comes to teaching women to be fearless and heartless, and unapolegetic about it. The world will always hate confident women, but you need to stand up to the world and give them a big "fuck you".
As long as I've spent praising Carrie, my favourite character of the book was definitely the sunshine Chan. The rival. The opponent. The reason Carrie Soto is back. Her character is the reason this book has the most satisfying and full-circle ending I could think of (though I can understand why it'll probably be extremely frustrating for some people, but it is in keeping with the tone of the rest of the book). Nicki Chan is the personification of the kind of explosions that can be created if women just start supporting women, whether in their rights or wrongs, in whatever way possible. Nicki Chan is kind but tough. She's an inspiration. She is everything I would want to be at the age she is said to be at. (Additionally, her British accent in the audiobook won me over. Fell more in love right that second. Also, bi-rep.)
One would think that all the tennis talk would bore the reader. That the plot is bound to get predictable and boring. Yes, it was predictable. No, it wasn't boring for a goddamn second because the characters were interesting. They kept you on your toes. They were always doing something complex and out of the box. (Although, the book can definitely get repetitive and monotonous with its technical tennis talk for everyone who is not invested in the characters).
I've said it once and I'll say it again, Taylor Jenkins Reid is an icon. She is the best writer out there in the genre of contemporary women's fiction, which is, arguably, one of the realest and most important genres out there. She has the potential to make history with her style of writing (I'm still in the sports commentator mood, obviously).
Needless to say, every work of Reid's need to be read and analysed and talked about till they achieve the label of modern classics.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail