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A review by sophiesometimesreads
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
4.5
I know absolutely nothing about tennis and I can say that I have never watched a full game of tennis in my life. Despite this, I really enjoyed this book.
Firstly, the pacing of the book was excellent. It could have been really easy for TJR to spend too much time on the matches and the rallies, but instead the key plays and moments were highlighted, but only a few pages maximum were spent on each game. This meant that the book flowed really well, and the timeline felt appropriate for the length of the book. More time was able to be focused on character growth this way, too, which was the primary focus of the book.
Carrie Soto was a complex character and I really like how TJR always writes intricate, interesting and multi-dimensional characters. At first, I didn’t particularly like Carrie but I really enjoyed her development and I was rooting for her at the end. I also loved Nicki Chan as a character and the dynamic between Carrie and Nicki.
The ending was exactly what I wanted from this book, and really highlighted the character growth. The last sentence was a bit mean, though (iykyk).
I have recently heard some commentary around TJR’s writing of Latina characters as a white person, which I respect and agree with. I don’t think that Latina heritage played enough of a role in this story, except for concerning Carrie’s father’s backstory, that she needed to be Latina, and TJR could have easily written her as another heritage to acknowledge and act on these criticisms.
Firstly, the pacing of the book was excellent. It could have been really easy for TJR to spend too much time on the matches and the rallies, but instead the key plays and moments were highlighted, but only a few pages maximum were spent on each game. This meant that the book flowed really well, and the timeline felt appropriate for the length of the book. More time was able to be focused on character growth this way, too, which was the primary focus of the book.
Carrie Soto was a complex character and I really like how TJR always writes intricate, interesting and multi-dimensional characters. At first, I didn’t particularly like Carrie but I really enjoyed her development and I was rooting for her at the end. I also loved Nicki Chan as a character and the dynamic between Carrie and Nicki.
The ending was exactly what I wanted from this book, and really highlighted the character growth. The last sentence was a bit mean, though (iykyk).
I have recently heard some commentary around TJR’s writing of Latina characters as a white person, which I respect and agree with. I don’t think that Latina heritage played enough of a role in this story, except for concerning Carrie’s father’s backstory, that she needed to be Latina, and TJR could have easily written her as another heritage to acknowledge and act on these criticisms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism