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A review by loesm
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
relaxing
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
3.5
I have issues with Taylor Jenkins Reid as a writer. First off, her books are marked as literary, even though they are clearly not. To me, they read like chicklit, which is a perfectly good genre and one I enjoy, but they should not pretend to be something they're not. Also, her books - or the ones I know of - are about fame and perception, which is not my favourite and I actually think is some sort of cheat code for chicklit: it assumes the importance of the book and the credibility of the characters.
This is also one of the problems I have with this book: The characters are flat. Carrie doesn't rise much beyond her determination to be the best in tennis, the way the book is structured prevented me from becoming invested in his tennis, so he only serves as the persistent love interest and Javier is a male momagaer who compensates for his own injury by living vicariously through his daughter. That's about it. I also feel like Javier's death is conveniently exploited as a tear jerker, solely used for plot development, which feels like an incredible cheap shot and a complete incorrect portrayal of death, which doesn't serve the whiles of plot development.
I am also wondering whether this is an ode to the Williams sisters or it's a subject it avoids. I assume it's set before their reign not to interfere with their legacies, since it touches on the same subjects, such as women in tennis and people/women of colour in tennis.
This brings me to the romance, which feels a bit unbelievable. Yes, Carrie is a boss ass bitch with an admirable determination. But her focus on winning and fear of losing isn't particularly endearing. I loved her unlikability as a tennis player (she's there to win matches, not endear people to her, and why put energy into being likable that seeps from her focus on tennis?) but as a person, there was nothing which made me want to be her friend. That's a long way of saying why I didn't understand why Bowe would suffer the string of rejections. Likewise, Bowe simply felt like a safe choice, as his one defining quality was being attracted to her, suffering the rejections and doing acts of service (which is also not my love language, so maybe I'm the wrong audience).
This book also does not pass a reverse Bechtel-test, of the discussion of things other than tennis. Although this seems to be how you get to be a star athlete.
Nonetheless, it is very well written. I can never put a finger on the things that are good, but Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to write and keep me reading.
I also appreciated the feminism.
Discussion questions for my book club:
1) What attracts Bowe to Carrie?
2) What purpose does Javier's sickbed and death serve to the story?
3) What's your opinion on fame and perception of star athletes?
4) Did the ending surprise you? The end of the match and her career after.
5) What do we think of the homage to the William's sisters?
6) What genre is this book?
This is also one of the problems I have with this book: The characters are flat. Carrie doesn't rise much beyond her determination to be the best in tennis, the way the book is structured prevented me from becoming invested in his tennis, so he only serves as the persistent love interest and Javier is a male momagaer who compensates for his own injury by living vicariously through his daughter. That's about it.
I am also wondering whether this is an ode to the Williams sisters or it's a subject it avoids. I assume it's set before their reign not to interfere with their legacies, since it touches on the same subjects, such as women in tennis and people/women of colour in tennis.
This brings me to the romance, which feels a bit unbelievable. Yes, Carrie is a boss ass bitch with an admirable determination. But her focus on winning and fear of losing isn't particularly endearing. I loved her unlikability as a tennis player (she's there to win matches, not endear people to her, and why put energy into being likable that seeps from her focus on tennis?) but as a person, there was nothing which made me want to be her friend. That's a long way of saying why I didn't understand why Bowe would suffer the string of rejections. Likewise, Bowe simply felt like a safe choice, as his one defining quality was being attracted to her, suffering the rejections and doing acts of service (which is also not my love language, so maybe I'm the wrong audience).
This book also does not pass a reverse Bechtel-test, of the discussion of things other than tennis. Although this seems to be how you get to be a star athlete.
Nonetheless, it is very well written. I can never put a finger on the things that are good, but Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to write and keep me reading.
I also appreciated the feminism.
Discussion questions for my book club:
1) What attracts Bowe to Carrie?
2) What purpose does Javier's sickbed and death serve to the story?
3) What's your opinion on fame and perception of star athletes?
4) Did the ending surprise you? The end of the match and her career after.
5) What do we think of the homage to the William's sisters?
6) What genre is this book?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Minor: Car accident