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A review by isobelvm
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4.0
"And I wonder for a moment why I have spent all my time worried about losing things, when there is so much here."
This book surprised me. Pleasantly. I've seen a lot of negative reviews so I didn't have high expectations going in, but I should have known better than to doubt Taylor Jenkins Reid - which, incidentally, is exactly what I thought after finishing 'Malibu Rising', too.
I'm not exactly sure yet where this book ranks in my ratings of TJR books, but what I will say is this: this is maybe the most fun I've had reading one of her books. 'Malibu Rising' touched my heart, 'Evelyn Hugo' really resonated with me, 'Daisy Jones' was riveting, but this was fun. I didn't always like Carrie but I was always behind her. And, after how underwhelmed and unexcited I was when I found out she was going to be the protagonist of TJR's next book, that is a real accomplishment.
I'm not sure this book has as much depth to it as TJR's other books, so I can understand the criticism on that front. But the themes of family and loss and failure and love were all wonderfully well done. In some ways, I think this book's strength is that it doesn't grapple with as much as TJR's other books (that I've read, at least). It's always easy to follow and easy to immerse yourself back into, and always, always fun. I was surprised by how much of a page turner this was!
Overall, I don't have many negative things to say about this. I had fun. I was pleasantly surprised. Carrie was a very strong, although not always likeable, protagonist, her father was sunshine personified, and I adored Bowe, too, both in spite of how difficult he could be and because of it. So, while this isn't as special as 'Malibu Rising' for me, it is still a very well-written, fun book. TJR just doesn't miss.
This book surprised me. Pleasantly. I've seen a lot of negative reviews so I didn't have high expectations going in, but I should have known better than to doubt Taylor Jenkins Reid - which, incidentally, is exactly what I thought after finishing 'Malibu Rising', too.
I'm not exactly sure yet where this book ranks in my ratings of TJR books, but what I will say is this: this is maybe the most fun I've had reading one of her books. 'Malibu Rising' touched my heart, 'Evelyn Hugo' really resonated with me, 'Daisy Jones' was riveting, but this was fun. I didn't always like Carrie but I was always behind her. And, after how underwhelmed and unexcited I was when I found out she was going to be the protagonist of TJR's next book, that is a real accomplishment.
I'm not sure this book has as much depth to it as TJR's other books, so I can understand the criticism on that front. But the themes of family and loss and failure and love were all wonderfully well done. In some ways, I think this book's strength is that it doesn't grapple with as much as TJR's other books (that I've read, at least). It's always easy to follow and easy to immerse yourself back into, and always, always fun. I was surprised by how much of a page turner this was!
Overall, I don't have many negative things to say about this. I had fun. I was pleasantly surprised. Carrie was a very strong, although not always likeable, protagonist, her father was sunshine personified, and I adored Bowe, too, both in spite of how difficult he could be and because of it. So, while this isn't as special as 'Malibu Rising' for me, it is still a very well-written, fun book. TJR just doesn't miss.