Review #11: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating this one at 5/5. This is one to get you out of a reading rut. A fast paced, plot focused fiction novel. Carrie Soto is Back is pure enjoyment. I read it over three days and I don’t know anyone who struggled to get through it. High level – it is about a tennis star coming out of retirement to reclaim her record for most Grand Slams. I played tennis growing up, so it definitely resonated with me more than the average reader. Please note, the five stars is not for literary brilliance.
Source: Penguin Random House
Vibe: You are on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next. It is suspenseful in a not scary at all way hahaha. I was just hanging on to see what happens and how the characters handle their next move. It is sporty and you feel like a cool girl reading it because you’re like - yes! I love tennis!!
Describe the book in three words: Sporty, fast paced, female
Plot: Carrie Soto is the best tennis player to exist. Dominating tennis for years. Then, 10 years later, Nicki Chan wins another Grand Slam and takes the record for most Grand Slam wins. Carrie Soto is compelled to come out of retirement and spend a year trying to reclaim her title. Carrie is a tough woman who is singularly focused on being the best tennis player in the world. She has never allowed any distractions – including friends or long term romantic partners. We can see through Carrie how it is lonely at the top. The plot moves along so quickly and we are taken along the year long journey. This book is plot driven and keeps you wanting to read just one more baby, TJR addicting chapter.
Characters: The characters are there to add to the plot. They all seem to be one dimensional, which is not necessarily a bad thing when we just want to find out what happens next. One dimension doesn’t mean not deep – it just means that Carrie Soto is a tough lady loner and when she’s all alone with no one to celebrate her wins, she’s sad and its understandable. Wow, that was an oversimplification, but you get it. Carrie has a loving father, who is the loving father and he doesn’t really have anything going on besides loving and training her. I definitely feel like the characters live within the four walls of this book and do not have lives beyond what we initially imagine.
You’ll like this if you like… tennis, Taylor Jenkins Reid, fast paced plot books, strong female leads, and rooting for the underdog Sporty, fast paced, female
