Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Carrie Soto Is Back

Everything that Taylor Jenkins Reid writes is so so beautiful. Her characters are so intricately crafted, so perfectly flawed, and entirely human; it takes my breath away every time. I don't particularly enjoy tennis but this book was so incredibly engaging, I couldn't put it down. I absolutely adore how TJR truly understands her characters, what motivates them, and their truths (the ones they've admitted and the ones they haven't); it shines in the ways her characters interact and form relationships. Reading her writing is like reading art.

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serena_hien's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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sfbookgirl's review

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challenging informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I hate to say it, but this was not an enjoyable read. CARRIE SOTO IS BACK is a “historical fiction” book that brings up a lot of issues revolving around race and the portrayal of race written by a white author. The book is about a Latina woman named Carrie Soto who is a professional tennis player. She is kind of a bitch and she knows it, yet does nothing to change her attitude because she is the bomb dot com at tennis. After seeing that a much younger player is closing in on beating one of Soto’s world records, Soto decides to come out of retirement to beat the sh*t out of this young player. This is the entirety of this book. Some good old rally between two characters that literally never ends.

In regard to the book’s race issues, it doesn’t sit right with me that TJR decides to have Carrie be Latina yet literally mentions it once. It gives off the impression that she was looking to “diversify” her characters without really doing the work to properly represent them. The icing on the cake is a quote written toward the end of the book:

“Gwen shakes her head. ‘You know damn well there’s another set of rules for you. Just like there’s even another set of rules for me.’

I look at her, understanding that as much as I know what it’s like to be a woman in this world, I have no idea what it’s like to be a Black woman” (301).

So yes…Carrie doesn’t know what it means to be a Black woman because she isn’t Black. Just like how TJR doesn’t know how to write a Latina woman because she isn’t Latina.

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aimsro's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I've never been so invested in any sport as I was in tennis while reading this book! So intense. Through Carrie Soto I could see what I would have become as an athlete - the ever-so-greedy perfectionist that hates losing - but also I'm glad that my imposter syndrome reminds me to be humble. The book could have had some more scenes outside the tennis courts, as if Carrie didn't have a life outside them, but then again she probably didn't and the storyline perfectly reflects that. It's so weird but also cool af that Taylor Jenkins Reid always manages to create characters that feel so real, like any real-life celebrities and whatnot, while still being completely fictional.

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