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david_slack110507's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
Back with Taylor Jenkins Reid books and this one was unsurprisingly another hit and incredibly well written. I will preface this by saying that I cannot say whether or not this is a good representation of a Latina character and the Latino community, but I do wish that for those that can give an accurate account of this aspect, that she has done this in a careful, well thought out and well-respected manner to the community and its culture.
I really liked this book even though it is based on a sport I never thought twice about: tennis. The way that Reid wrote the tennis matches and the tennis rules was extremely engaging even if I did forget some of the rules sometimes. The tennis aspect was kept as a constant focus and was well used as a means of facilitating the larger themes and developments of the story, something that reminiscing on Malibu Rising, cannot really be said as if my memory serves me right, the surfing aspect of the book became less critical as the book went on and the party started. I also really liked the return of news articles and interview/talk show transcripts which we last saw that type of documenting format in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which allowed for there to not only be breaks in the story but also see the larger world's view on the current events and state of tennis.
Something that I also found quite strong was the themes of the book and its characters. The discussion on the difficulties faced by women and people of colour in sports in the past such as when this book is set (E.g. the mid-1990s) and even now was remarkably interesting and is a very topical discussion now and in my opinion is dealt with very well. It expertly highlighted these issues as well as those affected by these issues and how they must hide their anger with this system to appear their absolute best for the public eye. The book has a very focused look on a few characters rather than having a wide stretching one allowing for the story to feel much more intimate as we only really focus on Carrie, Javier (A standout in this book to me due to how willing he was to train his daughter and not be jealous at her success and actually understand her better than she did herself - their relationship and father/daughter bond was probably the best-written part of this book), Bowe, Nicki, and Gwen.
Carrie has to be one of my favourite protagonists that I've read about in a long time, not only does she have the fiery attitude that many of TJR's female protagonists have but she also has incredible character development. She goes from being someone who must win every single game she plays even if it means coming off as an awful person to the public and those that she cares about to being someone who still wants to win but also recognises that losing is not the be all end all of the situations and that it is the journey and the game itself that is the most important part of it all. I also really liked how Carrie developed emotionally as well going from being perceived as cold and remorseless to being someone who gives genuine thanks and appreciation to those who help her and even respect to those she is facing off against.
I really liked this book even though it is based on a sport I never thought twice about: tennis. The way that Reid wrote the tennis matches and the tennis rules was extremely engaging even if I did forget some of the rules sometimes. The tennis aspect was kept as a constant focus and was well used as a means of facilitating the larger themes and developments of the story, something that reminiscing on Malibu Rising, cannot really be said as if my memory serves me right, the surfing aspect of the book became less critical as the book went on and the party started. I also really liked the return of news articles and interview/talk show transcripts which we last saw that type of documenting format in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which allowed for there to not only be breaks in the story but also see the larger world's view on the current events and state of tennis.
Something that I also found quite strong was the themes of the book and its characters. The discussion on the difficulties faced by women and people of colour in sports in the past such as when this book is set (E.g. the mid-1990s) and even now was remarkably interesting and is a very topical discussion now and in my opinion is dealt with very well. It expertly highlighted these issues as well as those affected by these issues and how they must hide their anger with this system to appear their absolute best for the public eye. The book has a very focused look on a few characters rather than having a wide stretching one allowing for the story to feel much more intimate as we only really focus on Carrie, Javier (A standout in this book to me due to how willing he was to train his daughter and not be jealous at her success and actually understand her better than she did herself - their relationship and father/daughter bond was probably the best-written part of this book), Bowe, Nicki, and Gwen.
Carrie has to be one of my favourite protagonists that I've read about in a long time, not only does she have the fiery attitude that many of TJR's female protagonists have but she also has incredible character development. She goes from being someone who must win every single game she plays even if it means coming off as an awful person to the public and those that she cares about to being someone who still wants to win but also recognises that losing is not the be all end all of the situations and that it is the journey and the game itself that is the most important part of it all. I also really liked how Carrie developed emotionally as well going from being perceived as cold and remorseless to being someone who gives genuine thanks and appreciation to those who help her and even respect to those she is facing off against.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
lilalhreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I have so much love for Carrie
Her relationships with her father and Gwen (and then watching her relationship with Bowe evolve and grow) made my heart so happy
And that ending!!Even though I was really rooting for her, I LOVE that she lost. I also really loved that she followed in her father’s footsteps and started coaching Nicki. It almost felt like a full circle kind of moment
Her relationships with her father and Gwen (and then watching her relationship with Bowe evolve and grow) made my heart so happy
And that ending!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
meaghanslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The book started out a bit slow for me, but boy does Taylor Jenkins Reid know how to write a good story.
Most authors cannot pull off switching writing styles within a book, like from narrative to interview transcripts, but Taylor Jenkins Reid is not like most authors.
I felt I was in each match as it happened and could fully picture this on the screen. It will definitely be a movie or tv show.
Also I loved how she incorporated Spanish throughout the book and often it wasn’t translated. I had to harken back to my language classes but once I understood the sentences it felt like a nice little secret knowing I understood another layer of the book. In that way it felt kind of like watching Stephen Spielberg’s west wide story.
Sure the book was a bit predictable, like that Bowe and Carrie would get together and Carrie wouldn’t win it all a La Rookie. As a reader it was very satisfying for the characters I invested in to have a happy ending. It was very sad when he did passed, I think the author handled that grief and feeling beautifully and realistically to the identities of the characters she created.
Most authors cannot pull off switching writing styles within a book, like from narrative to interview transcripts, but Taylor Jenkins Reid is not like most authors.
I felt I was in each match as it happened and could fully picture this on the screen. It will definitely be a movie or tv show.
Also I loved how she incorporated Spanish throughout the book and often it wasn’t translated. I had to harken back to my language classes but once I understood the sentences it felt like a nice little secret knowing I understood another layer of the book. In that way it felt kind of like watching Stephen Spielberg’s west wide story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Sexism and Sexual content
beatriks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
4.75
This is my third book of TJR and she always delivers.
This book was such an interesting read, even though I am not into tennis. Now I feel like watching the French Open.
I love that the author doesn’t shy away for painful experiences, I loved the descriptions of Carrie’s emotions.
And the interviews and news articles are a good way to shake up the book.
Also: Carrie is reading an unauthorized biography of Daisy Jones, I find that hilarious.
This book was such an interesting read, even though I am not into tennis. Now I feel like watching the French Open.
I love that the author doesn’t shy away for painful experiences, I loved the descriptions of Carrie’s emotions.
And the interviews and news articles are a good way to shake up the book.
Also: Carrie is reading an unauthorized biography of Daisy Jones, I find that hilarious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
momloves2read's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Death of parent
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, and Grief
mooshake's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, and Death of parent
ameliadidon's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I devoured this book! as I do with all TJR novels, so no surprises.
TJR creates such an immersive world for the reader and Carrie Soto is no exception. I'm not a massive tennis fan but you don't have to be to enjoy this book as TJR makes it more about the emotions and human experience than the actual game.
Carrie was sometimes insufferable, proving just how much she was a product of her environment and showed how much her dedication to sport impeded on her emotional intelligence.
My only qualm was the Spanish text, having to pull out google translate at some points did drag me out of the book at times, though I can recognise the importance of the Spanish to Carrie/Javier's relationship.
TJR creates such an immersive world for the reader and Carrie Soto is no exception. I'm not a massive tennis fan but you don't have to be to enjoy this book as TJR makes it more about the emotions and human experience than the actual game.
Carrie was sometimes insufferable, proving just how much she was a product of her environment and showed how much her dedication to sport impeded on her emotional intelligence.
My only qualm was the Spanish text, having to pull out google translate at some points did drag me out of the book at times, though I can recognise the importance of the Spanish to Carrie/Javier's relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexism and Alcohol
kjb2003's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content
jessicarose9898's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia