Star Rating: 4 Stars
Taylor Jenkins Reid (TJR) is back with another larger-than-life novel that takes us behind the scenes of the sports world with Carrie Soto Is Back*. It’s certainly a departure from her Hollywoodesque novels, but is it a winner?
I absolutely love TJR’s books, with my all-time favorites being The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo* and Daisy Jones & The Six. So, I was uber excited to read this new novel. What added to the excitement was that I had the opportunity to attend a Q&A session with TJR about the book and writing and reading.
Carrie Soto Is Back is a fictional story about a thirty-seven-year-old retired tennis player who comes out of retirement to defend her Grand Slam title against a younger version of herself. She’s determined to remain the greatest female tennis athlete and not let anyone steal her title.
So, back to the question: Is Carrie Soto a winner?
Well, I’m not going to spoil the book for you, but I have some opinions.
My first opinion: I know it’s a tennis book, but there are way too many tennis-playing scenes in the book. While some might argue those scenes built tension and uniquely told Carrie’s story, I’m not in that camp. I agree the set-up moved the story forward (the first part of the book flew by), but I felt the characterization was lacking, and, if you know me, I live for a good character-driven story.
My second opinion: I think TJR struggled to tell one character’s story. Her previous books were told from multiple points of view, and she did an amazing job telling a complete story in this way, which can be difficult to do when you write from several POVs. During the Q&A, TJR mentioned how exciting it was to really delve into one character and only tell their story. I agree it is exciting—if you can do it well.
What fell flat for me is that Carrie never seemed well-developed enough—at least for me. If you asked me to describe Carrie Soto, I’d use words like angry, inconsiderate, obstinate, and fierce. All very accurate, but I know there was more to this character. Unfortunately, we only glimpse more of her personality toward the end of the book.
Who would like this book?
I’m not blasting Carrie Soto or TJR. I think this book is a solid read and will certainly entertain you, especially if you’re a huge tennis fan. She does an amazing job with the match scenes, and she did a tremendous amount of research.
Have you read Carrie Soto Is Back? What did you think?
*Disclosure: As an indie writer, I find clever and unique ways to make money to produce books for you! If you click on my affiliates/advertisers links, I am going to receive a tiny commission. Although it sucks that writing doesn’t pay the bills, here’s what I want you to know: I value you as a reader, and I appreciate you immensely. I don’t want this “hub” to become filled with pop-ups and ad-after-ad. I just want to connect you with a good read!