Thank you to Ballantine Books, PRH Audio and Libro fm for gifting me copies of Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Carrie Soto is an Argentinian-American tennis player who not only sets the world record for the most grand-slam wins once, but sets out to do it a second time when her record is beaten.

I have a lot of feelings about this book. The author is not Argentinian, so the discussion is whether or not she should be writing an experience that is not her own—especially when there are so many underrepresented authors not getting the attention they deserve. I did read an interview with the author where she expressed her feelings about it but said that she also didn’t feel right only writing main characters who were straight white women.

The story was certainly a moving one. Carrie is single-minded in her determination to be the best. But to achieve her level of success she has to make a lot of sacrifices, and at some point her body simply won’t be able to keep up with her desire to win. Not only that, but she’s sacrificed her mental health and indulged in unhealthy behaviors that aren’t serving her in her retirement from tennis. She lost her mother at a young age, and decided that it's easier to push people away than let anyone have the power to hurt you like that when they leave.

After the loss of her mother it is just Carrie and her father. They're incredibly close, and her father ends up coaching her so they are always together. Carrie’s father was such a beautiful character. The way he not only cheered her on, but you could feel the love streaming off the page.

The story is set between the '70s and the '90s so it's just long ago that social media, cell phones etc weren't a thing, but not so long ago that the world is completely different. While it's hard for me to come to terms with something within my lifetime being 'historical' fiction, I enjoy the slight step back in time.

The Australian Open is a huge deal in Australia, and while I never got to go in person I have so many memories of watching the matches on TV, and it would be all anyone was talking about while it was on. I even played tennis for a while as a kid because I was so enamored with it all. (Spoiler, I wasn't very good).

It’s so surreal to think of elite athletes as having a full career by the time most of us are just getting started. One of my best friends is an ex-Olympic gymnast and it still blows my mind that she retired when I was still in college, and then started a whole second career from that point.

I switched between the eBook and the audiobook, which really was a masterpiece. I thought Stacy Gonzalez did an absolutely phenomenal job with the narration. My only complaint was that her Aussie accent sounded British and her pronunciation of Melbourne wasn’t correct. But I'm just being pedantic about it because I'm Australian. There were lots of cameos on the audiobook too and I especially enjoyed the sports commentator vignettes and newspaper articles between sections. In addition to Stacy Gonzalez you’ll also hear the voices of Julia Whelan, Pat McEnroe, Mary Carrillo, Rob Simmelkjaer, Brendan Wayne, max Meyers, Reynaldo pinella, Vidish Athavale, Tom Bromhead, Heath miller, and Sara Arrington. Talk about a full court! The audiobook was 10 hours and 29 minutes. You can download a copy of the audiobook here, or get a physical or eBook copy by clicking the button below.

Synopsis:

Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two.

But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan.

At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked “the Battle-Axe” anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.

In spite of it all, Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells her most vulnerable, emotional story yet.