Carrie Sotto Is Back.

   

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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. 

 

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 Taylor Jenkins Reid has been one of my favorite historical fiction authors since I read Daisy Jones & The Six back in 2020. I fell in love with the author and her style of writing. Reid is an author who makes you feel connected with all the characters, a chance to imagine their experience. Carrie Sotto Is Back wasn’t like her other books but in a good way. While reading the book, I felt like I was with Carrie Sotto, playing Tennis with her. One of the things I loved about this book was how much I learned about the game of Tennis, and I could tell how much research went into this book. I knew little about Tennis before reading this book, I had played it for fun when I was younger. However, once I read Carrie Sotto Is Back I learned so much more, I learned about the rules and how Tennis Open works, which was a unique experience for me. I knew Tennis was hard but had no idea how much work went into it. 

 I didn’t know what to think about Carrie Sotto, I had mixed feelings about her. There were times that I loved her, and there were other times that I was way annoyed with her. I loved how hard she worked; she wouldn’t win so many times if she didn’t work hard. Carrie started loving Tennis, but as time went by, I felt that being the best tennis player got into her head, and winning was all she cared about. I didn’t particularly appreciate how she acted when she lost and how she treated her father. However, I was rooting for her when she decided to make a comeback, coming out of retirement. I wondered what would happen if she didn’t win; how would she react? On the other hand, I loved her dad and how he was by her side, cheering her all the way, even when she took out her anger on him. I saw how much love he had for Carrie and that he wanted his daughter to be happy. 

Bowe . You could see the connection between the two of them instantly. There was a special connection between the two of them, the one that Carrie refused to see. I believe that Bowe brought out the best of her, and I saw the change in her after the two started training together. I loved seeing and following Carrie to each Tennis Open, and when she was playing against the other players and all those descriptions of the games, it made me feel as if I was there, at the games. After reading the book, it made me wish that I knew how to play Tennis. I wasn’t fond of all the Spanish that was used without the translation. Sometimes Carrie and her father would respond to each other in Spanish, but there would be no translation, so it was a little confusing what happened. I think if there were some translations, it would be easier to follow those conversations. Otherwise, I loved the book and the story. If you love books about sports, I would highly recommend this book. I’m excited to see what Taylor Jenkins Reid has for us next.