Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid


Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular.

By the time Carrie retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach.

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, British 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 a story about the cost of greatness and a legendary athlete attempting a comeback.
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First line:
My entire life's work rests on the outcome of this match.
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Source:
Hardcover borrowed from my aunt
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Rating:
3.75 out of 5
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Did this book take me four months to finish? Yes
Did this book have me sobbing? Yes
Did this book leave me on the edge of my seat? Yes
Do I know anything more about tennis? Not really

It took me awhile to get invested in this book. It is Carrie's journey to take back her record of Most Grand Slam Wins. It opens with the US Open in 1994, when Carrie decides to come out of retirement. But then we go back in time and see Carrie's journey through her career. Then finally we see Carrie traverse the four slams: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. 

I honestly wasn't super invested until we got to Wimbledon about 60% through the book. But, oh buddy, once I hit that far I was so invested. I could not put this book down from that point. I was sobbing, I was laughing, I was screaming, I was holding my breath. I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen next. Part of my problem was I thought I wouldn't be satisfied no matter if Carrie won a slam or if she didn't win a slam, because straight forwardly, it didn't feel like either of those options gave us a genuine ending. However, Reid delivered the ending I didn't know I needed and I am so here for it. It definitely was not how I thought this book was going to go but it felt so true to Carrie and her story that I can't stop thinking about it.

I hear a lot about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but not nearly as much about this book, which I think is by far the more superior book. If you liked Evelyn Hugo's story, you will absolutely love Carrie's journey.



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