Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, as of this writing, ranks as my favorite book in this review series so far.
The story here is simple: Carrie Soto is a tennis prodigy who dominated women's tennis in the '80s, finishing with 20 Grand Slam wins. She retires at the age of 31 after suffering a devastating knee injury. Many regard the "Battle Axe" as the best women's player ever.
That's until Nikki Chan enters the picture. During Carrie's retirement, the youthful, skilled Chan matches Carrie's Grand Slam mark. That sparks something within the former champ, whose competitive fire (and vanity) won't stand for it. She hits the comeback trail at 37, determined to prove to the world she still has what it takes to win on the court.
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| Image via Indianapolis Public Library |
The narrative, told primarily in first person from Carrie's perspective, tracks her professional tennis career, rise and fall, and comeback bid. The protagonist is a deeply flawed character prone to selfishness and outbursts. She is not entirely likeable all the time, and that makes her very compelling. She makes frustrating decisions and sometimes seems like more of a machine (emotionally speaking) than a person.
These flaws are understandable. She lost her mom at a young age and her father, Javier, a former successful tennis pro himself, started training her at a young age. Really, the cutthroat world of professional tennis is all she's ever known. Competition drives her.
At the height of her tennis career, she ditched her father as her primary trainer, a decision that served as an emotional gut-punch to him (and she realizes years later, to her as well). Watching the two repair that relationship during her comeback gives the book a lot of charm--they don't always agree and have frequent clashes, but you can feel the warmth between them. Her father believes in her to the very end.
Carrie, emotionally stunted and difficult to get close to, also forms a relationship with Bowe Huntley, a male tennis pro on his last legs. He's set to retire soon and, like Carrie, wants to go out on top. There's a bit of "will they-won't they" in there, with Bowe often stymied in his attempts to get closer to her. The dynamic between the two progresses throughout the book, as Carrie discovers, finally, that there's more to life than tennis.
Interview transcripts and media reports are interspersed throughout the novel, giving it the feel of a real-life sports chronicle. Carrie's world lives and breathes, and while I'm not the most knowledgeable tennis fan, I'm familiar enough with the sport for the big moments to land during her many matches.
People who don't like sports may not get as much out of it as I did. While Carrie is the star, the book interrogates sports culture, the role the media plays in shaping narratives, the demands of satisfying sponsors, and the crushing pressures pro athletes confront on a daily basis.
I found it utterly absorbing as a reader and sports fan. Highly recommended.
