Hi Page Turners,
I am obsessed with Taylor Jenkins Reid's Carrie Soto is Back and this post will explain why. I am also going to discuss my thoughts on Break Point part 2 and tennis in general.
I read Carrie Soto is Back last year and it made my favourite reads list, this year I listened to the audiobook version and it just strengthened my love for the book. The audio version made the book come alive with Carrie and Javier's narration and accent to the interviews to Bowe and especially the matches Carrie plays. With the audio it builds upon the pictures you already have in your head and makes it that much more precious. The dialogue comes alive with Javier's self fulfilling prophecy to Bowe and Carrie's relationship. The relationship that Javier and Carrie have to how much tennis means to Carrie.
(Original paperback review- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4755948016 )
This is my FAVOURITE of TJR's because Carrie Soto is THE BEST!
I am a massive fan of tennis in particular Wimbledon so I just knew I was going to love this. But this was everything and MORE. Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season. In this riveting and unforgettable novel, it tells the story of a women who had it all, she was the greatest tennis player the world ever saw she one the awards, the titles and now she is retired. That is until a British player Nicki Chan threatens to overtake Soto's legacy. At thirty-seven years old, Carrie come's out of retirement to be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. 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.
I love reading stories that show a person's journey of how hard they worked, how much they sacrificed how they achieved to get to their goal. It's determination, It's hunger, It's life for them. And Carrie's story was just so precious. Her father (best man ever) has coached Carrie since she was a baby she grew up on a court. I felt like I was reading an auto-bio of an actual tennis players life. (I mean I did a little Google and for women Serena Williams is at the top. Was TJR inspired by her?) The detail, the intricate knowledge of tennis, it makes me think what TJR is doing as a writer, why is she not a coach 😂😂. I loved Carrie so much even tho I think TJR wrote her as an unlikeable character but I loved her. She was passionate, fierce, sets her mind to something and achieves it basically an inspiration to me. She is rude and doesn't care what people think (kind of reminded me of Nick Kyrgios. last Wimbledon). I loved Carrie's father and let me tell you manifestation works because he manifested Carrie and she is living proof that it works. Carrie is Achilles but not without her father's help because he is the mastermind behind her talent. Credit to him and when he died I broke just as Carrie broke her tennis racket in pieces! His story, his wife, just SOBBING. When Carrie played a match I was on the EDGE of my seat, I could hear the silence of the court it felt REAL.
Carrie is a perfectionist and when she looses it hits harder, but Javi teaches her it is human to err, it is human to fail, it is how you get back up, it is how you learn. There was so much in this book and I can't even do justice in this review. My fave bit was when he was coaching both Bowe and Carrie and their slow burn romance and how much they pushed each other. Carrie's comeback was my whole personality and I lived for it. I wanted to both devour and savour it but my emotions during this read let me tell you I was a wreck. One of my fave books of 22 and this for sure will be a re-read because I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
I will recommend this to everyone and anyone who listens because CARRIE SOTO IS BACK.
Also the ending had me dying. Because it was a full 360 now I need a sequel with Nicki Chan is back or could you imagine Carrie coaching her own daughter or son! 😢😢😢😢
Read it! Just go and read it!
Easily my favourite of TJR's clearly see why this is a Goodreads Choice Award Winner one of my fave books of the year! It was everything https://youtu.be/_oi32nam3z4
Anyone that knows me knows that I am not into sport at all. But for me tennis is different and I couldn't tell you why. It all startle in the summer of 2019 the match between Serena Williams and Halep and from then on I was hooked. Do I watch all ATP/WTA matches...no... but I do make sure to stay up to date with the grand slams because if I am honest those are the ones I love the most.
Break Point part 2 if I am honest I preferred more than part 1, that could be because Wimbledon and the US open are probably my favourite grand slams of the four but also because we got to see more behind the scenes. Tennis is a selfish game but it also to me is about how strong your mental game is and how badly you want it. Break Point really goes well with Carrie Soto because in the book Carrie lives, breathes, eats and sleeps tennis and in the series this comes alive with the players.
'You must stop in the middle of chaos to take in the world around you to breath in deeply to smell the sunscreen and the rubber of the ball let the breeze blow across your neck feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.'
They each have their own back stories and why tennis means a lot for them and why they want it so bad. And it isn't just them, its their family and coaches who go through it with them and this is portrayed in the book through Javier and Carrie. It also explores the media and how they portray Carrie as the villain almost they dehumanise her by describing her as the bitch or the battle-axe and for her comeback they underestimate her.
'Never underestimate Carrie Soto. And to any other women out there wondering if they are to old to play tennis let the battle-axe be all the evidence you need to get in the game. Carrie Soto is human but she’s super human and I’d say she has proven that tonight.'
It captures how pressured tennis players or athlete's in general have to perform almost to conform to societal expectations and standards in Break Point we see this through Nick F
In the book Carrie is like this because she has made this persona because of what she went through and in Break Point Nick also explains why he is the way he is. It highlights how as society we are so quick to condemn and judge without understanding internal and external factors. In the book Carrie doesn't just have he pressure of being and maintaining the status of greatest of all time but she has to contend with being a women.
In both book and series it also explores in great detail about how tennis is about a mental game. Not only believing in yourself but also having a support system in place where people believe in you and acknowledge that you have potential and the power to win is so detrimental.
Bowe leans into the table and keeps his voice low. He says
'I want to fucking win Carrie, I want the crowds screaming my name. I want to know that for one moment that I am the best in the world one last time'.
I cant help but smile. 'Your taking the words right out my mouth'.
'Hello'.
'Good luck tomorrow Bowe says,
'You too
'Fucking crush her make her bleed
'Will do, I say, you too.
'We can do this, Bowe says 'at least you can, I know it.
'Thank you, I say almost choking on the words I am suddenly embarrassed at how transparent the emotion in my voice is.
'I guess this is it no turning back now.
'No I suppose not he says but you wouldn’t turn back even if you could Soto'
In Carrie Soto its her father who is the biggest cheerleader, then Bowe, then her agent and then finally herself. The biggest challenge to any tennis player is your own mental health and believing in yourself because when the doubts and fears start creeping in that is when you slowly loose the momentum. But of course its all about how good you play to, the practice and hard work Carrie and the players in Break Point put in, is beyond words.
'Sometimes I think you don’t understand the heartache I feel when I see you loose, he says catching my eye and not letting go. '
Knowing how badly you want it knowing how bad your soul needs it sometimes I think it is enough to break me.
'Dad, I say putting my hand on his shoulder, I will be okay.
'Is that true he asks… my head hurts when you hurt because you are my heart.
'Go out there, he looks me directly on the eye with the intensity I have not seen in years maybe since I was a kid.
'Go out there and show them that the bitch the battle-axe whatever they want to call you it doesn’t matter they cannot stop you and they don’t get to decide what your name is'. Carrie Soto is Back.
'Are you really sticking around I ask.
'Yep he says I meant what I told the reporters I think you can win it Carrie I really do.
'I hate I say, how much that means to me.
Bowe laughs. 'Yeah look I get it I care so much of what all you Soto’s think of me.'
'
7:15- Blueberry smoothie raw unsalted almonds for breakfast'
'She runs in the sand to train'
'She lived for those excelente's.'
'You gave me a chessboard, because you must always keep thinking four moves ahead.'
Their regime, the life, their focus is all towards hearing the words 'Game, Set and Match.' One of my highlights in Carrie Soto is how Javier regiments Carrie's routines. Getting up early to practice, running in the sand, watching re-runs of matches having a notebook of each player she has played-is playing against and noting down their weaknesses and strengths and when it is time for her comeback how he recruits Bowe to practice against.
'You are perfect even in your imperfections
'you are completely insufferable and I cant stop thinking about you I want the real thing this time'.
'Nothing will ever diminish what you did and have done and she has so much grace her shots are to perfection'.
'This is not just my comeback'
https://theconversation.com/why-elite-athletes-should-develop-mindfulness-to-up-their-game 'Athletes at the very highest level of their sport face the challenge of performing consistently under pressure amid many potential distractions, including performance anxiety, crowd behaviour, their own and others’ expectations, and the responses of their opponents.' 'Nadal and Djokovic, have been described as having the ability to “play every point like it’s a match point'.
https://theconversation.com/the-secret-of-novak-djokovics-record-breaking-tennis-success-is-his-mental-resilience-expert-explains- 'There are a few answers. Djokovic has superb technical skills and has been called the best “returner” in the sport’s history. He has worked on his diet and fitness to ensure he is consistently in optimal health. And his tactical understanding and execution of tennis are second to none
Quotes/
'I am Carrie Soto break points are my moment.
I feel a kinship with princess Diana, when I win I want to say to her they cant make us go away because they are done with us.'
‘Every Player has a weakness’
‘That’s like saying Achilles was a great warrior simply because he lives during war time. Achilles was a great warrior because it was his destiny to be one.’
‘So Carolina is Achilles my mother said?'
'She’s destined! It is plain as day with your grace and my strength she can be the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen. They will tell stories about her one day.’
‘You are going to be one of the greatest tennis players in the world. Some day like your brown hair you just need to show them. You just need to be my Achilles, greatest of the Greeks'.
The comeback- Oct 1994 3 ½ months before Melbourne
1995 Australian Open
'Take ‘em all down Carrie Soto'.
Scuffs on my break points (touches them before every match).
'The queen is dead long live the queen'.
If Rudyard Kipling
Self 1/ Self 2
Wimbledon 1995
My 10th Wimbledon my 21st slam
'Winner of the 109th Wimbledon championship'
'Known as the break point champion.'
I hope you enjoyed my review of the book and the Netflix series. Connect with me on any of my socials and see my dedicated Pinterest board for Carrie Soto:
Links to socials: https://linktr.ee/EPST
Leave me a comment down below :)
With Love and Dua's
Fiz @Every Page She Turns.
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