* This review is spoiler-free *
4.75/5 ⭐
Tropes
➮ Mean girl
➮ Sports (tennis)
➮ Unlikable MC
Synopsis
Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. By the time she retires, she is the best player in the world. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. If you ask her, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach. Six years after her retirement, Carrie sits 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 37, Carrie decides to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked the 'Battle-Axe' and 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. In spite of it all: Carrie Soto is back, for one epic final season.
Best Quote From the Book
“Grief is like a deep, dark hole. It calls like a siren: Come to me, lose yourself here. And you fight it and you fight it and you fight it, but when you finally do succumb and jump down into it, you can’t quite believe how deep it is. It feels as if this is how you will live for the rest of your life, falling. Terrified and devastated, until you yourself die.
But that is the mirage.
That is grief’s dizzying spell.
The fall isn’t never-ending. It does have a ground floor.
Today, I cry for so long that I finally feel the floor under my feet. I find the bottom. And while I know the hole will be there forever, at least for now, I feel as if I can live inside it. I have learned its boundaries and its edges."
LGBTQ+ Representation
4/5 🌈
The representation in this book is centered on the rival in the modern era of the story. Nikki Chan is a lesbian. This is mostly kept a secret from the world but the representation is positive and adds to the character and doesn't just feel like token representation.
My Thoughts
I want to start off this review by sharing that I got to enjoy this story as an audiobook alongside my mother. We both loved the story and found it highly engaging. Being able to listen along with her made it even more precious to me.
Even without detailed tennis knowledge, I found myself able to follow the story. You can tell Reid did her research about the sport before writing. It was really a lot of show not tell in terms of how the game works in terms of specific rules and scoring. I appreciated this as someone who doesn't regularly watch tennis but understands the fundamentals of how to play it. I will be honest, at first I didn't think I would be interested in reading a book about a self-centered tennis player, but I was so wrong. If you are hesitant about the tennis, try the book anyways.
My first experience with Reid's writing was with The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This story was a very different experience but the storytelling prowess was the same. Both stories have so much emotional depth with their characters. I really enjoyed feeling their pain and triumphs throughout their lives. Reid excels at making readers invested in a character's life story. I wanted to watch Carrie win every match. I rooted for her to get back up and try again after a loss. I truly felt like a fan of hers. I cannot wait to enjoy even more of her writing in the future.
I appreciate how this book is a great example of a healthy father-daughter relationship. While daddy issues are relatable for many, it doesn't need to be in every book.
One of the things that stood out to my mother the most was the plentiful life lessons. We can all learn a lot from Carrie's life. Carrie's father in particular was chock full of great advice. If I ever get a physical copy I will reread this story and highlight all of his advice.
While it was pretty obvious that a certain plot point was going to happen. I still cried when it did. If you've read the book, you know what I am talking about. Otherwise, just prepare tissues for the last 10% or so. Even now over a month after I read the book, I am still depressed about it. My sadness is slightly dragging down my rating because my stars are always based purely on my enjoyment of the story.
The narration of the story highly benefitted from having multiple narrators. The value of the audiobook was incredibly high quality. Particularly during the radio/TV broadcast segments felt real, with the production and all. It truly added to the immersion of the story.
In sum, this story is so solid and engaging from beginning to end. It excels at showing what happens instead of just telling it. Despite Carrie being a bit abrasive, I was still rooting for her to succeed at every turn. Our favorite character by far was her father. His advice touched us both and really felt like good dad advice. If I am going to recommend a book to someone who doesn't have a specific taste (or even those who do), I would recommend this one.
