by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ballantine Books, 2022. 384 pages. Fiction
By the time Carrie Soto retired from professional tennis at the age of thirty-one, she was undeniably the best. She had shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. Which is why it is infuriating when Nicki Chan arrives on the scene six years later and ties Carrie with twenty Slams. Just like that, Carrie's championship record is slipping through her hands. So at thirty-seven years old, Carrie Soto is coming out of retirement to defend her title, her dad – a former champion tennis player himself – by her side as coach.
I loved Carrie Soto is Back, and the main character’s obsessive journey to reclaim her title (and eventually to grow as a person) kept me reading just as compulsively. Carrie is brash, intense, and a curious mix of lovable and intentionally off-putting, admirable and broken, arrogant and deeply insecure. Her loving but complicated relationship with her father added a lot of heart to the story, and I found the descriptions of training and tennis matches surprisingly captivating. With plenty to discuss, this engaging, character-driven novel would be a great pick for book clubs.
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By Liane Moriarty
Henry Holt and Co, 2021. 480 pages. Fiction
After fifty years of marriage, Stan and Joy Delaney have finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. Their four children were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that's okay, now that they're all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.
One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy's door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure--but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.
by Yamile Saied Mendez
Algonquin Young Readers, 2020. 368 pages. Young Adult Fiction
In Rosario, Argentina, Camila Hassan leads a double life. At home, she is a careful daughter, living within her mother's narrow expectations, in the shadow of her soccer-star brother, and under the abusive rule of her short-tempered father. On the field, she is La Furia, a powerhouse of skill and talent. When her team qualifies for the South American tournament, Camila gets the chance to see just how far those talents can take her. But the path ahead isn't easy. Her parents would never allow a girl to play fútbol, and she needs their permission to go any farther. And the boy she once loved is back in town. Since he left, Diego has become an international fútbol celebrity, but things have changed for Camila, too: she has her own passions and ambitions, and Furia cannot be denied.
As her life becomes more complicated, Camila is forced to face her secrets and make her way in a world unprepared for the dreams of a girl like her. Furia is an achingly real and powerfully told story about family, identity, first love, and--of course--fútbol. It will resonate with anyone who has been told she can't have it all--especially those who have gone out to get it anyway.
SGR
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