Wednesday, February 27, 2013

YA Contemporary Romance and Football! robgirlbooks' Review of Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Catching Jordan
by Miranda Kenneally
288 pages
Published by Sourcebooks Fire 12/1/11
Borrowed from the library
4.5 STARS

Catching Jordan introduces us to Jordan Woods, wonder girl quarterback, beautiful tomboy, virgin through and through. Her best friend is Sam Henry, gorgeous, attentive, funny, whorish. She loves her boys on the team. She's an amazing leader. Her mom is the sports poster-mom, supportive, but not crazy. Her dad, he's a turd, at least on the surface. Her whole life has been building to this last season of football because all Jordan wants is to play in college. She's the most determined highschooler ever! Then meet Ty Greene. Holy mama. Hot, also a quarterback, hot. So there you have it, the perfect recipe for 288 pages of teenage drama.

This is a fantastic read. I can't believe how much I enjoyed it. Told in first person from Jordan's POV with random insights in the form of free writing journal entries, we really live the life of a teen her last year of high school. There are bitchy cheerleaders. Slutty boys. Video game playing. A whole lot of eating. And kissing. The only thing I had a problem with was how sex was addressed. I appreciated the condom references, but I couldn't wrap my head around how much of a non-issue sex was with the adults in this book. Jordan's parents did not have one discussion about the world that is sex. No talk of being safe, or abstaining, or the emotional component to being intimate with someone. The kids treated the subject the same way they treated hanging out or grabbing some food. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the relationship between Jordan and her dad. The boy drama was fun, but finding your way through family muck, that's good stuff.

My vote is if you're a fan of YA or NA contemporary romance, you have to read this book.

Bonus! Catching Jordan is just the first installment in Miranda Kenneally's fun YA contemporary romance series. "In addition to STEALING PARKER and THINGS I CAN’T FORGET, there will be three more books in the Hundred Oaks series!" http://mirandakenneally.com/

4 comments:

  1. I loved this book so very much, i just couldn't put it down, but i didn't like the second book (Stealing Parker) as much as the first, and i can't wait for the third book to come out!


    http://nenaath.blogspot.com

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    1. Me too! I loved this book, flew right through the pages. Then I started the second one. Ack. I had to quit it and dive into my old favorites. I think the next one will be better, thing/hope. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. There's a book two? ah well, anyway, when i started this book i was very excited. but the story progressed and i began liking it less. GAAAH. will probably read the next installment though.

    :D

    lots of lovin'
    ohpenda.com

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    1. I felt that way about book 2! I'll still give book 3 a shot.

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