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

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:

NenaTHFebruary 27, 2013 at 12:28 PM
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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Penda PennFebruary 28, 2013 at 8:56 AM
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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Little bit about Robyn Jones

I laugh when people fall down. It's a glitch in my programming, but even my mom has suffered this quirk. I have a BA in Studio Art from the University of Puget Sound. My boys make me laugh every day. I steal pens; I try real hard not to. I collect those free bookmarks at the checkout counter at libraries. I've had more stitches than anyone I know. I love stories, writing them, reading them, watching them. You can email me at robgirlbooks@gmail.com or write a comment on a post or on my Goodreads page, just click my picture to go there.

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"Mom, you said shit." "I know, John." "You said shit, Mom." "Stop saying shit, John." "You stop saying shit."
"Mom, what do you want for Christmas?" "I want two happy boys." "You already have two happy boys." John 3/12/13
"Mama, I want to stay with you forever." John 3/2/13
I keep my perfume out of reach so the four year old won't mess with it. One day, he climbed the closet shelves, grabbed the bottle and sprayed away. After tagging everything from his hands to his penis (did I mention he was naked?) he shouted, "God dang it!" "John, little boys do not say God dang it. Try drat." "God drat!"
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" "Why?" "Because there was poop on the ground." 4yr old John (2/18/13)
"Mom, you're not a superhero. You're just a human." 10 yr old Will (2/11/13)
"When I'm at daddy's, sometimes I think about hugging you, mom." 4yr old John (2/8/13)
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I'll do it the easy way, mom. You do it the hard way." 2/6/13 4yr old John
"I sleep, eat, and watch TV like Garfield." 4yr old John
John snatched his older brother's Lego Star Wars shorts out of the laundry and quickly put them on. "These are mine." "No, John." "But they look good on me."
"John, what was you favorite part of school today?" "When you came to visit me in class."
In an attempt to redirect the morning car-bickering routine, I transformed into one of those newly-minted teachers, you know, the enthusiastic cheerleader smiling kind. "Who knows the number one car rule?" I toss out there in a chipper voice. "I do. I do!" bounces around the car as excited hands wave back and forth. "Okay John, what's the number one car rule?" "No, pooping in the car."
Will's teacher asked him, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" "Help my mom."
Just to set up this next quote, I'm not the best interpreter of 4yr old speak. "Mom, Will's clothes disappeared." Since Will wasn't naked I looked back at John. "What does that mean?" "Disappeared means Will's clothes are gone!" he says with his hands making a vanishing act gesture.
"Mom, what rhymes with duck?" 4yr old John
Recently, John found a handful of Pez dispensers. Since he doesn't like the candy, he plays with them like action figures. "Mom, you play Woody, I'll play Garfield and Thor." I dutifully play Woody from Toy Story. "I'm Sheriff Woody. Reach for the sky." "I'm Garfield. I'm a talking cat. I'm Thor. I'm a superhero. Hey, let's look up." (because that is all a pez dispenser can do)
"Will, stop bossing John around." "I'm helping you boss John around." my 10 yr old
"Mom, I wanted weapons for Christmas. Santa is on the naughty list." my 4yr old
"Hot dogs are made of dead animals, Mom...I love dead animals!" my 4yr old
"When I say I don't like you, I love you." my 4yr old
"I've had a rough day." me "Like a Viking?" my 10 yr old
Seven days before Christmas it snows. "Merry Christmas, Mom," ten year old Will says with his arm around me.
"We have to take care of each other, Mom." my son Will
"The baddest guy in Mexico beat me." 4 year old John
"If you think my name is Cinderella, you just don't get it." my son John
"Mom, I love your Buddha belly." my son John