Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
8:00 AM
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Release Date: December 1, 2011 (paperback)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 288
Source: Bought
Overall: 5 Stars
Summary:
What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though- she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.
But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?
My Thoughts:
Catching Jordan took me completely by surprise. I admit, I was going to initially give this novel a pass because I thought it sounded rather predictable and I was kind of skeptical of a female character being a football captain… but it would have been a complete and utter mistake if I hadn’t read this novel! Miranda Kenneally has truly written a wonderful debut novel that’s both hilarious and heart-warming.
From the fun storytelling to the awesome characters, I simply adored everything about Catching Jordan! I’m not much of a football fan, but Jordan’s love for the game and her aspirations to play at the college level were completely infectious. It didn’t matter that when Jordan was calling out plays, I really had no idea what she was talking about – what I loved was her passion for the game. I could imagine her on the field shouting to her team members to get their heads in the game and throwing with precision as quarterback. She’s grown up always being one of the boys and her close friendships with some of her fellow players were easy-going and filled with playful banter.
When Ty arrived onto the scene and Jordan finds herself crushing hard for the very time, your heart completely reaches out to her vulnerability. She’s clueless and scared of putting herself out there, especially when she feels her only focus should be securing her spot on a football team in college. I just really liked how Jordan was such a down-to-earth girl, eating at her heart’s content, caring about the well-being of her friends… and having a fun, snarky personality which didn’t back down to anyone. You would be lucky to have a friend like Jordan.
And can I just briefly mention how much I loved Sam Henry, Jordan’s best friend? He was so sweet and hilarious… and there was one scene in the novel with him where I had to set the book down for a moment because I was laughing too hard to continue reading. Like any boy, he was prone to making a few stupid mistakes though… but I still cared about him a lot even then.
Catching Jordan has easily become one of new favourite contemporary novels! I’m quite positive that I must have had a ridiculous grin on my face as I read the novel, giggling at the jokes and only frowning when more tender moments came up. And for all its comedic moments, the novels still plays on your misconceptions about girls playing football and allows readers to reflect on the possibility of their own dreams. You don’t need to love football in order to completely find yourself falling for this book! I’m definitely going to be finding myself reading Miranda Kenneally’s Catching Jordan over and over again in the future.
8 comments
OK! You sold me! It's going to be the next egalley I read!
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Thanks for such a lovely review! you totally made me want to read it NOW
YAY!! I totally and completely agree. <3
ReplyDelete"You don’t need to love football in order to completely find yourself falling for this book!" I agree 100% percent!
ReplyDeleteThe characters and relationships are amazingly well-done, and it actually didn't have as much sporty terms as I expected.
Fabulous review! The college I went to for my undergrad actually had a girl on the footballl team, but she was a placekicker and the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I-A game, so Catching Jordan really interests me. Now, I'm even more excited to read. :)
ReplyDeleteOh man! I desperately need to get my hands on this book! I was mildly interested in reading before, but with all the buzz lately and the GUSHING reviews, I feel crazy for not having preordered this.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making me want to run out and steal a copy right now :D Awesome review!
WOW! Fantastic review :) You really got me excited for this book :) I would probably pass otherwise, glad I stopped by your blog today! :)
ReplyDeleteThis book was funny and had a new twist on relationships without involving non human characters which I thought was a welcome change. I highly recommend this book.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a story about sports. It's about a high school girl trying to fulfill her dreams and just trying to be a teenage girl in the midst of it all. She's got a semi-supportive family: her brother believes in her - her mom does too but definitely wants her to be "more girly" - but her dad, well he's tricky. He outwardly wishes for her to stop playing football but what does he feel inside? And although her family isn't 100% behind her and her dreams, her best friend Henry is. And perhaps, so is this mysterious new guy - Ty.
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