Midnight Bloom Reads: Miranda Kenneally

Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally

8:00 AM

Title: Things I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3)
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Release Date: March 1, 2013 (paperback)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 320
Source: ARC provided by publisher

Overall: 4.5 Stars

Summary:

SOME RULES WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.

Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different...

This summer she's a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He's the first guy she ever kissed, and he's gone from geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt...with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn't that easy...

My Thoughts:
Kate has always viewed the world in black and white; either something is right or it's wrong. But when her best friend Emily needed her support, Kate made a difficult decision that's now eating her up inside. Nobody knows she helped her friend get an abortion, and Kate can't stop feeling guilty. She prays for God's forgiveness, and doesn't understand why Emily is not praying too. Just as the tension rises between them and their friendship begins to crumble apart, Kate spends the summer away as a counselor at a camp supported by her church.

Initially, Kate seemed too judgmental a person, but the more I got to know her, the more I realized I had misjudged her myself, ironically. Kate's Christian values have always made her want to disassociate with anyone who doesn't act like her, and it makes others believe she's looking down on them when she just doesn't know any better. It's always been just her and Emily together, but now that she's on her own at the camp, she has the chance to broaden her horizons, meet new friends, and learn the world comes in shades of grey.

It was like love at first sight when Matt was introduced in the novel. He's funny, kind, adorably sweet, and oh so handsome. It's been several years since Kate last saw Matt, and during this time, he's grown from an awkward boy to a very attractive lifeguard. As the pair easily flirt with each other, feelings stir within Kate that she has never felt before, and it makes her nervous just how hard she finds herself falling for him. And if you're fans of Parker and Will from Stealing Parker, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that they feature prominently in the novel as Kate's fellow camp counselors!

I absolutely loved reading Miranda Kenneally's Things I Can't Forget! Much like the previous two books in the Hundred Oaks series, Things I Can't Forget is much more than a typical romantic contemporary novel. Miranda Kenneally has perfectly balanced exploring Kate's internal struggles with pure summer fun! Compared to Stealing Parker, the religious undertones are lighter in Things I Can't Forget, and I did think that helped me enjoy this book so much more. Miranda Kenneally has quickly risen to be among favourite YA contemporary authors and I can't wait to read her next novel, Racing Savannah!

Thanks so much to Raincoast Books for providing this review copy!

4 Stars

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

8:00 AM

Title: Stealing Parker
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Release Date: October 1, 2012 (paperback)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 256
Source: ARC received from publisher

Overall: 4 Stars

Summary:

Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.

Now Parker wants a new life.

So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?

But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

My Thoughts:
Miranda Kenneally's debut Catching Jordan was one of my favourite contemporary novels of 2011. For months and months ever since then, I've been anticipating the release of Stealing Parker, a companion novel, and once the book was in my hands, I just had to read it right away! Stealing Parker took me by surprise in some ways. I'd been expecting it to be heartwarming and light in humour, much like Catching Jordan had been, but Miranda Kenneally has tackled subject matter that felt deeper and more mature this time around.

I missed the camaraderie between Jordan and Henry, but Parker definitely had a good friend in Drew. He stuck by her side when her friends from church and the softball team shunned her after Parker's mother suddenly announced she was a lesbian and left to live with her new girlfriend. Feeling alienated by her peers and turning her back on the game her mother once inspired her to play, Parker quits the softball team, loses weight, and starts making out with boys to prove she won't be like her mother.

Parker still attends church every Sunday with her family, but they aren't exactly welcomed as they used to be. At home, Parker feels alone and forgotten while her father and older brother deal with her mother's absence in their own way. It's not that Parker's angry at her Mom because of who she is, but rather the way her family has been ripped apart and shaken her faith in God. I wasn't exactly a fan of Parker's church group because of their lack of acceptance and the way they stigmatized her family because of her mother's sexuality, so sometimes it was hard for me to understand why Parker even cared about their opinion.

And just when Parker thought her life couldn't get any more out of control, her love life gets complicated... She can't help flirting with the hot new assistant baseball coach, Brian, even though it's not exactly appropriate. And then there's Will, the baseball team captain who's unexpectedly very sweet and kind.

Miranda Kenneally's Stealing Parker was an addictive companion novel which left me eagerly turning the pages! Parker is far from a perfect heroine, and that was perfectly okay. She makes mistakes and regrets her decisions, but she does what she can under the circumstances and learns from her experiences. I'll be hoping Jordan and Parker both appear in the next companion novel, Things I Can't Forget!

Thanks so much to Raincoast Books for providing this review copy!

Miranda Kenneally

Waiting on Wednesday (107) - Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

8:00 AM

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine spotlighting upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

Release Date: October 1, 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.

Now Parker wants a new life.

So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?

But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

I absolutely LOVED reading Miranda Kenneally's debut novel Catching Jordan last year (here's my review!) and it instantly became one of my new favourite contemporary novels to read. I've already re-read it several times and I'm sure I'll be reading it again at least once more as I feverishly await the release of Stealing Parker, a companion novel to Catching Jordan.

I'm looking forward to meeting our new protagonist, Parker, and hearing more about her mother's scandal and how it has influenced Parker's sudden change in behaviour. I hope it will be another fun read with romance, but also still have a lot of heart and offer emotional meaning. I have no doubts it will be great. I'm definitely excited to read Stealing Parker!

2011 Debut Author Challenge

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

8:00 AM

Title: Catching Jordan
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.

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Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Waiting on Wednesday (107) - Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

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