Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

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 now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starting position... suddenly she's hoping he'll see her as more than just a teammate.

Review:

Catching Jordan was a spunky and entertaining debut novel from Miranda Kenneally. The main character was sarcastic and real, I loved Jordan and would definitely like to befriend her in real life. Sports books have never been my favorite, except for Keri Mikulski's Pretty Tough series. Catching Jordan once again proved me wrong and I ended up learning a lot about football. What I liked best about Catching Jordan was that it was much more than a book about football. It dealt with many more issues and there were several sub-plots going on. I'm so glad I took the jump and read Catching Jordan because it was a great contemporary read filled with girl power that will appeal to both male and female readers. 

Jordan Woods is not your average high school quarterback. Why? Because she's a girl. I loved the premise of Catching Jordan. It's not very often that you see a female football player and I liked seeing how strong and determined Jordan was. She didn't take crap from anyone and would do anything to make sure she could reach her goals. Jordan was a force to be reckoned with and all she wanted to do was play ball in college. I liked Jordan a lot because she was so brave and snarky. Her personality was great and I was rooting for her from the start.

There were quite a few key characters in Catching Jordan and I only wish we got to see more of them. All of the guys on the football team had Jordan's back and I enjoyed getting to know them. Although I wish Carter, JJ, and the rest were more developed. Henry, Jordan's best friend, was one of my favorite characters in the book. He was such a unique guy and always had Jordan's back. Jordan was lucky she had her friends because she often had a lot of drama at home. I felt for her because her father, an NFL player, didn't always support her dreams, and that was tough. Luckily, her mother was always there for her.

There was romance as well and I was very happy with how things turned out! I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll just have to read the book to find out! ;)

Catching Jordan had a highly original plot that kept me hooked from the first page. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next, and even though some parts stalled, I thoroughly enjoyed this debut. Kenneally truly knows how to get inside the head of a teenager and this made Catching Jordan much more realistic.

I can't wait to read Miranda's next release, Playing Parker, and to start recommending Catching Jordan to my friends. This was a fun and original contemporary read and, while at times predictable, I enjoyed it overall. Go Jordan!

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars

December 1, 2011/Sourcebooks Fire/288 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Author (ARC)