Review: Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally 

Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.
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?

Review: 

I got several amazing books for Christmas, but this was the first one I started. I had enjoyed Kenneally's debut, Catching Jordan, but didn't love it. Luckily, Stealing Parker made me a permanent fan of Kenneally's because I enjoyed this one so much. Contemporary YA has been a hit or a miss with me for the last year, but I've recently read some tremendous books that have reaffirmed my love for this genre and Stealing Parker was one of them.

One of the things that made this book for me was Parker. She had been through so much, but never allowed herself to give up. There were times when she made stupid decisions, but doesn't every teenager? This just made her that much more realistic in my eyes. Parker's character was extremely complex and I loved how confident and sarcastic she was. This is a girl who can take care of herself. Plus, she has her best friend Drew at her side. I liked Drew a lot in the beginning, but, as the novel progressed, I started getting a tad frustrated with him. Just as in Catching Jordan, Parker had the guys at her back. I loved getting to see some of my favorite characters from Catching Jordan return in Stealing Parker and we even got some scenes with Jordan and Sam Henry! Yay!

The plot was very fast paced and when I started reading I sat down to only read a few pages and found myself finished a few hours later. I became so involved in Parker's life and all she was going through that I completely lost track of time. There were so many unique aspects to Stealing Parker: Kenneally tackles sex, love, homosexuality, religion, and a ton of other topics in such a powerful way. It was intriguing to see how Kenneally tied all of these issues into the book and I can promise you that if you think this is just a "sports" book, you are completely wrong. Still, there were plenty of baseball/softball moments, but they only served to further develop the characters and actually taught me a lot about the sports.

In addition to Drew, there are two other main male characters: Brian and Will (aka Corndog). I don't want to go into too much detail, but let me tell you, these two guys each surprised me in a variety of ways. I especially enjoyed seeing how Parker got to know Corndog better and every conversation they had made me smile. Brian was the new assistant baseball coach and his character definitely complicated things for Parker. All three of the guys in this book (Drew, Brian, and Corndog) all had some impact on Parker's life whether it was positive or negative and truly helped shape her character.

I highly recommend Stealing Parker and it is one of my new favorite contemps. The plot was unique and left me feeling a wide range of emotions. I became sincerely attached to several of the characters and I am looking forward to Kenneally's next release, Things I Can't Forget, not only because it sounds fantastic, but because I'm hoping to get to see how Parker is doing. If you're looking for a new author or are worried this does not live up to Catching Jordan, you need to pick this up, because I am sure you will not be disappointed. 

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

October 1, 2012/Sourcebooks Fire/256 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Gift 

Other books by this author: Catching Jordan, Things I Can't Forget (2013), Racing Savannah (2013)
Links: Author Website/Goodreads

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)