Catching Jordan Review

TITLE Catching Jordan
AUTHOR Miranda Kenneally
PUBLICATION December 1, 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
READ June 6 - 7, 2012
 

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.

I've always had a fascination with high school football. I can remember being young and going to my brothers games, being on the bus driving for the away games and loving all the energy.  I've also always found myself drawn to movies that focus on high school football; The Blind Side, Varsity Blues, and Friday Night Lights (which was later adapted into what is my all time favourite TV show) are some of my favourites. So when I was recommended Catching Jordan by a friend I was very intrigued to see how a girl could be written into this setting as a player, not a cheerleader. I'll admit when I first read the blurb and imagined it in my head, there was no way this story could be realistic and enjoyable, but the reviews told me I was wrong.  I. Was. Wrong. This was such a fantastic story, I loved the characters, I loved the setting and I loved how Miranda Kenneally made it all perfectly plausible.

Jordan had this air about her, she was at the head of her team and she had earned the respect of the men that she played with.  At first I found her manly inner dialogue a little difficult to get into, but as the story went on I really started to love her.  We get to watch her go from the tom boy quarterback to a high school girl struggling with her emotions. She has a lot going on, her NFL star father takes no interest in her pursuing her passion and a hottie shows up and joins her team, vying for her position.  I really liked Jordan she was a character that I could relate to because she was flawed, she didn't have all the answers and she was figuring everything out as she went.

Her love interest, Ty (the fellow quarterback vying for her spot as quarterback) was someone that I think I was supposed to like, but I didn't at all. He was controlling and just rubbed me the wrong way throughout.  I always had these shifting ideas in my head about his possible ulterior motives so I never really bought into their love story.  But Henry? Henry I loved. He was such a funny character and the love he felt for Jordan was so perfect.  There's a part in this book where they get a baby to take care of as part of a school project and I was laughing out loud through the whole thing.  I can't say enough nice things about him!

Miranda Kenneally has taken a setting that I love and spiced it up with a fresh twist. This didn't feel like I was reading the same story chewed up and regurgitated back onto the pages, it felt fresh and new. I highly recommend this one as a great summer read!