Catching Jordan

Books that star girls who play sports are my favorite sort of contemporaries. Catching Jordan was phenomenal debut, and I am already eagerly anticipating Miranda Kenneally's next book that comes out next year. Miranda Kenneally is the next big thing!

The characters were probably my favorite thing about this book. I loved them all - Henry, JJ, Carter, Jordan, Marie, Carrie - they were all just such great characters. I found myself very easily being able to connect with the different characters. All the guys just hilarious - they were always up to something.

The story was so easy to get caught up in - while I did not play varsity football, it was still very easy to connect with Jordan and get so caught up in her story. I loved that there were so many side stories with all the different characters as well, yet they all connected in the end.

This is a book that is among my favorites of the year and was a stunning debut. It's a book that I will be telling everyone about, and how they need to read it now, as it is that good. Words really cannot capture how much I loved this book. It has a brilliant story worth telling, and sends a great message: to work for your dreams no matter what others tell you.

You guys, you need to know just how much I hate football: A LOT. Seriously, I suffered through two years of marching band and those games bore me to tears. Also, it's usually either really hot or really cold. Basically, it's the worst sport in the world. Despite my utter loathing for the sport, Catching Jordan totally charmed me with its utter adorableness.

Jordan Woods comes off as a wholly believable character, partly because she would never, ever dress like the girl on the cover. Jordan feels really uncomfortable when she's not wearing sweats or a football uniform or mesh shorts. When she tries to look nice, she changes from a t-shirt to a plain, fitted shirt. There is hardly a girly inclination in her body, but she's still unquestionably a girl. I am so glad that Kenneally didn't feel the need to make her fit more with the feminine ideal. Jordan actually reminds me a bit of one of my dear friends in a lot of ways.

Another thing that I loved was how freaking amazing Jordan is as QB. I really didn't expect for everyone to take her so seriously, but they really did, and she was in no way a side show or the school laughing stock. The girl has mad skills. Her team clearly has crazy amounts of respect for her, and it's obvious that she has earned that. Also, I love that she eats just as much as the boys. A heroine like Jordan is so refreshing at over 6' tall and with a bottomless pit for a stomach after so many waifish, model-thin heroines.

Jordan's family, though not the main focus of the book, really turned out to be a major highlight for me as well. YA, in general, does not tend to be the place to go to find strong family relationships, but the Woods really are a wonderful family. I mean, when Jordan develops her crush on Ty, she tells her brother and her mother, and they are both so incredibly supportive. Jordan does have major issues with her father, a star quarterback and her idol, but I still would not put him in the category of awful YA parents, even at his worst.

The best part, though, was Henry. Oh my goodness, Henry. I want to whap that boy upside the head for being a dumbass and then ruffle his hair for being so utterly charming. The relationship between Henry and Jordan is just so sweet. They are such good friends, and he has her back in everything. Actually, so do JJ and Cameron, two more of the football guys. There aren't a ton of depictions of real male/female friendship, so I appreciated that so much. I mean, these boys will even talk about boys with her if that's what she needs. So great!

Dealing with romantic feelings really does throw Jordan for a loop. She has never really been attracted to anyone strongly before and she doesn't know how to handle it. Her attraction to Ty does come out of nowhere, and could have been disgusting and insta-lovey, but that Jordan handles it in a very realistic and Jordan-ish way. I totally appreciated how she was both terrified and excited about her romantic prospects, and how confused she was about her options. Also, girl really goes for things once she makes her mind up.

My least favorite part, actually, were Jordan's poems. She gets into writing in a journal as a way of handling all of these new feelings she's experiencing that she just can't handle. I like this in theory, but I just really didn't like most of her poems. However, I chose and excerpt from one as my favorite quote, so...yeah, they weren't all bad.

This book makes an excellent summery, vacationy read, and I recommend it highly. The plot itself doesn't carry many surprises, or at least I saw them from the beginning, but it does what I wanted it to do, so no complaints from me.

I had heard a lot of buzz about this book. When that happens, I worry that it might not live up to the hype. I was pleasantly surprised as I read.

Jordan is not a typical high school girl, she is the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. Her dream is to play college football at Alabama and she doesn't want anything to get in her way. Her best friends are the guys on the team, and with each one she has a different and unique relationship.

Jordan has a lot to overcome and she has some tough decisions to make. She makes good decisions and bad decisions and has to deal with the aftermath for each choice she makes. That is one thing that I really enjoyed about her character. She wasn't perfect and she did make mistakes. That point alone made the book seem realistic to me.

I was caught off guard with some of the language and talk of physical relationships. For that reason, I think this may be better suited for a little bit older of a teenager.