Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads summary:


"Whoever said football and girls don't mix hasn't read Catching Jordan. I couldn't put it down " -- Simone Elkeles, New York Times bestselling author of the Perfect Chemistry series

ONE OF THE BOYS

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 review:


Amazing story. I ended up reading it in a day because I couldn't put it down. I had to know how it ended, because Jordan really pulled me in and had me rooting hard for her.

One of the things I really liked about it was that it wasn't the more cliche story of her trying to overcome the odds and join the team. Jordan already was the team - and one respected by her team as their captain. I think my favorite part of the whole thing, in fact, were her relationships outside of the romance. For me, that's saying something since I'm a complete romance junkie at heart. I loved the scenes with JJ and Carter, the way they'd tease each other, advise each other, the pre-game pasta tradition.

I also liked the way the story was crafted - from Jordan's issues with her father, with the realizations that what you want most might not be the best for you, to the way sex wasn't treated naturally for a couple of late-teen characters (ie - a big deal but not A Declaration of Forever). I also like that it wasn't dwelled on - their only sex "scene" was their first one and the rest happened off screen. The focus of the story was about all of the aspects of Jordan's life, not just the naked ones.

My heart soared and broke for this wonderful, strong, determined young woman - so powerful at times and then, with a few words (or lack thereof) destroyed down to her core.

I think one of my favorite scenes in the whole story was the water cooler incident when she was in Alabama.

And I think I could read a whole book just about her teammates. They were awesome squared. It does lose the one star for a little misdrection in regards to Henry, but that's small potatoes, really.

A powerful story and a touching, and realistic, romance along with it.