Book Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Catching Jordan
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: 1st December 2011
Read In: September 2012

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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 Greeen 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?

I live in the UK. Here football is where you kick a ball into a net, otherwise known as soccer. I know very little about American football so when I discovered this book I thought I would be either confused or bored. However the praising reviews led me to believe that it was not all about the game; you don’t need to be an expert or lover of the sport. And they were right. 

‘I once read that football was invented so people wouldn’t notice summer ending. But I couldn’t wait for summer vacation to end. I couldn’t wait for football. Football, dominator of fall – football, love of my life.’

When you have been reading YA as long as I have, or have read as many YA books as I have, you tend to pick up on a few themes. These don’t always occur but they are common. The lead female is short in height; quiet; they have one friend whom they hang out with outside of their love interest; jocks are either, gossiped about, bullies or plain old unattainable; the quarterback is a jerk, etcetera. In Catching Jordan it is all turned on its head. Jordan is tall, witty and can talk back. She has many friends whom she hangs out with (although she does have one close friend), she hangs out with jocks all the time and she is the quarterback. This is what drew me to this book in the first place (once I found out it wasn’t just a sport book). It just seemed very original. 

I love Jordan. She is one tough cookie. Being the only girl on a boy’s football team you kind of have to be. She knows how to keep them in line. Most contemporary heroines may find jock boys a bit intimidating. Jordan has a comeback for every situation. However she does have a venerable side. First off she is totally naïve when it comes to guys. She has feeling things towards Ty and doesn’t really understand them. On the outside she may be one tough cookie but at the end of the day we also want our parents support in what we do. Jordan wants that and her feelings and relationship towards her dad added that slight depth which was needed. 

I didn’t really back Ty and Jordan’s relationship. It all seemed put together on initial attraction and lust. I think they moved forward way too quickly. But in the end that didn’t matter. It is really hard to explain why without spoiling. Something else occurs that is not described in the synopsis. All I can say is don’t worry about Ty and Jordan’s relationship moving quickly. There is a reason.

My heart goes out to Sam or Henry as he is more commonly known. He is the loyal best friend that always sticks by her no matter what. Everybody needs somebody like that by their side.

The sorts of guys that Jordan hangs out with were typical jocks. For some reason I expected them not to be. Maybe it’s because I am used to male characters in YA books being different. Here JJ and Carter did seem so much more ordinary. Mostly in the sense they are scared of commitment. How many guys do we know like that? But they were really great guys and they were always there for Jordan. I liked the slight comedy they brought. 

While I wasn’t a huge fan Ty, I did like the direction that the story took. Even though I am not a football fan, I did enjoy the football side as well as the relationship side. I enjoyed Catching Jordan and I am looking forward to reading Miranda Kenneally’s other books. 

Becky