Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: December 1, 2011
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Buy: Amazon | B & N | Indiebound | iBookstore

Guest review by Anne:

I have been on the waiting list for this book at my library for 3 months – I was so excited when I finally got to read it. I really loved the premise of this book, an athletic girl that can hold her own in the competitive world of high school football. As a main character, Jordan Woods, was not your typical high school female, she was feisty, assertive, and emotion free – until her spot on the team was threatened. The author did a nice job of writing Jordan, the reader felt connected, even when Jordan herself didn’t know what she should be thinking.

The two characters, Sam Henry & Ty, were well written, however I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out what I was supposed to be feeling about them. Ty was gorgeous, athletic, and a very talented football player. Sam Henry was the best friend, a great wide receiver, and a ladies’ man. Jordan was caught between a boyfriend and a best friend, a rock and a hard place. The tension between the three characters was interesting and page turning.

The plot of this book was a little predictable initially, however became more original as the story progresses. In some places of the book, I found myself rereading because some rather important details happened in a quick sentence or just a few words. I would have liked the author to have spent a little more time writing these areas of the story, mainly to help with the flow of the story.

I really liked the story and characters, as well as the element of highly competitive football. The relationships between the characters were frustrating at times and as a reader I was little confused on how I should be feeling. However, I did really like the ending of this story. It wrapped up the loose emotional ends and left me with a smile on my face.

Jen’s thoughts: 

I read this after Anne, and thought it’d be fun to add my thoughts to her guest review post, like a 2 in 1 review! This review is long overdue, embarrassingly,  Anne sent me her review months ago! The tour for Stealing Parker made me realize that I hadn’t posted this yet… 

I love that Catching Jordan is a story about a girl who loves football, and that Jordan is her high school team’s quarterback and captain. She’s a leader trying to navigate a man’s world and fall in love. I rooted for her from the very start! I’m a sucker for childhood friendships that could potentially become more, so I ate up the friendship between Jordan and Henry. Though I wanted to strangle Sam Henry at times for all his shenanigans. Catching Jordan‘s premise was so different from anything I’d read at the time, that it was fresh to read! I really enjoyed this debut by Miranda Kenneally, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the companion novels in the series!

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