Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Rating: Fun football, non-traditional protagonist, being friends with boys, romaaaance, some characters you just love and some you want to shake very roughly in the hope that the merest trickle of common sense permeates their very thick skulls. All in all, an adorable and fun read with only minor issues.

 

 

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?

 

I was completely sold on the premise of a female quarterback who only hangs out with a bunch of guys. I LOVE football, and though I'm not remotely tomboy-ish, I've got a twin brother and all my cousins are boys, and as kids all we did was climb things and throw things and beat each other up, so I love reading books about boys and girls as friends. In those respects, Catching Jordan didn't disappoint. The plot and prose are uncluttered, unflowery, and flow with ease.

 

With eeeeease

 

In which Gillian takes a politically correct detour your are most definitely allowed to skip

(However, in some instances, the sexual politics of Jordan's high school made me a little… well, wary, I guess? Don’t get me wrong, the book wasn’t offensive in anyway, and obviously it’s dealing with the very traditionally-gendered culture of Southern high school football, but I pursed my lips a couple of times. Don’t worry, I’m not putting on my rant-y pants or anything. (I always give warning when I put on my rant-y pants.) I’m only mentioning it because I noticed it, and I always mention the things that bother me. But I’m sensitive to that kind of thing— the usage/definition of the word “slut” and the casual employment of a derogatory term for lesbian. While the slut thing is dealt with somewhat by tomboy Jordan, who grows to be pretty comfortable with herself in that regard, the homophobia thing wasn’t. Which, you know, gets under my skin. Again, this book is NOT HOMOPHOBIC. Neither is Jordan, nor is the author, I'm sure. And it may be realistic for Tennessean cheerleaders to toss those words around pejoratively (um… no offense, you lovely, open-minded Tennesseans out there, I’ve been to  your state and it’s swell), but I would have liked one moment where Jordan was like, “Whoa, not cool.”)

 

Okay. Back to our regularly scheduled reviewing. Especially since Jordan is pretty kickass about putting misogynists in their place when it comes to her playing football. She’s a bit too judgmental of other girls, which is understandable, though, considering a couple of the cliché cheerleaders are MEGA HEINOUS BITCHES.

 

 

Jordan is driven and passionate. She wants to play college ball at Alabama, even though her NFL QB Dad doesn't approve, but football is her life, and she's going to make it happen no matter what. That's kind of determination is really easy to admire. I rooted for Jordan from the get-go. Hanging out with a bunch of emotionally stunted boys, though, makes it hard for her to express her feelings, which is why she takes up journaling. I loooved Jordan's little poems, which show up at the end of nearly every chapter. They were blunt and beautiful and made me love her more. Well, except when she said this:

 

“Still, writing’s a weak thing to be doing. At least compared to playing quarterback. Or eating those scalding 911 wings that made me and Ty cry at the Titans game.”

Jordan, girl, I’m really starting to become fond of you. Don’t make me punch you.

But it’s okay, I never had to punch her because Jordan's way cool. Her love of writing grows, and she becomes more comfortable with who she is, both by herself and in all of her relationships. Watching Jordan blossom was one of the best things about Catching Jordan. I loved seeing her come into her own and find her place in the world. All in all, there were three things I absolutely loved in Catching Jordan: Jordan’s journey, the football, and Sam Henry.

 

I was raised in a family of football fanatics. My brother, dad, and I scream vicious obscenities at our TV every Sunday. My mom openly wept one year the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. And you will not utter the word “Packers” in my presence for at least six months if you know what’s good for you. So naturally, I loved being in the mind of a quarterback and being a part of a fictional team. If you’re not remotely interested in football, then honestly, you might not get this book. The love of the game is a big part of it. But then again, there are hot boys and romantic misunderstandings, so I say give it a try regardless.

 

Jordan’s teammates are another highlight. I loved the sense of camaraderie amongst all the boys and “Woods”, as they call Jordan. She’s their quarterback, captain, and friend. She’s a highly respected member of the pack. It was honestly pretty sweet. But none were as sweet as one Sam Henry, Jordan’s adorable and funny best friend, even though he was the one I wanted to shake the most, and rather violently. People in this book are astoundingly oblivious about very obvious things, Henry and Jordan in particular, and to some extent Jordan's dad. Most of the drama centered around their ability to perceive things clearly, and they were all in desperate need of a good get a grip friend. But I really loved all three of those characters, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Plus, Henry and Jordan's friendship was really beautiful, with a lot of hilarious, affectionate banter and a lot of history. He's totally the hot guy friend/brother combo thing you wish you had.

 

That character that didn't work for me at all was Ty. I just couldn't grasp him. I didn't really see him in my head. I never felt what he was feeling, like he wasn't real. It was like reading him through a veil, or something. He just fell flat.

 

He butt fumbled, if you will (SORRY JETS FANS)

 

And since I was pretty much shipping Henry and Jordan from page one, even though he wasn't even a love interest, no matter how hot and sweet and swoony Ty was, I was pretty much just like, "Go awaaaaaay, please, I have shipping to do." Ty and Jordan's relationship escalates pretty quickly, which I didn't have a problem with, but some people might, so, fair warning. Also, there's some language, if that bothers you.

 

Which I guess leads me to the few things that didn't work for me. A lot of the dialogue was pretty on the nose, and all in all just lacked a little bit of that magic that's impossible to define. I was very interested in the plot, the football, and Jordan's relationships (with the huge exception of her and Ty's), but some of the secondary characters lacked personality. I also didn't like how people assumed Jordan was stupid, because she was a jock, and worst of all, I didn't like the moments where Kinneally made her seem dumb on purpose. I mean, she wasn't stupid, clearly-- she was actually pretty intelligent, particularly in her journal-- but little moments were put in just to prove her scholastic ignorance. Like so:

 

JJ: She’s a good lay. What’s a four-letter word for a past Russian leader?

Jordan: How the hell should I know, man?

Me: Tsar! TSAR! It’s tsar, you fools. Effing dumb jocks.

 

 

Of course I'm being unreasonable, because not everyone has the same knowledge base as everyone else, and yes, this has NOTHING to do with the quality of the story. But I just want to say, not all jocks are dumb, and if Kenneally hadn't included those moments, the thought wouldn't have even crossed my mind.

 

And just to thoroughly pick some nits, I did not appreciate the fact that Marie and Carrie were the names chosen for Jordan's two female almost-friends, simply because putting them back to back on the page like that is like a tongue twister. Marie and Carrie? Marrie and Carie? Marie Curie? BRAIN HURTS. (Tangent: I once critiqued an MS where someone had a character named "Mel" and another named "Meg". I lasted ten pages until I was like, "I CANNOT. YOU HAVE DEFEATED MY EYES".)

 

In the end, this book was refreshing and super fun. I just adored Jordan's football team, her determination, and her adorable best friend. The ending of this book is so flipping cute I just about died. If you're a football fan, I highly recommend this one. And I'm pleased that there's a bunch of semi sequels, as I will surely be checking them out, despite my nits.

 

No, I have no idea what this is either, BUT I LIKE IT.