TOUCHDOWN for Ms. Kenneally

Catching Jordan
Miranda Kenneally
Released  Dec 1st, 2011
288 Pages
Sourcebook Fire



Coming from a girl who always dreamed of playing football for Notre Dame, I was really anticipating the release of Catching Jordan. My immediate feeling after finishing the book was, Sam "Henry" Henry might just be my new YA hero crush. He was such a GREAT guy, and such a great friend to Jordan, as was JJ and Carter....All amazing guys. They protected their Quarterback on and off the field.

We meet Jordan, the starting Varsity Quarterback of her High School team, that has focused so much on being the best and getting a full ride to Alabama, that she didn't have much of a social life, other than hanging out with her best friend Henry (AKA Ladies Man). That is until Tyler Green transfers to her school and she now has to not only worry about him stealing her position, but her heart as well.

The relationship between Ty and Jordan seemed a LITTLE fast for me. It was like three days and then WHAM they are having sex. Not your typical YA book timeline, maybe in reality that may happen, but after getting to know Jordan better, I felt it was a bit out of character for her to just jump into bed with a guy.

Then things got a bit weird in the middle. Ty, who was now Jordan's boyfriend, started to change. He became more bossy and I guess this was so we would start to see how wonderful Henry was versus Ty, and that we should be on Team Henry. I felt that it was almost forced on us,  like it came out of nowhere.

Jordan's family was portrayed like a real family. I could see the Professional Football playing father being against his only daughter playing football. But some of those scenes felt forced too. I guess the relationships needed to be more developed. There were just a few scenes that could have been left out, or more drawn out.I can't put my finger on it, but something about the whole thing was a bit off.

Aside from that, I really enjoyed the book, and Jordan as our heroine. She wasn't whiny, or bitchy. She was just a normal, teenage girl who was friends with a bunch of great guys, with a best friend that was In Love with her, which EVERYONE knew but her. And Sam Henry.....ahhhh Henry....who wouldn't want this kid to be in love with her....(sigh)

It is definitely a To-Read...and a fun read at that. Especially for any girl (like me) who had the dream of playing football and never got her chance!!