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 now there’s a new guy in town who threatens her starting position… suddenly she’s hoping he’ll see her as more than just a teammate.
Ever see Little Giants? If not, it’s movie about a ragtag football team lead by Rick Moranis whose daughter, the quarterback, falls for a fellow team mate. If you have and liked it, I think you’ll really enjoy Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally. Just like Becky “Icebox” O’Shea in Little Giants, Jordan Woods is just one of the guys who develops a crush on one of her team mates. And not just any team mate, but the new guy in town, Ty. As a senior, and starting quarter back—the only quarter back as far as her team is concerned—she has to decide what’s more important; keeping her position secure or starting a relationship with the one boy who can challenge her place on the team.
I adore Jordan. Being a “jock” in high school (I played Varsity soccer all four years) I really related to her character. Playing sports isn’t always glamorous. You can’t be dainty or afraid to get dirty and we get to see that through her. More than all of that is her character. She’s tough, determined and not an average girl at all. Though she has looks she also has height—she’s over six feet tall—and is built sturdy—can throw a football fifty yards. And she’s not afraid to be herself. She is one of the guys but we never lose sight that she is still a girl.
Another thing I love about this book is the guys. Especially her best friend, Henry. They accept Jordan for who she is. They are her support team. If anyone tries to make fun of her, talk down to her or discourage her, they’ve got her back. No one messes with Jordan when they’re around. The one guy I didn’t care for was her dad. It hurt to see him—the one guy she should look up to and share her life with—not be a part of it when football was concerned. I get why he felt that way, but still, a dad should want nothing for their child except their happiness.
There were two things I didn’t like about the book, and both had to do with Jordan. To me she was a strong, independent girl who had one thing on her mind and that was having a kick ass season and getting into the college of her dreams. The first has to do with the boy she crushes on and how quickly she gave into him. The second dealt with her dream college and how they treated her. They weren’t looking at her to be a star quarter back. In my opinion the only time she’d see the field would be during practice. What they wanted was a Barbie football player they could take photos of for the calendar and show off to the alumni. And Jordan went along with it until her dad stepped in. I know how badly she wanted to play for this school, but to me, a girl like Jordan would have put her foot down the first time they asked her to pose in nothing but a jersey and tiny pair of shorts.
Overall I loved Catching Jordan. The good parts far outweighed the parts I didn’t like.
