Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Catching Jordan (Hundred Oaks, #1) by Miranda Kenneally
Published: December 1, 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Received: Purchased ebook from B&N

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? [goodreads]

When this book first came out I remember attempting to read it, and at the time it just wasn't the right fit so I put it down.  Sometimes our moods affect what we read, and how we feel about it.  So many of my friends loved this one by Miranda Kenneally, so I knew I wanted to go back and give it another shot when the time was right.  My second chance came when Estelle asked me to be a part of a casual read-along with a small group of bookish friends.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to give it another go and also have people to discuss the book with. 

Jordan Woods is not your typical high school girl.  She isn't into shopping, gossip, or fawning over the latest crush.  What she is into revolves around football, arm wrestling, hangin' with the guys, and snagging that coveted spot on Alabama's college football team.  I will admit, I had a hard time connecting with Jordan; mainly because she is so different from me.  I was very much the girly girl in high school.  Trying to read the story through her eyes posed an obstacle for me quite a few times.

Then there's the boy. Wait. Not just one boy, but two: Sam (or is it Henry? the reference to characters by their last names started to confuse me - must be a football thing!) and Ty.  Immediately I knew how this would play out.  One guy is the best friend who's always been by Jordan's side -- even sleeping by her side; while the other is the hot new boy who shows up threatening her position as QB1 (yes, I watched Friday Night Lights!).  Even though I knew how it would all pan out, I was still invested enough to follow along.

There were moments of the story that I felt were a bit rushed, so much that it left me confused on why a character would act the way they did.  After some discussion with Estelle as I was reading along, she shed some light on the situation for me.  Jordan is a very sheltered character.  What may seem so obvious to me, did not always present itself to her that way.  I find myself doing this sometimes when I read young adult literature.  I have to shift gears a bit and remind myself that teenage Ginger would have done things differently, too.

Overall I enjoyed the book.  I can definitely see potential in Miranda's writing and am interested in reading more from her.  So I guess it's a good thing our casual read-along is continuing with Stealing Parker (the second book in this series).