3/5 stars
Sourcebooks Fire, 2011
281 pages
YA Contemporary Sports Romance
Source: Bought
Warning-spoilers!
We're going to have to start with an extended personal note for this long review in order to illustrate how this book and I didn't click. I'm a girl's girl. I did dress very tomboyishly in high school (jeans, tees, sneakers, no makeup because why bother?) but my best friends were always other girls. I've had a few good male friends but nothing compared to my girls. I know media often portrays females as back-stabbing, gossipy meanies but my life has not reflected that. I've always felt supported by and tried to be supportive of other women (um, I attended a women's college!) Consequently I don't really "get" women who eschew female companionship. In my experience, there seem to be two main reasons. The first is cause the girl steals other girls' boyfriends (I know this isn't the best phrasing because he can't be stolen if he doesn't want it but...) The second is because she pursues some interest that is stereotypically masculine (often sports but also technology) and looks down on the more stereotypically feminine pursuits. Such a girl also has often had a bad experience with another girl and uses it to judge the entire female population. Jordan Woods is such a girl and hopefully you are seeing my difficulty with her.
The way she came across to me was as someone who thought she was better than other girls because she didn't hang on a boy's every word, she didn't talk about feelings, she thought home economic courses were dumb, she knew things about football, etc. I loved the hook of her as her team's quarterback and that she was a great captain for her team. But I could not get past her derision of the cheerleaders as slutty and stupid when her male teammates receive little condemnation for similar behavior. Then there was Jordan's repeated disbelief that any other girl might know something about football, as if she has a monopoly on football knowledge among those of us with the XX chromosomes (current events sidenote: go Eagles in their game against the Saints tonight!)
Then let's move onto the romance. For some reason, I thought it was about Jordan and a guy who couldn't quite handle her role on the football team. There is that but the guy is also her ocmpetition because he plays quarterback too. Plus he's not really the love interest. THere's also Sam Henry (I kind of hate when characters have two first names, especially in a book where they are often but not always called by their last name), her long-time best friend who has been in love with her for ages and frequently slept over in her bed because she never noticed! I can't imagine parents letting that happen even if they assumed their daughter only had platonic feelings.
Once Jordan knows, she is interested in pursuing a relationship but he bails, not wanting to risk what they have, leaving her to spend over a month really pissed off at everyone. It's angst! It's drama! It's not for me.
However lest you think there were only negatives, I do want to applaud a few elements. I loved the conflict of Jordan with her NFL dad, who never supported her dream but who comes to experience a change of heart. There could have been more nuance and attention spent on that. I also liked Jordan attempting to go to her dream school but discovering they only wanted her as a cover girl. This ties into her relationship with her father as he helps her to explore other options. Maybe what I really wanted was to read a book about a teenage girl and her parents, given that that element seemed to really appeal to me here. The book was also very readable with some humorous moments although I could have done without the cursing.
Content warning: Lot of language, some underage drinking but not the MCs because they are in training, lots of sexual situations but not too explicit.
Overall: NOT FOR ME.
Oh wow, this one really didn't work for you. :/
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Jordan was judgmental to the cheerleaders and other girls at the beginning, eschewing their companionship. What I liked though is that she grew through the book. She made a couple of female friends and learned what she'd been missing, which is why it didn't bother me.
Also, I don't think she was okay with her teammate's promiscuity too much either. I think she sort of judged everyone. It's been a while, though, so I'm not sure.
We agree with Christina. (And we know this is months later, but we came via the link in the STEALING PARKER review, hahaha.)
DeleteThis book wasn't all we'd hoped it would be either, but mostly because the writing wasn't as strong as we would have liked, and the characters weren't portrayed consistently in the story. The IDEA was great though, and the general themes (father-daughter relationship, sexism in sports, and Jordan's growth) were appealing.
I loved Catching Jordan but I also I love the "not for me" category.
ReplyDeleteI recently read a book I felt this way about -- I know there are a lot of people who will like it, but it was not for me in every possible way. I haven't reviewed it yet, but maybe I will take a page out of your book and write a "not for me" review.
I'm sorry this book wasn't for you! I think that a lot of books make out girls to be backstabbing bitches and such (I did have a few friends who were like that, but now all my friends are really nice and we try to help each other out) when in real life most of the time that's not true. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteDanna
Sorry this book didn't work for you. I haven't read it yet though I need to since I requested it for review last year :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you'd like Dairy Queen more. I thought it was fantastic and featured the family dynamics quite prominently.
Aw, too bad you didn't like this one. I ended up really enjoying it. I don't have many guy friends either, but I thought this book gave me an interesting peak into what it's like to have a life dominated by male friendships. I think you made some really good points in your review, though--definitely some stuff I didn't think about/notice when I was reading it.
ReplyDeleteI loved this one! Agree with some of the things you pointed out but still liked Jordan. She just had a different take and more male friendships. I had a few but mostly females myself but could see how someone would prefer male company when they share more of your interests.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure about this one. I've been deciding if I should read it or not for what seems like forever, I think there's two other books already out or something?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I might never know, she seems kind of judgemental and I hate it when girls look down upon other girls because of stupid reasons