Archive for Four Stars
CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally Book Review
Publication Date: December 1st 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Rating: 
Summary: 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.
Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally Book Review Overview:
- A cute, funny, and thoughtful read
- Perfectly flawed characters
- I’m ready to play some football, now
Ah, there’s so much to mention but I’ll just stick to my favorite parts of CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally. Miranda Kenneally does an excellent job of describing Tennessee, where CATCHING JORDAN takes place. Her narrator – Jordan Woods – does not go on long-winded tangents about the South. Rather, she gives snippets here and there to describe the roads, Lake Jordan, and gaps between the rich and the poor.
I thought CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally was an engaging story about a teenage girl chasing after her dreams. I found myself empathizing a lot with the main character, Jordan. I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards her strained relationship with her father, the famous Donovan Woods. I laughed at her awkward behavior as she tried to figure out how to be a girl and a football player. But most of all, I felt as torn as her about her crazy love life as she tried to figure out her feelings about her dream boyfriend, Ty Green, and her best friend, Sam Henry. My favorite poem in CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally (yes, Jordan enjoys writing poems!) that best describes her chaotic life is:
“All those nights of sharing a bed
All those times he put an arm around me
All the things he’s done to make my happy
…encouraging me to give Ty a chance
He must really love me if he’ll watch me date another guy just to ensure I’m happy
But he’s like my brother
And Ty is my boyfriend now
My dream boyfriend
The guy I lost my virginity to
What’s scary?
I’m so hot for Ty
but Henry makes me feel whole
in a totally different sort of way
even if I’ve never considered jumping him
F***ety, F***, F***”
Moreover, I loved all of the other characters in CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally. Jordan’s got a great support team in her older brother, Mike, and her teammates and best friends, JJ, Carter, and Henry. At first, I assumed that there would be a plot line about Jordan living in Mike’s shadow (he also plays football), but I was wrong. Kenneally has created such charming, witty, and realistic characters that their dynamics shine through the pages. Here’s another wonderful quote to show what I mean:
“Shut up!” Henry says, “You’re going to wake up Jerry Rice.”
“Jerry Rice?” Carter says, covering his mouth with a hand. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Carter laugh so hard.
“Carter, would you like to be the godfather?” Henry asks. “You know, in case anything happens to me and Woods this week?”
“Charming,” Carter says. “I”d be honored. Does JJ get to be godmother?”
“Obviously,” I say.
“Can I hold Jerry Rice?” JJ asks. “He”s so cute.”
“No way, man,” I reply. “I don’t want to wake that thing up before practice. We’ll be late if we have to feed it.”
“What does it eat?” Carter asks.
“I have to breast-feed, cause I’m the mom,” Henry says, continuing to push the stroller toward the locker room.
“Actually,” I say, “It eats a metal rod, made out of, like, lead. So basically, we’re learning how to poison babies.”
“Radical,” JJ says as we approach the gym,”
I don’t think I have ever enjoyed reading about football so much. Jordan’s thoughts, calculations, and instincts are so well-described in CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally, I was convinced I was truly watching her football practices and games. Jordan lives and breathes football – she’s dead-set on scoring a full-ride to the #1 football college, Alabama. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles that stand in Jordan’s way of playing college ball. Kenneally does well to reconcile Jordan’s hurdles and inspires her readers to root for Jordan.
I recommend CATCHING JORDAN to readers who love football, readers who think they don’t love football, and readers who want to find out if they’ll love football. Because after reading this book, I have come to the following conclusions:
- I love football.
- In the wise words of Jordan Woods: “That if you spend too much time dreaming, you’ll stop actually doing. And when you actually do stuff, there’s a good chance things will work out. We make things happen by attacking, not by sitting around dreaming.”
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About the Author
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Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.
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Book Review, Four Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Miranda Kenneally, Book: Catching Jordan, Genre: Contemporary, Genre: Romance, Loreal, Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire | 
1221 words
THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM by Julia Quinn Book Review
Series: Two Dukes of Wyndham, #1
Publication Date: May 27th 2008 by Avon
Book Summary: Jack Audley has been a highwayman. A soldier. And he has always been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm, responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of hundreds. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.
Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine… until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she’s not a woman who wants to say no. But if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have…
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Book Review, Four Stars - Amortentia Reviews, Audience: Adult, Author: Julia Quinn, Book: The Lost Duke of Wyndham, Genre: Historical romance, Publisher: Avon, Series: Two Dukes of Wyndham | 298 words
WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard Book Review
Publication Date: March 13th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Rating:
Book Summary: No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.
Bria’s a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan’s a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they’ve got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.
But Bria comes to realize she can’t run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard Book Review Overview:
- Wonderfully written
- WANDERLOVE was more than a typical coming-of-age novel
- Hubbard takes her audience backpacking with Bria
Picture this: the summer before starting college, 18-year-old Bria sets off to do something completely out of character. She decides to forgo a guided tour of Central America and sets off with two backpackers, Starling and Rowan. Thanks to her escapades with her new friends, Bria’s short stay in Central America turns into one that will change her life.
To say that Bria Sandoval ran away from her problems would be an understatement – she literally fled the country. WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard is more than a cliche coming-of-age novel; it’s a novel about a girl trying, failing, and overcoming her past. Bria’s a talented artist from Southern California who always carries a sketchbook filled to the brim of the beauty of life with her. She spends months preparing a portfolio in hopes of getting accepted into the Southern California Art Academy’s fast-track program. However, she does this with her boyfriend, Toby, which causes all sorts of problems.
As a Global Vagabond drop-out, Bria hops from one hostel to another, guided by Starling and her mysterious half-brother, Rowan. They show Bria what it’s truly like to backpack around a country by traveling in chicken trucks, exploring Mayan villages, and staying on Belizean islands. Unfortunately, these things are not enough for Bria to escape her past. On the contrary, after Starling leaves her to “babysit” Rowan, Bria is forced to analyze everything in her life that has brought her to Central America. To make matters worse, Bria discovers how difficult it is to fight her attraction to Rowan.
As the half-sister of a “reformed” bad-boy, Starling requests Bria to babysit Rowan during Lobsterfest while she leaves to do humanitarian work. Lobsterfest is a giant party on an island; a scene that Rowan would prefer to avoid. It is their stay here that forces both Rowan and Bria to not only confront what they’ve been trying to avoid all along: their feelings for each other and their pasts.
In WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard, Bria’s reasons for not attending art school are slowly revealed in each chapter. Hubbard not only provides her readers with snippets of Bria’s past – which includes her epic breakup with Toby – but also beautiful sketches that correspond with events in the novel’s chapters.
I wish I could do this novel justice! Hubbard does an amazing job in describing Bria’s personal feelings in WANDERLOVE. The character development was beautiful; as was the interaction between Bria and Rowan. Their relationship wasn’t rushed; rather, it faltered and grew like a good relationship should. Moreover, all of the supporting characters were well-written and funny. Lastly, I’m 100% sure I’ve been bitten by the backpacker bug thanks to WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard. Brava, Ms. Hubbard, for writing such an engaging novel!
I recommend WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard to anyone looking for a good trip and a compelling contemporary story.
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About the Author
Her YA debut, LIKE MANDARIN, was published by Delacorte/Random House on March 8th, 2011. Her second book, WANDERLOVE, will be published on March 13th, 2012. |
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A travel writer and young adult author, Kirsten Hubbard has hiked ancient ruins in Cambodia, dived with wild dolphins in Belize (one totally looked her in the eye), slept in a Slovenian jail cell, and navigated the Wyoming badlands (without a compass) in search of transcendent backdrops for her novels. She lives in San Diego, California.
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Book Review, Four Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Kirsten Hubbard, Book: Wanderlove, Genre: Contemporary, Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers | 1123 words
- Action Packed
- Borrow It
- Hahaha Funny
- Keeps You Guessing
- Heartwarmer
- Makes You Think
- Masterful World-Building
- Must Buy
- Page-Turner
- Poetic Prose
- Romantic Read
- Tear-Jerker
