Blurb: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 on 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 starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.Review:I'm going to make a confession. I requested this book not because I really wanted to read it, but because I thought it would be ridiculous. I really wanted to see what the author would do with this plot line and how she would go about making it believable. Because let's be honest. A girl playing football in high school is a rare thing. A girl getting recruited to play quarterback in college is unheard of and would never happen. There have been kickers, but that's as far as it's ever went. So I was fully preparing myself to roll my eyes a lot. Not so much, actually.While portions of the story ARE unbelievable, the narrative in Catching Jordan was tight, paced well, and gorgeously written. The story was funny at times, but also full of angst. And I mean LOTS of angst. I didn't cry or anything, but there were times when I was pretty depressed. Jordan goes through a lot of crap. Her dad is a star NFL player and a douchebag, her best friend is in love with her, there's a new quarterback on her team that might steal her position(she's also crushing on him hard), and she is under a lot of pressure being a girl quarterback on her high school's football team. Add all of that to the fact that she wants to play football for Alabama (it's her dream), and the girl is under a lot of pressure. But despite all the angst, Jordan has possibly one of the strongest female voices in YA literature that I have read this year. I really, REALLY loved her. And rooted for her. And got pissed when things didn't go her way. So while I would love to be snarky and say I laughed my tail off at all the ridiculous things that happened in this novel, I just couldn't. Because I fell for Jordan and her story. There were portions of the plot that were a bit typical, but the narrative was wrapped in a really fun package that made it unique. The side characters had almost as much heart as Jordan did, and I loved reading about all the antics that happen on a high school football team. There was quite a bit of profanity in this one, and I loved it. Because it's a story with a bunch of horny teenagers in it. It was realistic. I never felt that it went overboard or crossed the line. Some may not agree, but times they are a changin'. Get on board or go down with the sinking ship. Read this book and you will have a lot of fun. And you may come out understanding teenagers a little better.
