Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Catching Jordan

Author: Miranda Kenneally

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

My Copy: Bought for Kindle

Summary: 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?

My Thoughts: I reread this book three times within 24 after purchasing it. That should pretty much tell you everything you need to know about this novel.

Catching Jordan has the perfect amount of football, boys, and romance to keep both the diehard football fans and the ones who care more about staring at the player's butts intrigued and reading. I fall into the latter category – I understand absolutely nothing about football – but I could not put Catching Jordan down.

Jordan is such a likeable character. She's tough and determined, a real leader on the field, but at the same time, she's just like every other teenager worried about boys. I really loved reading about her relationships with the boys on the football team. Their banter was one of my favorite things about the story. Henry was my favorite character in the entire novel and that's all I will say about that.

The romance, while it had a high risk of being cliché, is perfectly executed. It's not tacky or overdone but it is honest and real.

The only issue I had with this at all is that Jordan cries a LOT. It felt like she was tearing up on every other page and while sometimes it was for good reasons, I just felt like it happened too much. But it is certainly not enough to take away from the novel.

Overall, Catching Jordan is one of the best contemporary young adult novels out there. I am anxiously awaiting Kenneally's next novel and, in the meantime, I will keep rereading this one!

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau

Title: Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings

Author: Helene Boudreau

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Summary:

Freak of nature takes on a whole new meaning...

If she hadn't been so clueless, she might have seen it coming. But really, who expects to get into a relaxing bathtub after a stressful day of shopping for tankinis and come out with scales and a tail?

Most. Embarrassing. Moment. Ever.

Jade soon discovers she inherited her mermaid tendencies from her mom. But if Mom was a mermaid, how did she drown?

Jade is determined to find out. So how does a plus-size, aqua-phobic mer-girl go about doing that exactly? And how will Jade ever be able to explain her secret to her best friend, Cori, and to her crush, Luke?

This summer is about to get a lot more interesting...

My Thoughts: Oh, how I love this book! It's most definitely something I would have ate up in a heartbeat as a tween. It's cute, spunky, and original and there's mermaids...what more could a girl ask for?

From the first page, I was hooked. Jade's narrative was captivating from the beginning. She tells things as it is and the situations she gets herself into, like getting her first period in a dressing room, will make readers laugh and sympathize with her. One thing I loved about Jade is that she wasn't depicted as being the perfect skinny girl - she has some issues with her weight and while it's not made into a huge part of the novel, I know it will allow some younger readers to see more of themselves in her.

One of the things I love about middle grade is that because middle graders are more...flexible...then YA readers, things don't need to be quite as developed. If this had been a YA, it would have been expected that the romance and friendships and the whole mermaid thing was more developed and realistic. But, it's MG and because of that, it works. The romance is kept light, the friendships are realistic, and the mermaid thing is done in a way that it's realistic enough.

I also love how deeper issues, such as her mom's drowning, were mixed in to balance out the fluff. Everything worked out nicely, making this a perfect quick reader.

Overall, I highly recommend Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings. It's a great MG book and will appeal to some YA readers as well. ​