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.

Jordan Woods is Captain and starting Quarterback of her high school’s football team. Football is and always has been her entire life. She has dreams of playing football for the University of Alabama, the best college team in the entire country. All she has to do is keep playing like she’s been playing and they’ll give her a full ride, for sure. Enter transfer student and Chace Crawford look-a-like Tyler Green. From the very first moment he steps onto her field, Jordan knows he’s a distraction. Even worse? He may just be gunning for her position.

I liked the setup and unique premise of this book, at first. Jordan is very serious about football. She plays well, better than most guys, and she’s respected. She’s just one of the guys and instead of her teammates constantly berating and ostracizing her, as you might expect, they accept and defend her. Jordan’s teammates are her friends and Sam Henry, in particular, is her best friend. He eats dinner with her family several times a week and often sleeps over, even sharing a bed with Jordan like they have since they were little. Jordan’s so focused on football and friends from the team that she doesn’t really have much time to think about boys or even consider having girl friends. But Ty changes everything. She finds herself falling for them and while she feels like she can confide in her guy friends, it soon becomes clear that she needs a little female insight.

Basically, I liked this book up until Ty showed up. Ty sucks. And I have a hard time believing that someone as smart and independent as Jordan can just fall for Ty so easily. One look at his Chace Crawford-esque good looks and Jordan’s a limp noodle. But his looks and football skills are really all he has going for him. He’s controlling, rude, and he and Jordan have virtually nothing in common. He freaks out about every aspect of Jordan’s life that he can’t control, even when they’ve only been dating for five days. Then he blames his neurosis on the fact that his parents died in a car crash, which evokes our sympathy, but doesn’t excuse his behavior. At least, I wouldn’t excuse his behavior. Jordan’s just so happy to be dating a male model that she overlooks all his flaws.

But sometimes people are blind to warning signs right in front of their faces, so I can forgive Jordan for that. What I can’t forgive her for is how annoying she becomes throughout the book. She starts off as this fun, strong character who won’t take crap from anyone. By the end of the book, she’s a sobbing mess. Literally, each chapter has her breaking down and crying about something. It’s exhausting. And it quickly becomes apparent that she’s not just blind to the fact that Ty isn’t right for her, but she’s blind to everything: Henry’s true feelings, her future at the University of Alabama, the motivation behind her father’s actions. She’s just completely oblivious and this becomes increasingly frustrating as the story progresses.

Despite my major problems with Jordan, there were a lot of aspects of Catching Jordan that I liked. For instance, Sam Henry. He’s adorable and lovable and the kind of guy I want for my best friend/secret crush. I also liked the way Kenneally worked in Jordan’s poetry. While she’s not the greatest poet, that’s kind of the point, and it’s nice that other, hidden layer of Jordan. It was also nice to see Jordan grow into her friendships with Carrie and Marie (though the similarity between the two names is awfully confusing), demonstrating that not all cheerleaders are stereotypes.

Basically, there were things I loved and things I hated about Catching Jordan. It’s a light, quick read so if you’re interested, don’t hesitate to pick it up. This book will definitely appeal to sports lovers. I’ve never been interested in football, but I found myself intrigued by all the descriptions and thorough explanations of the game, so much so that I think I’ll actually understand and care about the next game I watch. And while Jordan may not be the most likable or relatable main character, there are a ton of interesting secondary characters to keep your attention.

Pages: 281
Publication Date : December 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “Ty’s eyes seem to fill with pain, and he looks down at the ground. I’ve never seen a QB act like this before. Most are cocky, full of attitude. Leaders. I can’t imagine following a guy whose eyes give so much away.“

You should never judge a book by its cover.

Sure…but they never said we couldn’t admire them. Cover of the Week pays homage to the beautiful and eye catching graphics that grace the covers of our young adult titles.

This week’s cover of the week goes to Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Release Date: April 2012

“These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume.”
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Juliet Capulet didn’t take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn’t anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she’s fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she’s forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

The world’s greatest love story ever told is a lie. Romeo and Juliet didn’t commit suicide and die for their love, Romeo murdered her. Her one true love, the one she trusted and wanted to be with more than anyone else in the whole world, betrayed her and took her life in an act of brutality Juliet isn’t able to escape. Not even now, in present day, and she jumps from body to body.

Seven hundred years on, Romeo is still working for the bad guys, and Juliet is still ambling through her existence, trying to save true love from the grips of hell. She hates her life, but after seven hundred years, she’s pretty used to it: invade a body, conquer and make love happen, escape and move on. But when Juliet invades Ariel’s body, she never ever expected that she might be the one to fall in love with her subject. It’s unheard of and absolutely forbidden. It feels like Juliet has met his soul before, encountered him in another life … but its impossible, right?

Meanwhile, Romeo will stop at nothing to get to his Juliet. His love is of the sadistic kind, and although he seems hell bent on destroying her life, in his sick way, he does love Juliet. And she’s slipping from his grasp. He’ll stop at nothing to prevent that from happening.

As a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet, I was deathly afraid that this story would butcher the classic for me. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. Yes, I struggled seeing Romeo in such an evil capacity, but it … worked. Juliet seems to hold some of that hopeless romance she carried in the original tale, but what I was happiest about was her strength. In the original classic, Juliet takes charge of her life, decides what she wants and finds a way to make it happen. Although Juliet in this story is a slave to her circumstances, she does find a way around her pitiful situation and goes after what she wants. I was happy to see that element of her character remained true.

Thus, Juliet Immortal  did not ruin the classic tale for me. It was a really enjoyable representation, actually. I think those that even hate the original tale will get a kick out of this one.

I take my hat off to the jacket designer. The cover is perfect, and was actually what made me pick it up in the first place. The red dress against the murky, restless ocean really struck a cord with me.

Pages: 306

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publication date: 2011

Teaser Quote: Life is precious – his life especially – but there are worse things to lose. I turn back to Ben, brush his hair away from his ruined face, a part of me wishing he was conscious so I could say goodbye, the other part glad that he’s beyond feeling pain.

“OMG. Year 11 results are out TODAY, my boyfriend is MIA and my mum is acting TOTALLY WEIRD. I’d turn to my BF Kat, that her life has suddenly gone from hero to ZERO. I don’t know who to talk to an everyone’s got their OWN problems. What would life be better if I wasn’t such a STRESSHEAD?”

Stresshead is a light, easy read that is very, very Australian. Told in the voice of Dennie, we learn about her woes with life and pressure to live up to expectations.

I largely liked this book. I related to Dennie (real name: Denise) easily and quickly (I am a huge chronic worrier), however she sort of got on my nerves occasionally with her internal voice. I liked all of the characters. They were all colourful, unique and fiery. Admittedly, I was a little confused in the first few pages; so many characters are introduced so quickly. But I loved the atmosphere, Webster really got the right feeling to it; it felt like a real family.

The plot felt like it was trying to go in ten different directions. It was trying to be funny, yet serious, yet growing up. This led to confusion. The pacing, as well, was also very cruisey – I didn’t feel any inclination to read chapter after chapter.

However, the author really got the voice of a teenage girl, and the writing was good. There were moments when the things Den worried over were so silly they were funny.

Unfortunately, the setting of Sydney wasn’t really used. While the Australian-ess of it all was obvious, I didn’t really get a feel for anything except the feeling when the family are together.

The family, itself is a very, very important element in the book. It really brings home and collects all the mistakes. In their own dysfunctional way, Dennie’s family truly show the essence of family. I applaud Allayne Webster for that.

Overall, Stresshead is an enjoyable book that ensures you that no matter how screwed up you think your family is, the fictional ones are ten times more.

Pages: 213

Publication Date: May 1^st 2011

Publisher: Omnibus Books

Challenge: n/a

Rating: :

Quote: “I’m toast. I’m burnt toast. I’m the charcoal you scrape off the toast with your knife”

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it’s a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy’s car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend’s attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players’ girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won’t get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don’t count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling.

Shut Out is Kody Keplinger’s second novel, a sort of modern-day retelling of the play Lysistrata. Lissa is dating star quarterback Randy, but she feels like he focuses way too much time and energy on the rivalry between the soccer and football teams. Not only is this pointless rivalry annoying, but it’s dangerous. If it doesn’t end soon, someone will end up seriously hurt. So Lissa has the brilliant idea to gather all the girlfriends of soccer and football players and convince them to go on a sex strike until the boys agree to end the rivalry.

So, pretty intriguing, right? Keplinger made waves with her debut novel The DUFF. While I liked The DUFF — particularly the realistic portrayal of teenagers — I didn’t love it. But I feel like Keplinger has really hit her stride with Shut Out. In my eyes, Lissa is a much more likable protagonist than Bianca was. She’s kind, sweet, and firm, if a little dense and naive at times. Anyone with eyes can see Randy’s a jerk, but Lissa’s so caught up in her first real relationship that she overlooks a lot of his negative qualities — something we’re probably all guilty of at one time or another. What’s nice about Lissa is that she’s not the most outgoing, the most popular, the funniest girl in school, but she does have an idea and she uses that idea to bring a group of girls together. She’s easy to relate to, believes in herself, and makes a lot of mistakes that teach her a lot about herself throughout Shut Out.

While Lissa’s not exactly the most unique main character, there are three things about this book that really stand out to me and make this one of my favorite reads of the year: the plot, the sex talk, and Cash Sterling. First of all, even though Keplinger borrows the idea of a sex strike from Lysistrata, I’ve never read the play and so the plot of Shut Out was a fresh concept for me. But even if it hadn’t been, I would’ve been riveted. And I should clarify, obviously all these girls aren’t having sex with their boyfriends. The strike includes no kissing for those couples not going as far, and no hooking up for those couples that are. And the whole idea of the strike inspires very open dialogue about sex and what hooking up means and the double-standards imposed on girls who sleep around as opposed to boys. The girls are at first hesitant to broach this taboo topic, but once they do they start asking all the questions that we all keep to ourselves, questions we’re too scared or embarrassed or nervous to ask. Keplinger takes a huge leap in addressing these topics and Shut Out won’t be for everyone, but for those with questions, Keplinger points out something we should all keep in mind — you’re not alone. She handles the situation with maturity and accuracy, perfectly capturing the mindset of curious teenage girls.

And to top it all off, there’s Cash Sterling. He’s dreaming, charming, and so, so sweet. He’s high school royalty, the nice guy who flirts with everyone and dates no one. As in, off-limits. Don’t even get your hopes up because he’s not looking for a relationship. Except how can you not get your hopes up when he’s so cute and chivalrous and just all-around amazing? He’s a perfect example of why I fall in love with book characters and I guarantee you’ll understand upon reading Shut Out. Keplinger is clearly an author to watch out for. She delivers interesting situations, realistic characters, and snappy dialogue once again, and she’s sure to do the same in the future.

Pages: 273
Publication Date : September 2011
Publisher: Poppy
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “Part of me knew I should be mad, but I was mostly just hurt. After more than a year together, I hoped I came first to Randy. But the fact that he forgot me so easily because of a stupid egg on his car? It stung.“