Miranda Kenneally takes readers back to Hundred Oaks High, the setting of her debut novel, Catching Jordan, for the story of a girl looking for a new life in her old town.
Parker Shelton's mother announced she was a lesbian and "ran off with her friend who was more than a friend." This caused a scandal in their town of Franklin, Tenn., and changed 17-year-old Parker from valedictorian and all-star softball player to someone just getting by, with no interest in sports whatsoever. When her friend Drew Bates (who played football in Catching Jordan) signs Parker up to be manager of his baseball team, she meets the assistant coach: "His big brown eyes meet mine and my breath sputters." From there, Parker feels torn between what her conscience tells her is right and spending time with the off-limits 23-year-old Brian Hoffman. An interaction between the two sums up their understanding that this is a forbidden flirtation: "If you're gonna call me The Hoff, I'm gonna give you a nickname too."/ "Such as...?"/ "Trouble. I'll call you Trouble."/ "Cliché."/ "Touché."
Kenneally's writing style catches readers' interest from the very first line. Parker grows deeply throughout the book, and the glimpses of characters from Kenneally's debut novel will please her fans. A more complex story than her first, Kenneally's sophomore effort knocks it out of the park with character development, clever dialogue and a pace that will keep any reader interested. --Shanyn Day, blogger at Chick Loves Lit