55 Books in a Year: Book #38 Catching Jordan

Most of this review has been pieced together from a conversation in YA Reads for Teachers (and Any Other Adults) on Goodreads. This month the new-ish book I wanted to read Catching Jordan won the nomination which means I lead the discussion. This book is wonderful to moderate. Please know all the words below are mine. I figured since I said them to begin with I could rearrange them any way I liked.

Before I go off on a "I love this book so much that I want to marry it and have its babies" tangent...I want you to know that this book is exactly what I expected and in no way what I thought it was going to be at all!

Here's what I expected

1. A book about football

2. A book that highlighted football games and talked about aspects of the game I didn't understand

3. A romantic comedy

What I didn't expect

1. The subtle commentary about how boys treat girls in sports

2. The reason Jordan chose the boy she chose

3. What gets me is the sex scene...I wasn't even allowed to lock my bedroom door when I was alone and my mother would have flipped had she caught me in my room with a boy...and, she, like Jordan's mother, would have known what was going on. In some ways jordan's parents are 'too cool' and 'hip'.

4. All the f-bombs...even if I know that kids cuss that much when grown-ups aren't around (what I hear in the hall is sometimes astounding) and even if I know that as Jordan matures there seems to be less cussing and over-all 'puffing' up...wow lots of f-bombs

Jordan is a girl who at first seems pretty strong-willed and bad -a, but has actually spent her life trying to please others...her parents, her coach, her best-friend and the list goes on. And, although she has incredible talent as a football player, she still doesn't feel confident enough around girls her age to consider them friends.  It is her best friend that helps her find the balance and, although he is a boy, he is the one who seems to have her best interest at heart. If only he could stop sleeping around and partying enough to get through to her. 

Kenneally did a great job of showing us how easy it is to be a girl in a boy sport in high school compared to the college-level...a sad, but believable approach. Jordan must figure out who she is. She must decide whether she's a college football player (one that's on the bench or one that plays) or a girl who loves her best friend or a girl who loves someone who treats her with kid gloves or a daughter who needs her father's approval. I think this book wonderful shows how our high school dreams morf and change and it shows how we can choose to accept this change or we can find against it our whole lives. In one of those realities we'd have an incredibly unhappy future.

Feel free to discuss...

Oh, and here's the author's website if you're interested:

http://mirandakenneally.com/

Her 25 things is pretty awesome!

Want to contribute to the conversation? Want to read and discuss why YA books with your adult brain? Come join us!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 22

Last year I found this book challenge (since then I have seen many variations of it, but I like this one best!), and have been intrigued about how I would answer the questions posed. Feel free to comment with your own answer or post the challenge to your own blog.

Favorite Non-Romantic/Asexual Relationship

I don't know what non-romantic *slash* asexual is, as if each word means the same as and can be replaced by the other.

My favorite Non-Romantic Relationship is...

My favorite Asexual Relationship is...er...what does that mean anyway?

Although I think Wendy really wished otherwise...

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)

Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving

Day 11– A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book 
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss 
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

30 Day Book Challenge: Day 21

Last year I found this book challenge (since then I have seen many variations of it, but I like this one best!), and have been intrigued about how I would answer the questions posed. Feel free to comment with your own answer or post the challenge to your own blog.

Favorite Romantic/Sexual Relationship

I don't know what romantic *slash* sexual is, as if each word means the same as and can be replaced by the other.

My favorite Romantic Relationship is...

"I don't want diamond sunbursts, or marble halls. I just want you."
sigh...

I'm pretty sure Anne Shirley's relationship with Gilbert Blythe colored my idea of romantic love at an early age.

However, Howard Roark and Dominique Francon really opened my eyes to...um...another type of relationship entirely...

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)

Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving

Day 11– A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve read more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book 
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss 
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

Infinite Summer #4: DFW w/r/t style ... "The library, and step on it."

[Source]

Think of these Sunday posts as jumping off places...discuss what I've posted, post something yourself, answer questions, ask questions, add links...do whatever it takes to make this experience enjoyable and understandable for you!

These post will be CHOCK FULL OF SPOILERS for the reading for that week (Just in case you didn't already know that!). I think knowing this will stop those of us that aren't at a certain place from reading on and will enable those of us who are writing to do so without worrying if someone knows that fact or not. If you are reading ahead and want to post about the pages ahead please wait and if you want to talk about other books, not Infinite Jest and are giving spoilers please indicate that in some fashion...even a *spoiler* before the comment would be nice.

And, finally, if there is anything I can do to make this run more smoothly please don't hesitate to message me on here, on twitter or on Goodreads and I'll see what I can do.


Let's begin the discussion...
"If a writer does his job right, what he basically does is remind the reader of how smart they are. Wake the reader up to stuff that reader's been aware of all the time." ~David Foster Wallace


Footnotes and Endnotes
Detail
Complex Vocabulary


Pick one to talk about...add more to my meager list. Feel free to reference sections, add video or add favorite quotes...let's get to talkin'!!! 


House-keeping:
1] Many of you have messaged me about needing time to catch up. Do I need to add another week onto our schedule? Do I need to exempt a Sunday convo day?

2] If you haven't signed up officially, please do so here.

3] Catch up on all of our IJ stuff and things here.

Splash into Summer 2012 in Review

The Five Post from the Week
Intro
Sea Change
Everblue
Chocolate Mug Cake
Today's recap

Don't forget to check-out the giveaway from Teen Text Talk

Post from other Blogs
Mythical Mondays: Mermaid Tales from Around the World
Top Ten Ways to Catch a Mermaid

[Source]

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings: Chocolate Mug Cake

Aside from the cocoa...
we have the rest of the ingredients in our house all the time.

Jade's 5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
Original can be found here and in the book Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings. Below you will find a mixture of the two recipes, plus my own words, pictures and observations.

Ingredients and Directions
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
Mix it well. Then add:
1 egg
Mix. Then add:
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
Mix. Then add:
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional...but, in our recipe it was a must!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (we used a capful each)

We won't talk about what that looks like
...it taste pretty darn good, though!

Then:

Cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake bubbles up like when you heat up a marshmallow, but don't worry. It just rises up not over. Let it cool for a bit (unless you want to burn your lips off). We let our cool until it had settled to a normal height and then dumped it out onto a plate. Tip it out onto a plate if you want it to cool thoroughly. ENJOY!

Notes & Tips

1] You may not need to cook the cake the whole 3 minutes...check it at 2ish, if you don't want it to be overly dry. It took our 3 minutes each and I used, as you can see, two different types of mugs.

2] You might need to add extra oil if it isn't moist enough.

3] Unless you are some sort of chocolate/dessert FA-REAK, this seriously makes enough for two or three, if one of them is a preschooler.

4] Eat it with ice cream it's delish!

5] My sister and I decided that the cake definitely must have the chocolate chips.

So, um, yeah my sister and I made this treat while our tiny people weren't around (don't worry they had the leftovers for breakfast! See, we're 'good' parents!). Here we are enjoying it while watching Sherlock. Seriously, it's pretty tasty with some ice cream. Does a little relaxation get any better than this?

55 Books in a Year: Book #37 Everblue

I have no idea why I wanted to read this book. I think I was totally drawn in by the cover; isn't it beautiful? And, then I realized I could get a mermaid book for ever so cheap ($.99 as an ebook on the Nook) and, well, I do love a mermaid book on the cheap.

I love the setting of this book. It's so cool to think that living amongst everyday average people are merpeople and that there are gates to another world where they live and thrive with rules and cities different than our own. I also loved how the gate we see the most is in Lake Tahoe...so VERY different than the other books. I like how the world is created with air bubbles in homes so there can be furniture and human creature comforts. I also like the characters (even though one of the merboys is named Fin...yes, Fin, as in I have one), frankly, I especially like Fin the most of all.

So, if I like all those things about it...why the low-rating? why the dislike? Let me see if I can break it down.

1. The execution of the story
This story is paced like it's a 500 page novel. With little details given over time and/or large chunks given over to explanation of a thing that isn't important at that moment. This book takes up practically a whole year.

2. The back and forth narration doesn't work
I enjoyed the change of narrator in Tangled Tides, it flowed and I got to know the characters. In this book the narration doesn't stay with one character enough for me to get into the story and I found myself rereading a part or a section just to see if I missed something.

3. It's treatment of boys and girls...relationships...men and women
If a mermaid is bonded to a boy once they kiss (an idea I do not mind...mated for life is highly romantic), isn't a forced kiss, well, rape? Ick. That's all I could

4. The strangely forced Christian slant
I am a Christian and I like being one...I don't like Christian just being thrown in for the sake of good Christianness. It just threw me off and...actually made me a little uncomfortable, like I was hanging out with my mother and I was 13 all over again.

Everything about this book has rubbed me the wrong way...I'm not sure I need to read the rest of the series (although I've just downloaded Evergreen, I don't know why...it was cheap). I always feel bad when I genuinely don't like a book, mostly because I'm not really sure if I could do better if I tried and here a person has given their heart and soul and all I can do is read it and bash it. I've also read tons of other reviews, hoping those 4s and 5s (and there are a lot of them) would help me see the story differently. Sometimes I'd read a review and think..."Did we read the same book?". That being said, I do hope you try out this book for yourself and if you rank it higher than me please tell me why, I'd really like to know. I think I would have liked this book better had it been the first mermaid book I'd ever read and not the latest.

I felt sad that for my Splash into Summer week, I chose to read two books that weren't what I thought they would be. On to my first truly selkie book, The Lure of Shapinsay!