Review: Stealing Parker, by Miranda Kenneally

Series: Hundred Oaks #2
Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.Now Parker wants a new life.So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

Source: Amazon Kindle Store

         

After reading Catching Jordan, I was completely sure I would love Stealing Parker just as much. This novel did not disappoint at all, and here's why:

Interesting plot: 2/2
I liked Catching Jordan a lot, and enjoyed it much more because of its mention of football. I know a lot about it, and enjoy a lot. This one, though, talked a lot about baseball that I don't really understand... But, it was the type of book that sort of explained it all to you in case you didn't know. Obviously, you have to get a few terms such as inning, or bases, and things like that. Once beyond that, it's very easy to understand the whole story that revolves around sports. Now, there comes the romantic part of the book. I won't spoil anything, but OHMYGOD; finally a book that turns out just the way I imagined and makes me squeal in delight while reading it! It was a very different story, very unique in comparison to other YA novels. I thought, 'This must be just like Catching Jordan, a story about a girl who plays baseball and is the only one on the team!". But no, Parker did not play for the team with the boys, and instead had a hobby of her own, that I thought gave a very interesting twist to the story. Well done, Ms. Kenneally!

Characters: 2/2
Parker is a girl unlike many other's I've read about. She's not the typical YA novel girl, that's shy and doubts herself. Like any other teenager, Parker has some drawbacks and seems quite sad at times. She has no female friends for various reasons, but she has a few true friends that stand up for her. With or without them, Parker learns to stand up for herself, to be strong when that's the only thing left she can be, and she's a very inspiring character for everyone, I think. She wasn't a goody-goody, and made mistakes, but knew (or learnt) to overcome them. 

Brian, her love interest, was a douche. From the moment I met him in the book I loathed him. A few people I know liked him, and thought he was hot and stuff, but not me. He sort of reminded me of that guy from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, the soccer coach...I don't know why, he just did.

Finally, my two favorite characters, aside from Parker, were Brian and Corndog, her best friends who develop a huge story involving her throughout the story. I can almost assure you you'll love them both, as well.

Pace: 2/2
This wasn't a slow book at all. It didn't keep me attached to the pages at all times, but I did finish it in two days. It's quite a fast read, and you'll see yourself turning the pages without even noticing how far into it you've been. But yeah, it's not a book full with cliffhangers, or anything. Just a light, enjoyable read.

Writing style: 2/2
Miranda Kenneally amazed me since I read Catching Jordan, because she was such a fluent writing style that's not difficult to understand, and keeps you reading non-stop with the perfect balance between dialogues and narration. Such a nice writing style!

Recommend it? 1/2
Of course!