Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally | Review

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally | ReviewStealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks #2
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on October 1, 2012
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 245
Format: ARC
Source: ALA
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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?

Miranda Kenneally is quickly becoming one of my favorite contemporary authors; right up there with Jennifer Echols, Sarah Dessen, and Sarah Ockler. I had very high hopes for Stealing Parker and I am so happy to say that I was not at all disappointed.

Parker is a lot like Jordan in some ways. She’s feisty, strong-willed, athletic, and most of her friends are boys. However that is where the similarities end. Parker is not nearly as easy to like as Jordan was. Parker does some stupid things and she’s very messed up. She doesn’t always think things through and sometimes she’s very selfish. She is a good person at heart though and a great friend. She just doesn’t quite know how to handle life anymore. Her family kind of spiraled out of control and she can’t fix it. Her friendships went the same way and she just gave up. Now she spends all her time trying to control what she can: her life, especially her love life. It’s not easy for Parker to trust people or to love them so instead of looking for a relationship, she looks for one night hookups. All that changes though when she starts to fall for someone that she just might want to be with for more than one night.

Once again the boys are what make this book and I’m not just talking the love interests. Miranda Kenneally has a way of writing friendships betweens guys and girls that are just natural and perfect. Drew is Parker’s best friend and he was a guy I would love to have as a friend. He stood up for Parker to his friends, he was there for her no matter what, and he liked Harry Potter marathons. Drew was a boy after my own heart! Then there was Corndog (Will). Corndog cracked me up! He’s a guy who thinks outside the box and never does what people expect him to. He’s a nice guy and a total sweetheart. And of course there is Brian, the assistant baseball coach, who Parker falls for. I actually really liked Brian and felt that he was just really confused. Sure he should have known better than to act how he did with Parker but other than that he was a pretty good guy.

Oh and there are a few mentions of Henry and Jordan in the book! Yay!

Stealing Parker is a rather short book and it’s super fast-paced. Things take off very quickly and it’s impossible to stop reading until you know exactly how everything is going to work out. There is quite a bit going on, what with the family drama, the church drama, and relationship drama but it’s never too much. And yes there is some religious stuff in Stealing Parker but it’s never preachy and never overdone. It fit perfectly with the story and I thought it really added to everything going on.

Overall, Stealing Parker is another must-read from Miranda Kenneally. You don’t need to read Catching Jordan first but I do recommend it. (Also, I just like any excuse to tell people to read that book.)

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10 comments

  1. After reading your review I may have to give the author a shot.
    Her books sound interesting, especially since you mentioned that the author is good at writing male characters that are friends with girls.

  2. Awesome review!

    I’m reading this right now and am totally loving it! Drew and Corndog are definitely my favorites and the glimpses of Sam and Jordan crack me up. “She’d cut off your balls.” “She would cut off your balls!”. lol.

  3. Yes, I agree with you a hundred percent on how she gets the friendships pitch perfect! That’s why I love these, even though I had a couple issues with them.

    Parker got on my nerves a little. I liked Jordan better. 🙂

    I did think Kenneally did a good job with the religious stuff, though I could have done without the little notes she wrote to God. lol.

  4. YES YES YES to what you said about Brian. I really liked him too, and I also think he was confused. I wish wish we could have delved a bit deeper into his pysche cause he totally had secrets.

    Stealing Parker is definitely a must-read. I think it’s definitely discussion worthy… more so than Catching Jordan. But Miranda is a fun, complex reader and she manages to throw in so many lessons without making it obvious in the least.

  5. I loved this book, it’s one of my favorite contemporaries ever. It touches on so many different subjects – friendship, acceptance, sexual orientation, love, lust – in a way that doesn’t seem overly thematic.

    She’s a wonderful character 🙂

    Lovely review 🙂

  6. This book was so good, I couldn’t put it down! I can’t wait to read the rest.
    But do all the people from the Hundred Oaks school all know each other in the books, like are they all in the school at the same time?