Review: Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Stealing Parker 

Author: Miranda Kenneally 

Rating: 2.5 Stars 

Stealing Parker is, logistically speaking, not a bad book. In fact, I have an immense amount of respect for Miranda Kenneally for tackling on real-life, modern-day issues such as lesbian parents, gay friends, and even student-teacher relationships. Yet, I found myself to be sorely disappointed by this one. While I will admit that Catching Jordan had its flaws, mostly stemming from its dramaticism, it never altered by enjoyment and emotional investment of the novel. Stealing Parker, on the other hand, make me increasingly uncomfortable, leaving me with a sour taste in my mouth at the way many of the situations in it were handled and ultimately yearning for more closure.

When Parker's mother comes out about being a lesbian, divorcing her father and leaving her family to live with her best friend, Parker's life is turned upside down. Not only is she confused, torn, and upset that her mother has abandoned her, but the church which is such a huge part of her life has turned against Parker and her family, publicly ostracizing them. Furthermore, Parker must now leave behind her good-girl image to prove that unlike her mother, she isn't a lesbian, and as she begins to earn a not-so-good reputation, she also quits playing softball, the sport whose love she shared with her mother. Thus, when a hot new baseball coach comes into the picture, Parker can't help but want more - even if it's from a teacher. In the middle of this mix is her growing friendship with ex-valedictorian-rival, Will, more commonly known as Corndog, and her emerging suspicions about her gay best friend. Now, Parker must struggle to come to terms with what happened to her family, her passion for softball, and ultimately, what's really the right thing to do.

I think the premises of Stealing Parker is fascinating, and honestly, I wish Kenneally had simply stuck with it. We don't have many contemporary novels taking on lesbian mothers and the impact that that situation has on a family, so I was looking forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, however, while Parker's mother is a huge part of this novel and Parker's life, an equally large portion is Parker's student-teacher relationship with Coach Brian Hoffmann. In all honesty, I felt uncomfortable reading about their relationship, simply because of the subject matter, but more than that, I wasn't a fan of the way in which it was handled. I feel as if student-teacher relationships stem from issues in both the student and the teacher's life and while I definitely understood Parker, I didn't quite come to understand Brian the same way. Furthermore, the ultimate conclusion to this relationship wasn't what I was hoping for in terms of punishment and my biggest qualm has to lie with the fact that this relationship took away from many of the other qualities that Stealing Parkerhad going for it.

You see, Parker's student-teacher relationship took time out of her friendship with Corndog, which I wanted to see more of, her rocky relationship with her father and brother, which I wished had more depth, and even her own tangled feelings towards her mother. While I did appreciate that Kenneally touched upon all these issues, I wanted more. I didn't feel as if a student-teacher relationship was necessary to drive the point about this novel home and towards the end, it felt as if things came together a little too easily, simply because their complex plot threads couldn't be further explored because the student-teacher relationship exhausted practically everything else. Thus, while I found myself enjoying the story of Parker's growth and her very cute romance with Corndog, I wasn't completely satisfied with it by the end of this novel. (Or the lingering questions about Parker's church, friendships, brother, or her father's potential girlfriend for that matter...)

Alll of that aside, Stealing Parker is still a novel I enjoyed reading. It was a quick-read, although not a read-in-one-sitting novel likeCatching Jordan, but it kept my interest and my eagerness for Kenneally's next contemporary novel is still present. I have a feeling that fans of contemporary novels will adore this one and for someone like me, who always looks for something more in a story and for whom contemporary is not a favorite genre, this is simply bound to be another "black sheep" read. Nevertheless, if you're looking for another character to connect with, another sports-oriented novel to pick up, or just another story with fantastic friendships, Stealing Parker is, without a doubt, the book for you.