Stealing Parker

by Miranda Kenneally

[Joséphine]

Feb 4, 2016

Rating: 4 stars

Thoughts upon rereading: Honestly, I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed Stealing Parker upon my re-read. I remember not being all that fond the first time round. It seems my dislike has subsided, though I still didn't develop much affinity towards Parker. Despite that, I felt somewhat sympathetic towards her. Sometimes knowing what's best for us doesn't automatically translate into wise actions. We still do things against our better judgements and so end up in trouble. Doesn't necessarily mean we're terrible people at heart. Parker's a perfect example of that.

Another reason I must've enjoyed Stealing Parker more now is that I no longer expected sports to be a such a major theme. It mattered, yes, but more in the aftermath, when she'd basically given it up. Since I'm currently in the position of indecision on how to proceed with my own competitive sporting endeavours, I suppose I understood her better.

_________

Nov 20, 2014

Audiobook rating: 3.5 stars
Book rating: 3 stars

Initial thoughts: Stealing Parker is one of those books that is much better as an audiobook because the narrator adds to the enjoyment of it. Yet even without the narration, Stealing Parker surprised me. I didn't like Catching Jordan at all, in part because of too much boy crazy and too little sports. With Stealing Parker my expectations were adjusted, so I knew not to expect all that much about Parker's actual involvement in softball.

This time round I focused more on her character development from the beginning to end and the surprising turns in the plot. For me, Stealing Parker is a case where I didn't like the character but still connected anyway on the levels of family, personal faith/religion, friendship and pursuing something one can't rightfully have.