39. Front and Center - Catherine Gilbert Murdock

#3 Dairy Queen series (D. J. Schwenk, Wisconsind high school athlete and dairy farmer...)

audio read by Natalie Moore

5 cds (5:55)

2009, Listening Library

254 pgs.

YA CRF

Finished 9/13/13

Goodreads Rating: 3.95

My Rating: Loved it (4) 

TPPL

Contemporary Red Bend, Wisconsin

My comments:  All three books in this series were terrific, and I can't imagine reading them out-of-order or as a standalone.  There's so much helpful background on each of the character in books one and two.  This book, for some reason, seemed a little different.  I had realized that D.J. was shy, but didn't realize to what extent until I discovered her quietness on the basketball court, where she could outplay anyone, but needed leadership qualities.  It was fun seeing how she finally figured out how to deal with that.  And it was great seeing how much she loved her now-wheelchair-bound brother, who pushed her until she didn't even want to talk to him.  I think my favorite thing about her, though, was the way she thought about things, cleverly and with great humor.  Murdock pulls off a first person narrative with gusto! (But what's with the cover photo?  Yuck!)

Goodreads:  After five months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I'm always in the background—it's a family joke, actually, that us Schwenk kids could go to school naked on picture day, we're all so crazy tall. But I mean I was returning to the background of life. Where no one would really notice me or talk about me or even talk to me much except to say things like "Nice shot," and I could just hang out without too many worries at all.

But it turns out other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend High School junior who's keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, who she should not be thinking about! Who she is done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway...

What's going to happen if she lets these people down? What's going to happen when she does? Because let's face it: there's no way, on the court or off, that awkward, tongue-tied D.J. Schwenk can manage all this attention. No way at all. Not without a brain transplant. Not without breaking her heart.