Saturday, October 17, 2009

Front and Center

Front and Center Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Book 8 of 55 for the Countdown Challenge (2009)
Series: Book 3 of 3 (Dairy Queen)

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Since this book doesn't hit the shelves until Monday, I was thrilled to receive an email yesterday from my library telling me that this book was ready for pickup. I really liked Dairy Queen and I loved The Off Season, and I have been eagerly anticipating this final installment.

This book picks up right where The Off Season left off, with DJ returning to school, hoping that life will get back to normal. It is time for basketball season, and although she knows she needs a scholarship if she is ever going to get off the farm and out of Red Bend, she didn't realize how intense and stressful the recruiting process was going to be in her junior year. She also has a boy, who is a friend, making his intentions clear that he wants to be her boyfriend and she isn't still totally recovered from her first (and last) relationship.

This is really just a book about life. The characters are flawed, and realistically so, but I was rooting for them the whole way. There is humor and poignancy and all the things that make everyday existence so meaningful, and yet so maddening. I don't even like sports or cows, but I enjoy my time in DJ's world.

The whole series is well-written and uplifting. Front and Center is the perfect end to this delightful trilogy. Highly recommended for 8th grade and up.

Also reviewed by:
Source: Library

7 comments:

alisonwonderland said...

My library hasn't got their copies of Front and Center ready for circulation yet - but I'm on the hold list and I'm eager to read it!

Corinne said...

WAHOO! I can't wait to read this one :)

bermudaonion said...

Sounds like a great series. I want to read it, but want to start with the first book, of course.

Kim said...

I read Dairy Queen about 6 months ago and enjoyed it but I had no idea this was a series. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on these other two. Thanks for the info!

Melissa said...

Oh, MAN! I need to read this one. Soon. Sounds great.

Booklogged said...

Wow, with such a high rating I'm going to have to read this series. I'll bet my daughter will like it, also. Thanks Tricia.

Booklogged said...

Tricia, I was wondering if you would join me for Blogging Around the States? It's a new feature I do every Saturday where I interview a fellow blogger and ask a few questions about them and their state. If you are interested, email me at booklogged at gmail dot com. You can check out some of the earlier interviews here. I post the original review on A Reader's Journal. Hope you'll consider doing this.