Review - Front and Center Catherine Gilbert Murdock .

After 5 months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I'm ever in the background-it's a family joke, actually, that us Schwenk kids could go to school naked on show day, we're all so crazy tall. But I think I was reverting to the backdrop of life. Where no one would really notice me or speak about me or even talk to me much except to say things like "Nice shot," and I could only flow out without too many worries at all.

But it turns out other folk 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 latin and karaoke. Not to name Brian Nelson, who she should not be thought about! Who she is through with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway. What's going to find if she lets these people down? What's going to pass 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 do all this attention. No way at all. Not without a brain transplant. Not without breaking her heart. Goodreads.Review -Whereas the first two novels in the Dairy Queen series beautifully articulated the spirit of a female athlete, Front and Center felt lazy in comparison. The stakes were higher in the previous titles, or the urgency seemed greater. This title chose to represent DJ's struggles in an introspective, self deliberating style that failed to oppose the front and rate of its predecessors. College is a big deal, I am not dismissing that but it is hard to operate with it as DJ's core issue when she has colleges falling over her and she remains apathetic. By mid period of the novel, I didn't care where she chose to go (or if at all) just as tenacious as the repetitive conversations about college and her self doubt stopped. Yes, this is realistic but it wasn't depicted (or discussed) in a way that captured this reader's interest. Another result was the court between DJ and Brian. The football roadblock has been removed but DJ's relationship with Beaner makes living more complicated. Of course this development evolves into one of jealousy and yearning. The one non-cliche aspect is Beaner's reactions and maturity to it all. DJ's conflicted feelings manifest in actions that result in this reader respecting the role a whole lot less. It also felt inconsistent with the growth of the character, no matter how hard her feelings were for Brian. For a persona who is all class, her choices were distinctly classless. Ultimately Front and Meat is a bit of a slog. It lacks the light and propulsion of the early novels and as such feels distinctly forced. The coaching subplot didn't go in the way it could have. It rendered the novel leaden in its attempts to further shine DJ's halo. An anti climatic finale to an otherwise sterling trilogy exploring athleticism, confidence and empowerment. Published: October 2009 Format: Hardcover, 254 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children Source: purchased Origin: USA