Voice, voice, voice. This one is all about the FANTASTIC voice of DJ Schwenk. Ms. Murdock as done an impressive job creating her character. DJ literally leaps off the page. It took me a while to pick this book up because I didn't think that a story about a Wisconsin girl who lives and works on a farm and likes football would appeal to me in any way. I really DON'T like sports books. I'll read a sports romance here and there, but they really aren't my thing. I was VERY surprised at home compelling this book was. And again, it's all because of DJ and her voice. Ironic, that a narrator whose major character flaw is her inability to speak to other characters, could have such a strong narrative voice, but that is really the genius of this book.
More than the voice, this is a story about family and loyalty. It is also a story a little bit about love, but mostly about accepting yourself and growing up, but it's never preachy. There are a lot of books that feel like an adult wrote them, talking to kids. This is not that book. This is a book where the reader muddles along with the narrator, but somehow comes out the end of the story with a profoundly different view. It felt like learning life's lessons right along with DJ. In short, it was great. So great, that I immediately picked up book two.