BKHorne

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.