By Corinne Edwards

Front And Center (Houghton Mifflin Books/ Oct 2009) is the third and final book in a trilogy, so I highly recommend reading Dairy Queen (Graphia/ 2007) and The Off Season (Graphia/ 2008) first.

That being said, this is such a fantastic wrap up to what has been a fantastically enjoyable series. D. J. is back in school and ready to play her favorite sport--basketball. And as much as D.J. would prefer to blend in the background instead of having to, you know, talk to people or especially ever be in the limelight, things are taken out of her hands--a bit. And suddenly she's got some really tough decisions to make: about boys, about playing basketball and about the kind of girl she wants to be.

Maybe the thing I love most about these books is D.J. and her relationship with her family - they're a quirky bunch, as full of faults as every other family, but they really do watch out for each other. And they are so grounded in the Midwest, with their farm and love of sports and small-town sense of community. Not only that, but D.J.'s commentary on the world is just such a pleasure to read; she's a riot. Her internal wisecracks and sarcastic observations are nearly always spot-on. And in this final book, she really does have to dig deep to find out what she's willing to do for the people she loves - and for herself. Loved it.

Catherine Gilbert Murdock says about herself, "For the record, I did not play football or basketball in high school. I ran cross-country and track, badly, but I have absolutely no skill whatsoever with ball sports."  However, you'll find that she is a phenomenal writer.  You can find the author online at www.catherinemurdock.com.

Book Review: The Midwife--A Memoir by Jennifer Worth

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