D.J. Schwenk, while not really happy, never complains or questions her life on the family's small dairy farm in Wisconsin. After her father injures himself, the 15-year-old girl must do the farm work almost single-handedly, including milking the cows. She never really noticed the similarities between her life and the lives of the cows. D.J. is a jock, so on top of all her farm chores, she takes on training Brian, the quarterback on a rival school's football team. The summer they spend together changes everything as D.J. discovers that she has lots to say about her life and what she wants out of it. Natalie Moore perfectly narrates this first novel by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. The characters come alive with her subtly intimate narration, voice changes, and use of accents. Listeners will relate to D.J.'s summer of self-discovery. Not to be missed.
