D.J. is a sixteen-year-old girl growing up on a dairy farm in Red Bend, Wisconsin. Her family has a lot of communication problems, most notable among them the fact that her father doesn’t speak to her two college-age brothers, who are both gifted football players. Her father also has had a hip replacement, leaving D.J. to assume primary responsibility around the farm. Her dad’s best friend, the coach of the rival high school football team, sends his star quarterback, Brian, to help D.J. with the farm work in order to toughen him up. Having helped her brothers train for football when they were in high school, D.J. soon begins working as Brian’s trainer and, over the course of the summer, finds that she, too, is skilled at football. D.J. is so good, in fact, that she decides to try out for her high school team. She also grows to like Brian—a lot. But her inability to talk about her feelings, and her skill on the football field, combine to alienate Brian, forcing D.J. to think hard about what she wants and what she’s willing to do to get it. Murdock’s cast of characters, from major to minor, show depth and credibility, never relying on stereotype. In a novel both funny and moving, the author tackles themes of love, friendship, family, gender, and athletics in a novel that strongly conveys a sense of life in a small Wisconsin town. (Ages 13–16)

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.
Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can’t help admitting, maybe he’s right.

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.
Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn’t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won’t even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league.

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.
Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.