As DJ Schwenk gets into her junior year of high school basketball, she faces two difficult decisions about her life. Will she give a verbal pledge to one of the Big Ten colleges trying to recruit her to play Division I ball for them, or will she aim for a much smaller school? And will she keep dating silly, likable, Beaner... or will she go back to Brian, yet again?
Honestly, if you just picked this book up without reading the first two in the series, I think you'd probably be a bit bored with it. The whole book really does revolve around those two questions.
But if you have read the other two, and you're now reading this one, then it's surely because you just love DJ Schwenk, and you're rooting for her, and going through the struggles with her. And that was me. "Front and Center" is not up there with "Dairy Queen," and doesn't have the emotional impact of "The Off Season," but if you love DJ, you've just got to go on to find out what happens to her next. ( )

As the last of the 3 books in the "Dairy Queen" series, I found it to be nearly a clone of the second book. Although I can easily see the author continuing the series with at least one more book, I think this particular story has lost it's appeal for me. I liked the uniqueness of a girl playing HS boys football in the first book. Without that particular storyline, it's just an ordinary story. Like the others, Front and Center is a fast read. While still enjoyable, and while I would like to see what happens to DJ in 10 years or so, I think I'm going to head in a different direction with my reading for awhile. ( )

I'm so happy how D.J.'s storyline finished. Her and Win killed me last book and their bond really showed. It concluded with something about their relationship which I loved. I also enjoyed all the talk about basketball although I did miss her playing football so much. Her fears about college were my fears. D.J. has been one of my favorite characters ever. I find her so inspiring and it's sad to say goodbye. ( )

Book Three of “The Dairy Queen” series picks up shortly after the end of the second book in this trilogy. D.J. (for Darlene Joyce) Schwenk, 16 now, is six feet tall, athletic, funny, and the charming narrator of this trilogy about her “coming of age” in Red Bend, Wisconsin. D.J. was playing football for her high school for a while, but had to give it up after an injury; now she is concentrating on becoming a better basketball player so she can get a scholarship to college. She also remains fixated on Brian Nelson, the quarterback of Red Bend’s main rival, Hawley, and someone who seemed to like her, but only when his friends couldn’t see he was with her instead of someone “cooler.” She decides she deserves better.

She starts going out with a boy she has always considered a friend, “Beaner” Halstaad, but she just doesn’t feel that “spark” she felt with Brian. And of course, that’s not her only problem. In order to excel at basketball, she has to exhibit leadership skills, which means speaking out and being assertive, something the shy D.J. has always avoided. In fact, the very idea frightens her enough that she wants to avoid the better teams of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), just so she can stay in the background.

D.J. has to figure out if she can overcome her fears to become all that she can be, and decide on the best way to deal with her conflicted feelings about the boys in her life. Those of us who have been following D.J.’s progress since Book One of this appealing series know she will figure out a way; the fun is going through the process with her.

Evaluation: Book Three of this charming coming-of-age series is mostly wrapping up the issues presented in the previous books. But overall, this series has a lot of positive aspects and is full of humor. The protagonist is comfortable with her “non-size zero” body and learns to capitalize on her other assets at well. I strongly recommend this series for girls who don’t fit into the usual mold of “the popular set” in high school. ( )

A fitting and very satisfying conclusion to the DJ series! What a wonderful character!