Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
by Susan Gregg Gilmore

    LOOKING FOR SALVATION AT THE DAIRY QUEEN by Susan Gregg Gilmore
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  6/9/09
    Publisher:  Three Rivers Press
    Reviewed by:  JodiG.
    Rating:  5 Stars


    It’s the 1970’s, and Catherine Grace Cline is stuck in the one place she knows she doesn’t belong - her hometown
    of Ringgold, Georgia. It’s a town that just doesn’t fit her. It’s too small and too quiet. She spends every Saturday
    eating Dilly Bars at the Dairy Queen and plotting her escape.

    Catherine Grace is the daughter of a third-generation Baptist minister. Her father leads his flock through the joys and
    sorrows of their lives, the same way he has led his family through their own troubled times. Catherine Grace is also
    the daughter of Lena Mae Pierce, and has been haunted by the death of her mother. How could her mother have
    drowned in the creek and left Catherine Grace and her sister? Why would God let that happen?

    The only exciting person Catherine Grace knows is Gloria Jean, who lives next door. Gloria Jean has her hair, nails,
    and make-up done like no other woman in town. She dresses well and has the sophisticated air of a woman who’s
    been married five times, and isn’t ashamed to admit it.  

    Catherine Grace soon finds that she has the chance to change her world. The chance she has dreamed of. She says
    goodbye to her family, friends, and her boyfriend and moves to Atlanta, where she lives the life she knew she was
    destined for.

    But it isn’t long before tragedy strikes and Catherine returns home again to find that nothing is as she thought. A series
    of revelations leads Catherine Grace to wonder if Ringgold was the place where she really belonged all along, or is
    she throwing away her dreams like so many other people in her life have done?
       
    LOOKING FOR SALVATION AT THE DAIRY QUEEN is a very endearing story. Susan Gregg Gilmore writes
    in a way that immediately brings Catherine Grace to life and gives her a clear, unique voice. The story is surprising
    and suspenseful; it keeps you turning the pages until you get to the satisfying end.