Austin Gray wants to be a “hood ornament” in the No-Jesus Christmas Parade more than anything. She’s sick and tired of being the butt of Dean Ottmer’s jokes, and she’s sure this plan will turn things around. She just needs to join the FFA [Future Farmers of America], make some friends, raise an animal to show at the fair, and win a blue ribbon. THEN, she can be elected the FFA hood ornament. Simple, right?
This story is about so much more than a girl who is trying to win a popularity contest to defeat a bully, though. It’s about a mother and daughter who are still trying to work past the loss of a husband and father. It’s about the dynamics of a small town where everyone knows “everything” about everyone. And, it’s about how Austin finally gets to the realization that Dean Ottmer’s opinion is “as significant to [her] life as a fart in a tornado.”