Dairy Queen

I am reading this novel with high school students of various levels and they are all enjoying and identifying with the book. I have written guided reading questions, vocabulary and research project suggestions for each chapter and will share them if you e-mail me and request them mcollelo@sbcglobal.net

This book has a fresh and suprising narrator. So many YA books have smart and bookish kids, but this one is a jock, and the details of football training and rural life are spot-on. I was glad that there were few easy answers, and I was left wanting more. Good thing there's a sequel!

Catherine Gilbert Murdock has written a great coming-of-age story that will appeal to readers of all ages. D.J. Schwenk, a Wisconsin farm girl, belongs to a family that is long on work ethic, but misses the boat on communicating. Since no one in her family talks to each other, D.J. has a lot of time to think about things - her disabled father's cooking experiments; her two older brothers who haven't been home since Christmas; her workaholic mother who's never home; a younger brother who barely talks at all; the handsome quarterback who's helping out on her family farm for the summer; and her own desire to play on her school's football team. How D.J. comes to terms with all the dilemmas she faces, makes for a fun-filled read. Excellent writing by the author coupled with wonderfully-crafted characters makes this book an all-out winner.

The only sport that D.J. will truly ever know is football, what with most of her family playing it and the cows having names like Joe Namath. The only life D.J. Schwenk is used to is the farm life. Now that her two oldest brothers are gone to college, and never seem to stay in contact with them, and her father having a bad hip, it's up to D.J. and her brother, Curtis, the one that hardly ever talks, to get things done.

But this summer it looks like D.J. will be getting an extra hand from Brian Nelson, the football player from Hawley, the enemy school. Even though Brian is helping, he isn't very good at it. Let's just say his farm work is as bad as his football skills. But for some reason, everyone thinks he's the next greatest football player. What's worse is that D.J. is actually starting to like Brian, but he's the enemy and can hardly throw a ball. So what does D.J. do? Well, she starts to train Brian, since she would always have to help her brothers during football season, and maybe now Brian would see her as more than just a farm girl.

That's not the only issue that D.J. has though; her mother is working two jobs to support the family and it seems like she is keeping something from them. And D.J.'s best friend isn't being so friendly anymore. And what about the idea that just so suddenly pops up into D.J.'s mind, the one that says she should try out for the football team. Let's just hope that not everyone in her town will go crazy over this idea, especially her parents. But can she do it?

DAIRY QUEEN is an extremely cute coming-of-age novel. It goes against all the clichés where girls are just not good at guy sports. And D.J. is the perfect heroine, showing that anyone can do anything if they just put their mind to it. A wonderful story that is far from ice-cream -- but it still fills your heart with joy!

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

Refreshing and wholesome, Catherine Gilbert Murdock's DAIRY QUEEN stands like a tall glass of cold milk in a crowded YA soda cooler. Examples that set it apart: the setting is Wisconsin; the protagonist (D.J. Schwenk) is a 15-year-old tomboy who wants to play on the boys' football team; and D.J. falls in love with the quarterback of her hometown's archrival (of all people).

The first-person point of view provides an intimate, even folksy bit of country charm. Murdock keeps it clean, too, choosing to make this much more than a farm girl-meets-privileged boy tale by highlighting the strange family dynamics of the Schwenks. Like many of us, this family has its secrets. For example, sons Bill and Win, who have left the nest (OK, farm), are not talking to the dad; the youngest boy, Curtis, is not much talking to ANYone; and nobody seems to know how to talk the words "I'm sorry" to each other.

D.J.'s curmudgeonly dad can no longer run the dairy due to physical limitations and her mom is subbing as the principal at a local school. That leaves D.J. and Curtis to milk the cows and run the farm. When archrival Hawley's coach (a good friend of D.J.'s dad) sends quarterback Brian Nelson to the farm to work, D.J. falls udderly in love and takes on the improbable (and some readers might complain, unbelievable) role of Brian's personal trainer.

The Brian-D.J. relationship takes front seat, but D.J.'s place in her family is equally compelling. Then there's her best friend Amber. More secrets. (And you thought life was all cheeseheads and sausages in Wisconsin. Who knew?)

Reluctant readers will probably balk at reading this book (or perhaps only "skim" it, if you'll pardon some dairy bad word play), but readers with an appreciation for characterization and not just plot should enjoy it. And while it is more a girl's book, DAIRY QUEEN has just enough football to intrigue, perhaps, a guy who likes to read as well. Or maybe not. Four stars for novelty and psychological drama. And pass the cookies.