Dairy Queen

By Catherine Gilbert Murdock

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 4, 2007
• ISBN: 9780547349183

Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Catherine Murdock grew up on a small farm in Connecticut and now lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband, two brilliant unicycling children, several cats, and a one-acre yard that she is slowly transforming into a wee, but flourishing ecosystem. She is the author of several books, including the popular Dairy Queen series starring lovable heroine D. J. Schwenk,  Princess Ben, and Wisdom's Kiss.

Book preview

Copyright © 2006 by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

All rights reserved. Originally published in the United States by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2006.

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to [e-mail] or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhco.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert.

Dairy queen : a novel / by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.

p. cm.

Summary: After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school’s rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

[1. Football—Fiction. 2. Farm life—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.M9416 Dai 2006

[Fic]—dc22 2005019077

ISBN 978-0-618-68307-9 hardcover

ISBN 978-0-618-86335-8 paperback

eISBN 978-0-547-34918-3

v7.0920

To James, and Liz, and Mr. Webster

1

Schwenk Farm

This whole enormous deal wouldn’t have happened, none of it, if Dad hadn’t messed up his hip moving the manure spreader. Some people laugh at that, like Brian did. The first time I said Manure Spreader he bent in half, he was laughing so hard. Which would have been hilariously funny except that it wasn’t. I tried to explain how important a manure spreader is, but it only made him laugh harder, in this really obnoxious way he has sometimes, and besides, you’re probably laughing now too. So what. I know where your milk comes from, and your hamburgers.

I’ll always remember the day it all started because Joe Namath was so sick. Dad names all his cows after football players. It’s pretty funny, actually, going to the 4-H fair, where they list the cows by farm and name. Right there next to Happy Valley Buttercup is Schwenk Walter Payton, because none of my grandpas or great-grandpas could ever come with up a name for our place better than boring old Schwenk Farm.

Joe Namath was the only one left from the year Dad named the cows after Jets players, which I guess is kind of fitting in a way, seeing how important the real Joe Namath was and all. Our Joe was eleven years old, which is ancient for a cow, but she was such a good milker and calver we couldn’t help but keep her. These past few weeks, though, she’d really started failing, and on this morning she wasn’t even at the gate with the other cows waiting for me, she was still lying down in the pasture, and I had to help her to stand up and everything, which is pretty hard because she weighs about a ton, and she was really limping going down to the barn, and her eyes were looking all tired.

I milked her first so she could lie down again, which she did right away. Then when milking was over I left her right where she was in the barn, and she didn’t even look like she minded. Smut couldn’t figure out what I was doing and she wouldn’t come with me to take the cows back to pasture—she just stood there in the barn, chewing on her slimy old football and waiting for me to figure out I’d forgotten one of them. Finally she came, just so she could race me back home like she always does, and block me the way Win taught her. Smut was his dog, but now that he’s not talking to Dad anymore, or to me, or ever coming home again it seems like, I guess now she’s mine.

---

When I went in for breakfast Curtis was reading the sports section and eating something that looked kind of square and flat and black. Like roofing shingles. Curtis will eat anything because he’s growing so much. Once he complained about burnt scrambled eggs, but other than that he just shovels it in. Which makes me look like I’m being all picky about stuff that, trust me, is pretty gross.

Dad handed me a plate and shuffled back to the stove with his walker. When things got really bad last winter with his hip and Mom working two jobs and me doing all the farm work because you can’t milk thirty-two cows with a walker, Dad decided to chip in by taking over the kitchen. But he never said, I’m going to start cooking or I’m not too good at this, how could I do it better? or anything like that. He just started putting food in front of us and then yelling at us if we said anything, no matter how bad it looked. Like now.

It’s French toast, Dad said like it was totally obvious. He hadn’t shaved in a while, I noticed, and his forehead was white the way it’ll always be from all those years of wearing a feed cap while his chin and nose and neck were getting so tan.

I forced down a bite. It tasted kind of weird and familiar. What’s in here?

Cinnamon.

Cinnamon? Where’d you get that idea?

The Food Channel. He said it really casual, like he didn’t know what it meant.

Curtis and I looked at each other. Curtis doesn’t laugh, really—he’s the quietest one in the family, next to him I sound like Oprah Winfrey or something, he makes Mom cry sometimes he’s so quiet—but he was grinning.

I tried to sound matter-of-fact, which was hard because I was just about dying inside: How long you been watching the Food Channel, Dad?

You watch your mouth.

Curtis went back to his paper, but you could tell from his shoulders that he was still grinning.

I pushed the shingles around on my plate, wishing I didn’t have to say this next thing. Dad? Joe’s looking real bad.

How bad?

Bad, I said. Dad knew what I was talking about; he’d seen her yesterday. I hate it when he acts like I’m stupid.

We didn’t say anything more. I sat there forcing down my shingles and doing the math in my head. I’d known Joe since I was four years old. That’s more than three-quarters of my life, she’d been around. Heck, Curtis was only a baby when she was born. He couldn’t even remember her not existing. Thinking stuff like that, there’s really not much point to making conversation.

---

After breakfast me and Curtis disinfected all the milk equipment and worked on the barn the way we have to every day cleaning out the calf pens and sweeping the aisles and shoveling all the poop into the gutter in the barn floor, then turning on the conveyer belt in the gutter to sweep it out to the manure cart so we can haul it away.

Back when Grandpa Warren was alive, the barn just shined it was so clean. He’d spread powdered lime on the floor every day to keep everything fresh, and wipe down the light bulbs and the big fans that brought fresh air in, and whitewash the walls every year. The walls hadn’t been painted in a long time, though. I guess Dad was hurting too much these past few years to do any real cleaning, and I sure didn’t have the time. So the barn looked pretty crappy, and smelled it too.

Whenever I passed by Joe Namath I’d take a minute to pat her and tell her what a good cow she was, because I had a pretty good idea what was coming. When I heard a truck pull into the yard, I knew it was the cattle dealer come to take her away. I gave her another pat. I’ll be right back, I said, like that would help, and went out to say hello at least. Delay it. Curtis followed me out because we don’t get that many visitors.

It wasn’t the cattle dealer standing there, though.

Dad came out of the kitchen pushing his walker, this satisfied look on his face. He spotted me. I’m sure you know who this is?

Yeah. I did. Curtis right behind me whistled between his teeth, only it wasn’t whistling so much as blowing, like the sound bulls make when they’re really mad. Because standing in front of his brand-new Cherokee in his brand-new work boots, looking about as much a part of our junky old farmyard as a UFO, was Brian Nelson.

2

Put to Work

Let me explain. See, Red Bend is my town and my school, and neither one is very big. There are about 130 kids in each grade—128 of us are starting eleventh grade next fall—and if you figure half of them are girls, and some of the skinny boys do cross-country, and some of the others have jobs or play club soccer, or I don’t know, there’s something wrong with them, that leaves about 20 guys to try out for the football team. Plus the other three classes, including the freshmen who are mostly still too little, and then you cut all the players who aren’t any good, and the kids on JV, and you’ve got a team that’s not the best there ever was, even with our league playing eight-on-eight instead of eleven players to a side like you see on TV.

Well, right next to us is Hawley, and Hawley has 200 kids in a class, which means that they’ve got almost twice as many guys to make up a football team. And for years, ever since these two towns were named, almost, Red Bend and Hawley have been enemies. Since they invented football back at Yale and Harvard, Red Bend and Hawley have been enemies. (I wrote a paper last year on how football was invented, which is why at least I didn’t flunk history.) And Hawley almost always wins everything. That’s why I was so mad about having to quit basketball last year, because us Red Bend She-Wolves had already beat the Hawley Tigresses once and we probably would have beat them again. But we lost, I mean our team lost, but I wasn’t on it anymore—I was stuck working both milkings because Dad was so sick—and Red Bend lost in double overtime. That was the only time I ever saw Amber—my best friend—it was the only time I ever saw her cry.

Anyway, their football team is really good, and our football team is as good as it can be considering how small our school is, and the Hawley kids, and some Hawley grownups too, act like we stink and they’re the best. Which isn’t true. Four years ago when Win was a senior and Bill was a sophomore, Red Bend beat Hawley in the most completely amazing football game I have ever seen. My brother Win, even though he was quarterback and wasn’t even supposed to be kicking, went in at the last second to attempt a field goal because this was his last game for Red Bend and he was just about the best player Red Bend has ever seen except for my other brother Bill, and he kicked it right through the goalposts like kicking a football was the only thing in life he’d ever done, and we won and, well, there isn’t really any way I could describe what it was like, how everyone was screaming and my dad and mom were both crying and how Win was carried around by the whole team and then right there on everyone’s shoulders he waved his hand up to the clouds because that’s what we do to remember our Grandpa Warren who Win was named after, and then I started crying too, and it was—it was just a pretty amazing experience. Sometimes when I start thinking about how screwed up our family is, or when it’s cold and I’m milking and the machines won’t work and a cow steps on my foot and my hands are so cold I keep dropping things, then I remember how I felt at that moment and I feel a little better.

But most of the time when I think about Hawley all I feel is pissed off.

---

So when Brian Nelson stepped out of his fancy new truck in his fancy new work boots that his mother probably bought him at Wal-Mart, I was just about as angry as I’ve ever been. Brian Nelson’s a Hawley quarterback. Hawley’s backup quarterback, but still. Quarterbacks are always pretty full of themselves—even Win was sometimes, though he had a right to be—and Brian Nelson is just about the worst. He gets top grades and his father owns a dealership so of course he has a new Cherokee, and all the girls are after him, and last year he had scouts looking at him even though he wasn’t a starter because his grades are so good that he’d raise the team GPA, which coaches always like. But ever since I’ve been watching him play, ever since junior high even, whenever he fumbles or messes up or gets intercepted, he always right off the bat blames someone else, which is really annoying to me and I bet it’s even annoyinger to everyone else on his team who’s working so hard. He’s the very worst that a lazy, stuck-up, spoiled Hawley quarterback could be.

But there he stood in his fancy new work boots and his Hawley Football cutoffs and his Hawley Football T-shirt. Hey, Mr. Schwenk, how’s your hip doing?

Not too bad, said Dad, shaking his hand. You know my daughter D.J., and my boy Curtis?

Hey. Brian nodded at us, and I could see just by the way he moved his head that he was thinking about all those games Hawley has won over the years and about how he had a new truck and new boots but we were just dumb farmers with a bunch of rusty old machinery and cow manure on our clothes who couldn’t even pass sophomore English because we were so busy with farm work. Well, one of us was, anyway. Not that I thought Brian knew about that, but standing there I sure was aware that I’d gotten an F, right there on my year-end report card, and that he never would.

There was a really long silence.

Dad eyeballed me. D.J., you gonna say hello?

No. That was great. Sometimes—well, all the time—I can’t think of what to say because I’m so dumb and stuff, and then maybe I think of it like five days later. But I’ll remember that one. For the rest of my life I’ll remember that no. Because if nothing else, it got a little bit of that smirk off Brian’s face.

There was another long silence. If I had to make this into a movie, I’d have everyone count to twenty-five before saying anything. That’s how long the silences were.

Brian cleared his throat. Jimmy Ott thought I could, you know, help you guys out with haying.

Jimmy Ott sent you over? I asked, very suspicious.

He shrugged. For the day.

Dad adjusted his walker. D.J. here will put you to work.

Brian shrugged like it didn’t matter to him one way or the other, and I shrugged the same way. But I wasn’t quite so mad now that I knew Jimmy Ott had sent him over. I could put Brian to work. Heck, I could sure do that.

I jerked my head at Brian to follow me. You know anything about tractors?

Brian snorted like it was the dumbest question he’d ever heard. I knew he didn’t.

How about power takeoffs?

He didn’t even bother answering that one. Instead he just patted Smut, who ate it up, the traitor. What’s her name? he asked.

Smut.

You’re kidding. That’s her name?

I didn’t bother answering.

For a while Brian stood there watching me hook the hay wagon to the tractor, but he wasn’t helpful at all and besides, I was so busy showing off how good I was that I almost broke my thumb and then I had to pretend nothing was wrong, which wasn’t so great for my mood. He ended up playing tug of war with Smut. Smut would play tug of war for two straight weeks until she collapsed of starvation and died. It really ticked me off that she was playing with him instead of staying next to me getting in my way and sticking her nose in my butt whenever I bent over. Not that I enjoyed that part, but she was my dog after all.

Right when I finished, the cattle dealer pulled in and I went to get Joe.

She was still lying in her stall right where I’d left her, chewing her cud with this really tired look on her face. I thought about the day she was born and how Grandpa Warren let me bottle-feed her for a couple days just because bottle-feeding is so much fun for little kids. I unhooked her, telling her how great she was and what a great milker she’d always been, and helped her stand up because her legs didn’t work so good, and led her out to the yard one last time. There was no way in this universe I was going to let Brian Nelson of all people see me get all mushy over a cow. So I just handed her to the cattle dealer and he loaded her up in his wagon and off they went, Dad and I standing there to see her off.

Anyway, that was the last of Schwenk Joe Namath.

No one said anything for a bit except Brian, who was teasing Smut, trying to pull her rope away, not even interested in what just happened.

Dad glared at him. What are you doing?

Uh, hanging out.

Hanging out. Dad let those words rest in the yard for a bit. Hard to believe a guy with a walker could be so scary. Hanging out, eh? You’re here to learn how to goddam work, and if you want to start this season, you better get to it.

Brian stiffened. Yes, sir, he said, not looking up.

In a way I was sort of sorry for Brian. I sure know what it’s like to get both barrels. The only reason Dad got mad was because he was cut up about having to sell Joe. If this was a perfect world, we’d keep her forever and spend a million dollars trying to fix her sore legs and she’d die of old age in a rocking chair in some pretty green pasture. But this isn’t a perfect world, it’s Wisconsin, and feed costs money and vets cost money, and we barely have enough for the healthy cows, and the butcher pays us money for the old cows, and that money feeds the healthy ones. But of course Dad couldn’t say that, any more than I could. I can barely figure it out to write it down. So instead he just beat up on Brian. Who deserved it.

Dad glared at me. You got a job for him to do?

I jumped. Um, yeah. We’re ready to go. I nodded at the tractor.

Curtis! Dad hollered.

---

As cut up as I was about Joe, I couldn’t help noticing what Dad had said about how Brian needed to work for us if he wanted to be a starter. Learn how to goddam work—that’s what Dad said, his exact words. I mean, it was one thing for Jimmy Ott to send Brian over because we were short-handed haying. But the fact that Brian had to come or he wouldn’t get to play football, to start, which is a big deal especially if you want to play college ball, well, that was different. That explained why Brian even showed up at all. Because it wasn’t like he was in love with us, or wanted to learn agricultural science. If he had to work for us, if it was some kind of test Jimmy Ott was giving him, well, that was something else altogether.

Jimmy Ott—I guess I should explain about him too—he’s been the Hawley football coach for twenty-nine years. He sells insurance too, but mainly he’s just a really good coach and a really good guy. A long time ago before Dad and Mom even met and even though Dad had played for Red Bend when he was in high school, Dad and Jimmy coached together. Dad had just gotten out of the army and he was living here with Grandpa Warren and Grandma Joyce, and the two of them ran the Hawley football program. That’s how Dad met Mom, because she was new in town teaching at Red Bend, and she went to the Red Bend–Hawley game because that’s what everyone does, and they got to talking and then they got married. And even after they were married and living in the

Reviews for Dairy Queen

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

15-year-old DJ Schwenk is having a rough time. Her two older brothers have left home for college and never call or write. Her younger brother, Curtis, rarely speaks. Her mother is bogged down trying to work two jobs, and her demanding father has had a hip operation, and can't do the work on the family's dairy farm. That leaves DJ to run the farm - while going to high school, where she's failing English. The last thing she needs is for their great family friend, (who is the coach of her school's rival football team), to ask her of all people to train, Brian, one of his players, on their farm during the summer. And then her life gets more complicated when she and Brian start to kinda-sorta like each other. Throw into the mix her own secret decision to play on her schools football team, and she's got one complicated life to figure out.DJ is one of those teen novel protagonists who are super smart and tough as nails in some ways, while still sort of innocent and vulnerable in other ways. I absolutely loved her, and the book both! (Didn't know it was a series until I went to write this review... now I've got more to look forward to.)

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a lively quirky YA novel. D.J. is a high school athlete who has had to leave the basketball team to work in the family's dairy while her father is sidelined with a hip injury. Her path from numb resentful acceptance to articulate choice is a good journey even if it does rely heavily on football. The weakness is that the problems that face her family really require more than one individual finding a voice.

[jennysbookbag.com · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I discovered this while browsing the YA section in the library one day. It was one of those moments when you have no idea what you want to read, but you know you're in the mood for something YA. It's a quick read.

[bleached_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Growing up with a friend who lived on a dairy farm, it was definitely a cute and relatable read. It was a little sad to see homophobia shoved in there as though all farmers don't understand what "gay" means, but otherwise, it was an enjoyable read.

[mtlkch-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book - quick read.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, I grew up in a small town in WI and this is close enough to being authentic that I'm not terribly perturbed. But, seriously, no matter how strong (in all meanings of the word) DJ is, she cannot do all the farm chores herself and still have time to fret about all the things that teenagers need to fret about. Mom's town job clearly makes all the money that sends the boys on their adventures.

But hey, it's still an utterly (no, I'm not going there, but you can if you want) bewitching book. I absolutely love the totally original premise and characters. And I disagree with other reviewers - the cover is what grabbed me.

Now I see it's first in a series. Hm. Well, I was sad to say goodbye to the Schwenks and to Red Bend when I closed the book, so I might look for them. Otoh, the ending was satisfying, so maybe not.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this because I kept seeing it on lists like “Favorite Teen Read,” “Teen Recommended,” “ALA Best Books for Young Adults,” etc. And it also had many blurbs saying, in essence, “I loved this book.” And unsurprisingly, I loved it as well.D.J. (for Darlene Joyce) Schwenk is 15 when the book begins, and she has taken over most of the chores at her family’s farm in Red Bend, Wisconsin, because her older brothers have left home, her mom is working two jobs, and her dad got injured. She has one other brother, but he’s 13, and in any event is in a summer softball league.D.J.’s dad used to be a football coach for the rival team at Hawley High, where his best friend Jimmy Ott still does the coaching. Jimmy sends his quarterback, Brian Nelson, over to help out at the farm, but Brian thinks the work is too hard, and quits after one day. He only comes back when D.J. agrees to be his personal trainer to help him prepare for the upcoming football season.The trouble starts, however, when D.J. decides she too wants to play football, for her home team of Red Bend, which is the main rival of Hawley. She doesn’t tell Brian though, because the Schwenk’s aren’t very good at communicating. Sounds fairly standard, but the character of D.J. is outstanding. She considers herself “poor, stupid, and ugly and just not cool at all” but of course she is none of those things, except poor (but only in terms of money). She’s hilariously funny, smart, courageous, and full of insight about herself and others. As one example evincing all of the above, she talks about how she and her BFF Amber watch the movie “Blue Crush” over and over. She explains:“It’s a movie about three girls who are a lot like us except they live in Hawaii and don’t have any parents and they date professional football players and surf all the time. And they’re thin. So you can see that the similarities are overwhelming.”Evaluation: I laughed out loud often while reading this charming coming-of-age story. The author has written some follow-up books and I can’t wait to read them.

[devafagan-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this, especially DJ's voice. She is one of the most true and real characters I've encountered lately. Any time I set this down and had to go do something else I could feel it pulling me back and compelling me to finish. I look forward to the rest of the series!

[crashmyparty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Don't you hate when you accidentally exit out of your review and lose the whole thing! Starting again...I first read this book about four or five years ago and when I joined Goodreads I only gave it a 3 star rating, remembering only that I had enjoyed it but not enough to make a lasting impression. I didn't realise there was more to the series until I stumbled upon the second book in a secondhand book store. Right there I decided I would find the third book also and read the series as a whole.On my second read of Dairy Queen, my immediate thoughts of how funny and touching it managed to be, often both in the space of a sentence. I felt much more connected with DJ this time around, and her running monologue really made me feel as if I was inside her head and understanding her came easy. I was especially moved by her 'I am a cow' realisation - it is a very interesting and original way to view the girl. DJ is not the typical character found in YA Lit, something that grabbed me straight away and made me like her so much.Hence my updated rating to 4 stars. Maybe I had to be a little older and wiser to appreciate this book, I'm not sure. A fun read, but one with a great message to young girls (and boys) - don't be a cow! 

[citizenjoyce · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This delightful YA book has all the themes that usually don't interest me: football, life on a farm, a gruff father, a child who just plods along under his stern direction - but it puts them together in a unique way that fleshes out a very satisfying coming of age story. I'm going to have to check out more of her work.

[mirandalg14 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A great story about cultivating relationships, making your own decisions, and growing up. 4.5 stars

[tahleen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

D.J. Schwenk has a lot to deal with. Not only is she the only daughter out of four kids, she is pretty much in charge of running the dairy farm her family owns, at least ever since her dad's hip got really bad. Her older brothers (both football stars when they were in high school) aren't talking to the rest of the family because of a fight they had with their dad, her younger brother doesn't talk, and her mother has two jobs that take up all of her time. Her dad is trying to learn how to cook (slow going). She got an F in English last year. And her friend Amber is starting to act really weird. And to top it all off? Brian Nelson, quarterback of her high school's rival's football team, is being forced to work for her family the summer before their senior year, and D.J. has agreed to train him.

D.J. has some major self-esteem issues—she fully believes that she is neither pretty nor smart, yet just accepts this as cold hard fact. It bothers her a little sometimes, but mostly she just does what needs to be done without too much to say about it. In fact, she does a lot of stuff that needs to be done, including the majority of the farm work, which irritates her a little, but again she says nothing (after all, D.J. knows that good, old-fashioned hard work is one of her greatest talents). She does everything that's expected of her, until Brian makes a comment about how she's just like a cow and will do pretty much whatever anyone tells her to do.

This gets her thinking. She notices a lot of the people in her town of Red Bend are like cows, going through the motions without deviating from the norm, at least not really. D.J. decides she does not want to be a cow. And so she makes an awesome decision. She is going to try out for the Red Bend high school football team. How great is that? I never get to read about girls trying out for sports dominated by men, and D.J. decides to do it without really worrying about how she'll be treated by other people. In fact, her biggest concerns are a) how her father will take it (hint: not well), and b) how Brian will take it (hint: worse than her dad).

I enjoyed watching (or listening) how Brian and D.J.'s relationship developed over the course of his training and the summer working on the farm. Their hatred grows into a grudging friendship, which, for D.J., eventually turns into a bit more. It's a slow transition, but how refreshing to have a realistic crush in a YA book.

As D.J. starts to work toward goals for herself, she becomes more confident, though it's subtle. She doesn't rag on herself as much as the story progresses. One thing I didn't like at first is how she references to the present (a few months after the action of the story takes place); I like to not know about anything that might happen in the future unless it's through some kind of foreshadowing. But afterward, it made sense to me and I wasn't so annoyed by it anymore.

Murdock lightly touches on heavier issues like sexism and sexuality, along with her main themes of deviating from the norm and what is expected. She handled it all very well, working it into the story without forcing it or making it an issues novel.

I was also a big fan of the language. Typical teen speak, without sounding too forced. This was probably helped by Moore's fantastic narration. She had a slight Wisconsin accent, completely taking me into D.J.'s story. Plus she emphasized and read phrases in certain ways that I might not have necessarily done while reading it, and I think it was for the better. It all sounded completely natural, and I loved it.

And again, I'm going to come back to this: D.J. tries out for football. SO awesome. For some reason I really like football stories or stories with football, despite my lack of interest in the sport itself. Weird. But I totally loved this audio book and highly recommend it, even if you're not a football fan.

[gjeselnik-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book with a genuine story. As a high school teacher, I know my students would love this book! Loved it so much I immediately bought the next in the series.

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though I haven't had much chance to reread since I began blogging, it's one of my favorite things to do. Is there anything better than revisiting an old favorite? For me, the benefits are myriad, since I generally can't remember much after just one read of a book, so I can be surprised and delighted just like the first time, implant the book in my memory, and probably also notice awesomeness I'd missed before. Of course, in some cases, I like to reread books that I didn't enjoy before, because they can really surprise you, like Dairy Queen.I'm fairly certain I've actually read Dairy Queen twice before, once in college and once in grad school. Though I have little memory of it, I have a distinct recollection of having checked out the paperback during a break from undergrad. I don't think I liked it much, and I've only just recalled that. Anyway, in grad school, I had to read Dairy Queen for my young adult services course. I did not care for it.My issues with Dairy Queen were partly context and partly format. See, I came to Dairy Queen that second time with certain expectations, because we were assigned the book as part of the LGBT unit, which included one other book Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You. I was pissed off at this book and at the professors for not choosing a single book with a gay or lesbian protagonist, though the protagonist in Cameron's novel thinks he might be gay. Though there are some LGBT themes in Dairy Queen, it's not an LGBT book overall, and I resented the book for that, even if it wasn't fair. However, I also remember being unimpressed by the writing style. D.J.'s not the sort of girl to use really complex sentences or have a huge vocabulary. Simple sentences just generally do not work for me as a writing style, so I found the book frustrating. Switching to the audiobook format allowed me to really appreciate how well the writing fits the character of D.J. Natalie Moore does an amazing job bringing the character alive, and has the full on Wisconsin accent, which is incredibly entertaining.So far as the plot goes, I really remembered nothing, except cows and football, which are certainly the most obvious points. The book being about football probably didn't help us get along any either, but Miranda Kenneally has helped me get over my distaste for anything about sports. The football in the book really isn't overwhelming, definitely taking a back seat to D.J.'s journey for self-respect and interpersonal relations.D.J. feels dumb and overwhelmed. She flunked sophomore English, because she was so busy running the family farm after her dad injured himself using the manure spreader. D.J. is so young, but she has all of this pressure and her whole family relies on her to keep the farm going. She has to give up all of her sports to run the farm, but her brother Curtis doesn't. The whole thing feels so unfair, but D.J. is a real champ about it.Then Brian Nelson shows up, sent by the coach of D.J.'s school's rival ream, who happens to be a family friend. The coach wants Brian to help out on the farm and stop being so stuck up, and eventually D.J. begins coaching Brian at football. They also go from hating one another to really getting along, able to talk about things that D.J.'s family never discusses. Her affinity for Brian grows into a crush and also inspires her to confront family issues, like talking to her estranged brothers, engaging with her silent younger brother, and gaining more respect from her parents.Romance is really kept on the back burner, though it's a thread running through the book. D.J.'s desire for romance sort of comes up against her increasing desire to play football, which both isn't girly and will inevitably lead to complications with her burgeoning feelings for Brian. D.J. also has to deal with the realization that her friend Amber is a lesbian and has sort of been dating D.J., though D.J. had no idea. Up to this summer with Brian, she'd really never given romance a thought and all of this takes her time to process.Actually, that's one of the best things about Dairy Queen. D.J. really does need time to think through things. She lacks the quick wit of a lot of heroines. Brian confronts her about always forcing him to give more in conversations by remaining silent, and she explains that she was merely trying to work out a response. D.J.'s brain works a bit differently from mine, and it's always interesting to get to be in someone else's head to gain some empathy.The narrative of the book is purportedly an assignment D.J. turns in to overturn her failure in English, since the teacher lets her make it up. When she explained that at the end, I laughed a lot, because this poor teacher. She asks for a paper on what D.J. did over the summer or something like that, and the girl turns in, instead of ten pages or so, three hundred. Happy grading!Many thanks to Renae of Respiring Thoughts and Wendy Darling of The Midnight Garden for convincing me that Dairy Queen deserved another shot. I'm excited to listen to the audiobooks for the next two books!

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a great coming of age book about a teenage girl growing up on a dairy farm. Perfect story for girls who are smart and tough and not afraid to show boys that they can compete with them on any level(Rachel - I-like-to-swim-in-ponds-filled-with-ice and Becky Long Arm - you know I'm talking about you).

[akmargie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The main character is great. She's interesting, funny, brutally honest and real. Her family situation is tough, the story was well-paced and it dealt with some major issues, coming out, family disfunction, all in a straight-forward, non-sappy, non-judgemental manner. Really enchanted and completely underrated.

Side note - this book suffered the dreaded hard cover to QP cover change. The hard cover is awesome, a cow with a freaking tiara. The QP looks like a Mag Cabot. Not that that is a bad thing just annoying, why mess with a good thing?

[skcramer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ever since her father injured his hip, fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk has done what was expected of her and taken on the brunt of running her family’s small Wisconsin dairy farm, but when a family friend sends the quarterback from her high school’s rival football team to the Schwenks’ farm to help out that summer, D. J. decides to do something unexpected and try out for her high school’s own football team. This excellent coming-of-age novel will appeal to athletes and non-athletes alike, though it is very refreshing to see a story starring a girl athlete. D. J. makes for a very likeable and relatable heroine. Her first-person narrative is filled with humor and takes full advantage of dairy-farm analogies to bring her character believably to life. The audiobook performance by Natalie Moore is a particular treat that perfectly captures D. J.’s character with a believable Wisconsin accent. The novel’s secondary characters, particularly D. J.’s tough, uncommunicative father, are also drawn with equal attention and believability. While much of the plot is expected, like D. J. developing feelings for the rival quarterback and the climactic game between the rival schools, a few unexpected twists and a very strong sense of character elevate this novel beyond the typical teen coming-of-age story. Highly recommended for readers age 12 and up.

[aleon_849032 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well , this book is really something new and different… and well its basically awesome. This book is part of a trilogy (no 4th book coming soon or ever unfortunately), the first book is really just a self empowerment type of book. The protagonist, D.J. Schwenk, works on a dairy farm, because her father has hurt his hip and cant work until he’s recovered. The book is basically about how D.J. fights against her school and others opinions to play football for the football team which is all male, and how her new friendship with her schools rival teams quarterback affects her.Reading this book really made me feel like there was nothing that can stop you from doing what you truly love. The cover really isn’t a good way to judge the book, you see the cover and you think its probably a really fluffy teenage romance cliché.... And it is, but she's not this love-sick teenage girl going crazy for this guy and she's DEFINITELY not some girly girl. This girl essentially lives in a “hick” town and for her to go out for the boys football team is a tough road, and there are a lot of people who aren’t going to be ok with it. She goes through a tough time adjusting and her life isn’t perfect in fact joining the football team doesn’t mean she can actually play against other teams. I really did like this book, its very female empowerment.What I loved about the main character is how funny, sarcastic, and open-minded she is, though you wouldn't know it from what she actually says, hiding behind a quiet exterior. Makes you think that maybe that quiet friend of yours has a lot more opinions than you actually thought. The tie in with cows is how she's most comfortable with cows and likes using them for metaphors for a lot of things in her life.Overall, its very sentimental and sweet. I really do hope you have a chance to read it, a lot of people think that this is a good sports fan book but you can enjoy it otherwise (me being a good example). The plot twists will have you hooked. This book is probably more of a tween going on teen or early teen-read.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock to be a realistic look at fifteen year old DJ Schwenk’s summer as she takes on the bulk of the work on her family’s Wisconsin Dairy Farm due to her father’s injury. With only her younger brother’s help, the work is overwhelming and her schoolwork has already suffered as she flunked English. High school football plays an important role in this small rural town and a strong rivalry with an adjacent town has built up over the years. DJ’s own family is quite involved in football as her father is a former coach and her two older brothers were stars before they left home. Brian Nelson plays for the rival team, and although talented, he needs to be trained in focus and temperament and so his coach, who is a family friend, brings him to the Schwenk farm to work and, he hopes, to be trained by DJ. At first this appears to be a bad idea as DJ and Brian are like oil and water, but gradually over the summer, they bond and DJ develops a major crush on him.But this is so much more than a girl/boy/football story. The story deals with many issues, in particular communicating and keeping secrets. A coming of age story about finding yourself as an individual and becoming comfortable in your own skin. Well written with a very likeable heroine, this was a very enjoyable read.

[allureofbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

D.J. is one crazy awesome MC. She ain't smart and she ain't pretty (her opinions), but she sure has a personality. I love seeing things through her eyes, and I can't wait to read the other two books in the trilogy!She works on a farm, and all the inside looks at farm life are hilarious. They're also real. I love how descriptive and detailed they were, you can really picture her working in the barn or loading the hay truck! I come from a family of farmers, so I really appreciated that part of the book.I'm not sure what I think about Mr. Brian Nelson. I do think he and D.J. have chemistry, but do I like or trust him? I'm gonna withhold my final word on that one. I haven't decided yet.I don't really like D.J.'s parents much. They sure don't seem to mind loading her up with way too many huge responsibilities. Hopefully she'll catch a break and be able to act like a teenager at some point in the future!The fact that she plays football is pretty incredible, she is a tough lady. She doesn't let much intimidate her, and she majorly kicks some butt. This is definitely a fun, quick read and I'm glad I picked it up!

[shelleyraec · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A solid YA book - a bit of girls can do anything, dare to be different - good positive messages for young girls. DJ is portrayed well - angst, vulnerability and a quiet strength.From an Australian perspective the national obsession with football escapes me but that didn't stop me enjoying the book but it would definately have more relevance for an American than Australian teen.

[elizabethholloway · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

D.J. Schwenk has had a tough year. Her older brothers and her father had such a bad fight, that now they are away at college and not speaking to anyone. Her father hurt his hip, so D.J. has dad to do all the farm work. This meant quitting basketball. On top of which, she flunked English. Now it's summer, and the stuck-up, lazy, totally cute quarterback from the rival team, Brian Nelson, has been sent to Schwenk Farm to help out and get trained by D.J.--if she'll agree. Brian says she's a cow--just doing what she is expected to do without ever questioning and she's staring to agree with him--until gets an idea that is completely unexpected, highly controversial and definitely not cow-like.This is a funny and compelling book. D.J.'s voice is both self-deprecating and earnest. It's a story about family dynamics, friendship, love, honesty and self-perception.

[rezo1001 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was very good! I recomend that you know a little bit about football first though... Lots of drama and romances of all kinds. :)

[lbrignac_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s novel Dairy Queen, sixteen-year-old D.J. is telling the story of her most life changing summers of all time. After her father injures his hip, D.J. becomes responsible for running the family dairy farm. In addition to her demanding responsibilities on the farm, she is asked to train her school rival’s quarterback, Brian. After many strenuous days of training with Brian, D.J. realizes how much she loves football and decides to try out for her school’s football team. The response she gets from her family and friends is one that she did not foresee. Throughout the story, D.J. discovers love, friendship, family, and most important, herself. Simply put, Dairy Queen is one of my favorite books. I had a difficult time putting the book down. Each page kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next.

[lnommay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Book talkNow that I have finished this trilogy about D.J. and Brian and a whole cast of others, I can say that I'm kind of sorry I read them. Does anyone know what it means when something is described as bittersweet?I've gotten to know D.J. and I like her. As the main character of this trilogy, 15 year old D.J. is singlehandedly doing all the heavy work on the family farm because her dad broke his hip, her two brothers are way at college, and her mom is just too busy filling in as the principal of the middle school. And added to D.J.'s to-do list? She's been asked to help train the quarterback for the rival team this summer, and she's falling for the talented but out-of-condition Brian.D.J. prefers to be in the background and doesn't usually have much to say. But D.J. is quite the athlete, just like her older brothers, and when she decides to go out for her own high school football team, you can believe that people in town have plenty to say about the girl on the football team.And when college scouts from Big Ten schools come to watch her play basketball, I was there rooting for D.J. all the way.I really like D.J. I'm going to miss her.

[crochetbunnii · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Personal Response:I like the realistic narration and accurate depiction of life in a small town and on a farm. The characters are vibrant and D.J.s father is especially convincing as a weathered farmer. D.J. is easy to relate to and her struggles and crises are believable and well-articulated.Curricular Connections:This story, even though it is set in WI, has close ties to our rural culture in Idaho. I would recommend this story to girls looking for a story about independence or breaking from the mold cast for you. This title would make a great selection for a girls book group at the library.

[sarah1234_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was extremely impressive. I was excited all the way from the beginning and finished it in two days. I wish I hadn't been quite so disappointed by the second of this small book series. Yet I understand that the story was hard to end because of al

[thoughtsofjoylibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A Wisconsin dairy farm is where 15-year-old D. J. Schwenk lives and works - continuously, due to her father's medical problem. A star football player from a nearby town is sent to work on the farm in order to help the Schwenks and himself. D. J. discovers she's not too happy with her current circumstances, so she decides to have some fun by making choices that could not only affect her, but everybody around her.D. J. tells us her story, which gives us insight into her true emotions and heart. Despite some language, she is a wholesome girl and one that I liked. Some of the story line was unrealistic for high school, but it was a pleasant book. There is a sequel, The Off Season, which I will probably listen to as well. (3.25/5)Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy

[mysteena · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A football-loving, dairy-farming girl's journal. Fun stuff.

[hhs1students · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed by Erika (Class of 2012)This story is one that is easy to relate to, easy to understand. DJ is the person you want to win, not someone else. She definitely is someone who is easy to relate to.