Dairy Queen

D.J. Schwenk is a “cow.” Or at least, that’s what Brian Nelson thinks, since she runs her family’s farm by herself without complaint, mindlessly doing as she’s expected. And maybe Brian is right, seeing that D.J.’s not smart, not pretty, can never hope to live up to her older brothers’ athletic legacies—maybe Brian was right. But that doesn’t mean D.J. has to be happy about it, and it certainly doesn’t mean she has to roll over and keep on being a cow.

That right there, fellow readers, is one of the freshest plot designs for a YA contemporary I’ve seen in years. Dairy Queen isn’t a fluffy romance, and it’s not a gritty “issue” book. It’s simply a realistic story about a Wisconsin farm girl who decides enough is enough and does what she wants to do. And, cheesy cover art aside, I think Dairy Queen is one of the best straight-up contemporary books I’ve read.

For one, there’s D.J. as a main character. She didn’t descend from the “beautiful and wildly talented” branch of the extended heroine family. She’s extremely down to earth and real, full of attitude, but also flawed. Not everything she does is perfect, but she has an indefinable “hey you!” quality to her narrative that sucked me in and made me fall in love with her.

Then there’s a girl trying out for the football team. Whenever I see something like this attempted, it ends up being very cheesy like She’s the Man (Shakespearean influence aside). But in the case of Dairy Queen, D.J.’s attempt to play football seemed very real, not at all forced, and a scenario that seemed very plausible in a small town/limited athlete pool setting.
And then, of course, there was Brian, the “romantic interest.” Except, of course, there was no romance in this book, which I found extremely refreshing. Yes, D.J. was able to admit that maybe she had a little bit of a crush on Brian, but there were other things going on, and at the end Murdock left things very open. Hence the sequel.

I was, though, a bit disappointed by D.J.’s Ponyboy-ness in the final paragraphs, mostly because I think that style of narration is silly. I didn’t like it in The Outsiders, and I certainly didn’t like it in Dairy Queen.

Dairy Queen is a fresh and realistic look at contemporary fiction. D.J. was a great main character, and her story was likable and quirky. Murdock handled her subject matter well, and the end result was very good.

I really need to pick up the second book!

Reader reviewed by B

I was inspired to write this review because this book was recently a
Jeopardy question - yes, it was teen week, but I was glad I knew the
answer! Do you ever want to just sit down and read a humorous, light
book that doesn't require too much deep thought? This is one of those
girl-next-door books, one that is enjoyable without being overbearing. I
do read quite a bit of YA books, and I really enjoyed this one.

D.J.
Schwenk is a strong, big, athletic teenage girl that spends most of her
time running her family's dairy farm in Wisconsin. Her parent's aren't
able to work, which forces her to quit basketball & track to
basically run the farm herself. Football is a sport that runs in the
family - her two older brothers are famous football players, her father
used to be a coach, and D.J. grew up playing a lot of football with her
brothers. She is horrified when she is asked to coach Brian, the
handsome, rich quarterback from her rival high school during the summer.
In exchange for her coaching, Brian will help around the farm,
something they desperately need. At first it is awkward trying to teach
him, but as the summer progresses they find they are both teaching each
other. When she goes back to school, she does something no girl has
done before - she tries out for the football team. I love this!! As
you can imagine, this creates tension with her & Brian and the game
is on!!

The story is told from D.J.'s point of view, and often
reflects teenage ramblings but the story is still good. I am a big
sports fan, another reason why I liked this story (I have dreams about
being able to play football), and I liked it because it's a good story
about accepting who you are & staying true to yourself. There are
two more books to the series, and I also enjoyed them.

Reprinted from A Spoonful of Perception with author's permission

Reader reviewed by perlycc14

I really enjoyed the book Dairy Queen! This book was a good, clean, fun, and interesting book. I enjoyed it because I can relate to it. Some examples are that in the book, she grew up in Wisconsin, well so did I. She also had a family that liked the Green Bay Packers, but some liked the Minnesoda Vikings, just like my family. It is also a good book for teens because it is a unique book. There is no book quite like it. I enjoyed the fact that she had to coach Brian for football season, when they are rivals at opposing schools. I like it because it is a book about a girl who has a crush on this boy from a opposing school, has to work hard on this farm, basically depends on herself for things sense her parents and Curtis are not around, and she flunked out of Language Arts. Those are some reasons why I would recomend this book to teens, espeically teen girls. They could totally relate to this!

Reader reviewed by Chantele

Dairy Queen is the story of D.J. Schwenk. A fifteen year old dairy farm
girl, who doesn't talk much, and who's whole life is taking care of her
father's farm. She gets up early every morning, milks the cows, cleans
the barn, cuts the grass, loads the hay, and does almost all of it
herself. When her grades start falling, and her home life gets to be
almost unbearable, she finds herself with an unlikely friendship. Brian
Nelson, a rival high school football quarterback, starts working on the
farm to gain more strength for the upcoming football season, and she
soon finds herself as his personal trainer. Thinking he is the same as
all the other football jocks, she doesn't have anything nice to say to
him. At first. As time goes by, and they start to open up to one
another, D.J. is suddenly caught up in a whirlwind of emotions. Add in
a brother who rarely talks, two older brother's who were star football
players, left home in anger after a fight with her parents, and haven't
been heard from since. A father who doesn't listen, a mother who has
secrets of her own, and a girl who loves football, and you have a great
story about friendship, love, trust, heartbreak, and determination.

Reader reviewed by Mary Beth Miller

D.J. Schwenk, a girl from Wisconsin isn't your typical teen. She doesn't have a cell phone, worry about her plans for spring break, or keep up with the latest fashion trends. Instead she gets up at the crack of dawn to milk the cows at her family's farm. But when she decides to tryout for her high school football team, all the secrets being piled up against her come out into the open, and teaches her just because it's nice nice, doesn't mean something shouldn't be said. This book really helped me to see that just because you aren't the most popular girl in school, and the guy you like is out of your league, doesn't mean your dreams are out of reach. I would recommend this book to anyone who has given up on life, love or who thinks they aren't good enough, because you never know where life will take you, and the only way to find out is to live life, even if that means cleaning the barn; and the best part? There's a sequel!

Reader reviewed by bookworm9

DJ Schwenk is just trying to get by-- she's failed English class and is spending the summer caring for the family dairy farm because her injured father can't. There are a lot of things that get left unsaid in the Schwenk family, but DJ finds herself opening up to Brian, a football player from the rival high school whom DJ is supposed to be training. When DJ decides she herself wants to go out for football, she knows she-- and her relationships with her family and Brian-- may never be the same... but change could be good.

This is a phenomenal book. It touches on a bunch of themes (teen romance, homosexuality, families, outsider-ness), but is mostly just a great story told by an unforgettable narrator. The sequel, The Off-Season, is just as good, and there is supposed to be a third book coming out soon.

Reader reviewed by Katie

I had never heard of Catherine Gilbert Murdock until I read this. I'd heard that it was worth reading, but I was a little hesitant. But, after beginning it I just couldn't put it down!! DJ Schwenk is probably one of my favorite fictional characters EVER! She's sooo spunky and so 'I really don't care what everyone thinks.'

She has a great attitude, and goes through something that most teenage girls face. I'm so sick of every book being written about rich brats from the city. This is about a down-to-Earth girl the Minnesota rural area. Living in a rural area myself I can totally relate even more. So, pick up this book! It's worth the read, and you'll be enlightened about how the other half of the world lives. (:

Reader reviewed by scrappylibrarian

I really resisted reading this book for a long time and basically wouldn't have - but my friend kept bugging me so I did. It was definitely better than I had been anticipating. Fun story, interesting, more complex and nuanced than it seemed like it would be.

Reader reviewed by The Story Siren

I had heard nothing but good reviews for this book, so I went in expecting a lot and I wasnt disappointed. Besides I am a little bit of a farm girl myself, so I totally related to D.J. I could barely read about bailing and unloading hay without my skin itching!! The only time I was truly happy to get up before four in the morning was to feed my cute little feeder calf, and the fact that I could go back to sleep afterward helped too.


Dairy Queen is the story of D.J. Schwenk. And let me tell you this girl is overworked, in more ways than one. Not only does she do almost all, if not all of the work on her familys dairy farm she also has to struggle daily with her uncommunicative family. And this family needs to talk, because needless to say, they have some problems.


Brain Nelson happens to show up one day, and D.J.s life starts spinning. Brain is the quarterback of Hawley the rival of D.J.s school. At first Brain and D.J. dont really get along (well duh), but they make it work. D.J. is going to be Brains trainer for the summer, not only does she know a lot about cows, but apparently she knows a lot about football. Her two older brothers are football players extraordinaire, so D.J. couldnt help but pick up some things here and there. But Brain ends up helping D.J. in the end, which she totally didnt see coming. He makes her realize how truly frustrated she is with her life, and how much she loves football.


There is so much more to this story, than I can summerize, but I dont want to spoil the milk for anyone else! Sorry, I just had to! Anyway. D.J.s character is totally believable, as a person, let alone a teenager. She struggles with friendship, sexuality, confidence and even first love. She just blew me out of the pasture, ha! I know I did it again! I cant wait to read The Off Season.