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.

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 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 Stephanie

A cow. That's what Brian Nelson calls D.J. Schwenk on the first day he works for their farm. D.J. is a cow because she does everything her injured but grumpy father tells her to do, which is basically to run the farm by herself, forced to give up her athletic passions along the way. Brian's accusation may be harsh, even after he apologizes and they start becoming friends, but D.J. is forced to admit that what he said is true. Most people in the world, she realizes, simply do what they are expected to do, whether they know it or not.

And certainly a bigger group of cows there can not be than her own family, the Schwenks. They are poor and uncommunicative and repress their feelings when it would be better to speak up. As a result, D.J.'s older brothers don't talk to the family anymore. Her mother hides away in her active principal's office even during the summertime. Her younger brother Curtis speaks about once every month, and her dad simply complains about D.J.'s faults without helping one bit.

The summer before her junior year certainly gives D.J. new things to think about. She's stuck on Brian's cow comment, for example, and how she can make herself stand out from the "herd." She learns something shocking about her best friend Amber. Most of all, she's experiencing a totally new emotion with Brian, who is popular, athletic (under her training, of course), smart, good-looking...everything she will never allow herself to hope for.

Maybe, however, junior year and her new decisions will make her life turn out a lot differently than what she expected.

DAIRY QUEEN was a joy to read! D.J.'s troubles may begin to sound like a soap opera after a while, but her down-to-earth farm-girl manner of talking keeps things fresh and interesting. D.J. may put herself down, but readers will not hesitate to want to befriend her, and to find out what happens in this great books sequel, THE OFF SEASON.

Reader reviewed by Hana

Dairy Queen is a fresh and original book that took me by surprise. DJ is a farm girl in a small town in Wisconsin. Her whole town revolves around football and her 2 older brothers are legends. When the quarterback from her town's rival comes to practice football at her home, she slowly befriends him. She surprises everybody when she goes out for boys' football, and the opposing teams have a climactic scrimmage that left me breathless (and I don't even like football).

This is a captivating book, told from DJ's perspective and just begs to be reread over and over! DJ is hilarious and is so blunt you just have to laugh. Enjoy this book, and when you are done, pick up the sequel, the Off Season.