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    Dairy Queen: A Novel
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    Dairy Queen: A Novel
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    Dairy Queen: A Novel
    Audiobook6 hours

    Dairy Queen: A Novel

    Written by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

    Narrated by Natalie Moore

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 23, 2006
    ISBN9780739335482
    Unavailable
    Dairy Queen: A Novel
    Author

    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.

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    Reviews for Dairy Queen

    4/5

    664 ratings71 reviews

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    • 3/5
      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
    • 4/5
      Very cute teen story.
    • 3/5
      A football-loving, dairy-farming girl's journal. Fun stuff.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Great book - quick read.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      I love D.J. She reminds me of me, minus the being tough and playing football part. Ok, so I guess she doesn't remind me of me at all, but I love that there's romance without it being super-duper girly and gushy all the time.

      D.J. has more important things to deal with, like working the farm while her dad can't, getting in shape for football, & figuring out what is up with her best friend, instead of being all woozy over a boy. She just does her thing and eventually it all comes together instead of her working ridiculously hard to make everything come together and then it all falling apart so that it can come together the "right" way. (I think I just described every romance ever.) Don't get me wrong, there are elements of that here, but it's a little different. At least, it felt different.

      This was another of my audiobooks and I think Natalie Moore* is one of my favorite narrators now. She sounded very much like a Wisconsin teenager and also has a way with other character voices. I loved this book. It makes a great summer read. I'm just sad that we don't have the others in audio.
    • 3/5
      2.5 starsD J is a farmer (by necessity, not choice), a basketball player, a failure at Sophomore English, and a trainer of the star quarterback of the arch-rival high school ... when she decides to try out for the football team. An interesting coming of age book. Not great, but okay for young adults.
    • 5/5
      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!
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Needing a YA entry for library summer reading, I found I didn't want the realm of fae or an imaginary place where everything is as bad as it can be (dystopian) or a new twist on the vampiric.I chose Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, a debut novel and book #1 of the Dairy Queen Trilogy.Natalie Moore did beautifully narrating as 15-year-old D.J. Schwenk did the lion's share of work on her family's small Wisconsin dairy farm.C Murdock and N Moore bring the summer of this loveable heroine to life.I enjoyed my time in Red Bend, Wisconsin.4 ★
    • 4/5
      A great story about cultivating relationships, making your own decisions, and growing up. 4.5 stars
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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! 
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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!
    • 4/5
      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).
    • 4/5
      A much better book than it looked like, and deserves a better title, too! Written as the English assignment that will let her graduate, DJ writes about how she's been missing school to hold her family's farm together, how her brother never opens his mouth, how her father would freak out if she joined the boys' football team (which she does), how she has a crush on a rich boy doing community service on her farm, and a lot of other things she hasn't been able to tell anyone. A lot of funny moments, and the author definitely knows what it's like to grow up in a small farming town!
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      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?
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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!
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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. :)
    • 5/5
      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.