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Dairy queen -
Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Houghton Mifflin, Graphia, 274p., $8.99. 2006 Reviews:
- Myrna Marler (KLIATT Review, July 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 4))
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2006: Fifteen-year-old D.J. is the only daughter in a family of dairy farmers. Her older brothers are football heroes, now gone off to college. Her younger brother plays football but is profoundly silent. In D.J.’s family, emotions are not discussed. As a result, the rift between D.J.’s father and her two older brothers remains a chasm. D.J. is the one called upon to pick up the pieces for her injured father. She is a workhorse, spending her summer days shoveling manure, baling hay, and milking cows. In fact, she begins to feel as if she is a cow, doing only the expected. Enter Brian Nelson, football star of the rival high school, who spends the summer training under D.J. D.J. not only falls in love but decides she wants to play football, too, at her own high school--something no one expects. These characters are all flawed but likable. D.J., in her silence, has a lot of time to ponder who she is and what she wants. Her task over the summer is to learn to speak her mind because, as the book points out, “When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.” This is a highly readable novel with interesting characters and a valuable theme of learning to express emotions and reach out to others. (An ALA Best Book for YAs.) Category: Paperback Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2006, Houghton Mifflin, Graphia, 274p., $8.99. Ages 12 to 18.Carol Gearhart (Kutztown Book Review, Spring 2008)
I love to go to Dairy Queen, thus the reason for choosing this book which has nothing to do with ice cream. D.J. (Dorrie) Schwenk has to do the farm work because her father has hip surgery and her older brother left home after an argument with their father. D.J. had to quit the basketball team. Her brothers are football players of renown in their small town and her father had at one time coached the high school football team. This summer the coach of Red Bend’s greatest rival, Hawley, talks D.J. into being the personal trainer of Brian Nelson, the quarterback for Hawley. Brian is sent to the Schwenk farm to do some work, probably the first ever for this spoiled son of a wealthy appliance store owner. At first, it is not a healthy relationship. But as the weeks go by, a friendship grows between D.J. and Brian and one believes they can become boyfriend and girlfriend until D.J. decides to go out for the Red Bend football team herself. D.J. has a best friend, Amber. Until D.J. shows an interest in Brian and develops a close relationship with him, Amber had never revealed to D.J. that she was attracted to her. This book has sports, family unrest, homosexuality, and romance all told through the eyes of D.J. I personally did not think it was all that wonderful a book, rather slow-paced, but what do I know since it was a 2006 ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Category: Fiction. 2006, Graphia, $8.99. Ages 13 to 16.
| Language | Call Number | LCCN | Dewey Decimal | ISBN/ISSN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English (eng) | - |
9780618863358 0618863354 |