Tuesday 20 November 2012

Review: Dairy Queen (#1) by Catherine Gilbert Murdock


Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Publisher: Graphia
Publication date: 4th June 2007.
My rating: 4 stars


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.

Dairy Queen was a book which I picked up at the right time; I was in the mood for something a little light -hearted and funny and that is exactly what I got from this book. I knew straight away I was going to enjoy this book as I found myself powering through the book, I had tons of other review books to get through, but this was the only book which seemed to be occupying my mind.

Dairy Queen definitely had an original take on things; D.J is responsible for her family’s farm, with her dad hurting his hip not being able to do much anymore, her older brothers Bill and Win away at college, a lot of the responsibility falls on D.J. It’s tough, D.J’s still in high school, she has to fit in studying around all the farming duties too. On top of that Jimmy coach of rival team Hawley decides that Brian their quarter back will benefit by helping D.J around their farm. D.J’s not too pleased, firstly he’s from the rival football team, and what would her family think? Her brothers hated Hawley, but even D.J couldn’t stand Brian after her brother Wins last match. So being forced to spend time with him isn’t the best time D.J imagined.

I went into Dairy Queen not knowing what to expect, it was a highly rated book amongst my Goodread’s friends, so I took that as a good sign. Firstly I didn’t even know it had a sports theme in it, I’m a huge sports fan and I’m always looking for more sports related books in ya, so I was kind of overjoyed when I found this out.

Being a good athlete and good at sports sort of runs through the Schwenk family and it was clear to see D.J had so much potential too. But being in charge of the farm she didn’t have the time anymore. It was fun watching D.J comes to grips of dealing with Brian, training him and teaching him about the farm. It was all sort of an eye opening experience, it made D.J take a step back and look over her current situation and realise she wasn’t at all happy with it.

I really liked D.J, she wasn’t your typical m.c; she had different priorities to other students and so missed out on a lot of opportunities because of the farm, she wasn’t the person who wanted the limelight either with everything thrown her way, she just got on with it, she really was an easy person to connect too. The secondary characters in this book were also an absolute delight, they were such a varied bunch and all had their internal dilemma’s they had to deal with. Despite this Dairy Queen didn’t come across as a heavy read in any way, Murdock did an excellent job of dealing with tough issues but also having the essence of a comical easy going feel throughout. Dairy Queen was definitely a feel good book. It’s a nice little book you can squeeze in between some intense reads in that it will leave you with warm fuzzies and a smile on your face. I will definitely be diving into the next book The Off Season soon!

Thank you to Leanne and Keertana my psychic buddies for reading this with me. You can read their wonderful reviews here and here.

21 comments:

Tanja - Tanychy said...

This sounds and looks unusual! I like the idea of the story and I'm happy that it's a light read. I love to read those in summer, so maybe I'll pick this one next summer :) Great review! :)

Lyra said...

I love books with sports as a theme so I'm definitely adding this to my TBR. I'm in need of few light reads myself... ;) Great review!

Lyra @ Defiantly Deviant

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

I honestly didn't know you were such a sports fan! I feel totally bad about it, it's something I should have known.
I'm glad to see that D.J. gained another fan, she is simply amazing, isn't she? her voice is so fresh! I loved her.
I hope you'll read the other two books soon. I bet you'll love them too.

Aneeqah said...

I so need something that gives me the 'warm fuzzies', so this one is so going on my TBR list! I read a lot of darker fantasy/dystopia books, so a light hearted contemporary is something I am always looking for time to time, inbetween some heavier stuff. Dairy Queen sounds like the perfect book to pick up, then!

I like having a sports theme in books, even though I'm not a major sports fan, I like reading about them. So it's great that there is a sports theme running through this book. I also love reading about atypical teenagers. Just yesterday I was thinking about how so many books focus on the 'normal' teenagers, which I am totally not. So it will be so refreshing to read about someone a little more different!

Fantastic review as always Jasprit! <3

Rebecca said...

I've seen this around and recently read a glowing review over at Pure Imagination so I'm intrigued. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this and that you connected with it straight away. D.J. sounds like a great character and I love the fact that she sounds so easy to connect with. I really must look into this series! Lovely review, Jasprit!

Shirley said...

I would never pick this up based on the title alone but I do believe this is a book I'll enjoy immensely!! Oohh I'm really looking forward to meeting the characters! I'm so glad the m.c is different from the ones we always read about :) Fab review Jasprit!

Unknown said...

This is my first time to see this book. The title is a bit off but the summary is good, something that I would read. Great review, Jasprit :D

-Dannielle

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

I love the cover! I've seen it before but I hadn't really given it much thought. I like it even better now that I know it's to do with sports!

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

Glad you enjoyed this Jaspirit. It sounds like a sweet, fun read.

Aa'Ishah said...

I've seen this book a lot on GR but I always dismissed it because of how young the protag is. I didn't realise how many of my friends on there have rated it lol. After reading your review, I've gone back and added this. I'm really glad you enjoyed it, wonderful review, Jasprit!

Livvy said...

I loved Keertana's review of this and then seeing you enjoyed it as well is making me really eager to pick a copy of this book up.

I certainly need to go and get a hold of it! :)

Great review, Jasprit!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I bought this book last fall and have been dying to read it and just haven't gotten to it, I really need a warm fuzzy read that will leave me smiling.

Jess said...

This one sounds pretty cute! Glad to hear you enjoyed it Jas the cover is sweet too :)

Unknown said...

This one sounds totally adorable. I have this on audiobook and plan on reading it soon... I admit I was a bit skeptical at first (I mean come on, milking cows and football?) but there have been so many good reviews that I really think I just need to give it a try. Glad you enjoyed it! :)

Wendy Darling said...

Oh my goodness, Jasprit--I'm so glad you finally read this! And loved it! I did, too. I had no idea you were such a big sports fan, hah. I am the total opposite of that, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this series. Look forward to seeing what you think of the sequels. :)

Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

Keertana said...

Amazing review, Jasprit! In between you, me, and Leanne, I feel like we covered this book perfectly. Like you, I loved the balance that was struck between light and heavy in this one, so I'm definitely curious to find out what happens in the sequels! I have them BOTH on my Kindle and haven't gotten around to reading them, so that's definitely something I need to get to. Absolutely fantastic review, dearest! :)

Kelly said...

Great Review! I look forward to reading this thanks for sharing!!
Kelly @ http://alibraryisinfinityunderaroof.blogspot.com/

Vegan YA Nerds said...

This does sound fun and I feel like I should give in to all these good reviews and bump this up my list!! Great review, Jas, I can't wait to read about D.J!

Unknown said...

Ooh, wonderful review, darling! <3 I've been very interested about this book since a long time. The premise is really cute, and the rating in Goodreads is quite high too. So glad to hear that you found this book very enjoyable! <3 This book seems to have a healthy balance of light and heavy aspects. Sounds like a recipe for a perfect book for me! ;)

Can't wait to read your review of the sequel, hun! :)

Henrietta @ Leisure Reads said...

I like stories that make me feel light and happy. I'm adding this to my read-list. Thanks for sharing!

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

Between you, Leanne and Keertana, I'm more than convinced that I need to read this! I wouldn't have initially paid it much attention either, so thanks for putting it on my radar in the first place. Wonderful review!

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