11. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (audio book)

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (audio book)

ISBN: 0-7393-3547-2

Listening Library, New York, 2006

Total playing time: 6 hr. 9 min.

Plot Summary

Dairy Queen is the first of three novels focusing on the life of DJ Schwenk, a quiet fifteen-year-old girl living on a dairy farm in Red Bend, Wisconsin.  As the only girl in a family of four children in which two of her older brothers play college football, DJ has a love and knowledge of the sport rivaling any of the local high school boys.  Because of this, the coach of the rival high school football team, who happens to be a family friend, pressures DJ into training his back-up quarterback, Brian Nelson, for the summer.  Having years of experience watching her brothers train, DJ is able to run Brian through the ringer, although his stubborn streak gives her trouble at first.  As they become friends, DJ starts to develop romantic feelings for Brian, which she dismisses because she believes she’s not as pretty or skinny as the girls he dates.  Watching how DJ does whatever she is told, Brian compares her to the cows she takes care of.  As they continue training, DJ realizes that she wants the chance to try out for her high school’s team and break out of her rut by doing something that no one would expect.  Conflicted by her feelings for Brian, as well as the turmoil her dwindling friendship with her best friend, Amber, is causing her, DJ powers through in her quest to find true happiness.

Critical Evaluation

Dairy Queen seems like a simple story at first look, but the character of DJ Schwenk is much more complex as her different layers are revealed.  Coming from a family that doesn’t do much talking, it is only natural that the DJ we meet in the beginning of the novel doesn’t think she has much to say.  She does what people ask without complaint, including taking over the care of the cows when her father has an operation that limits his physical abilities.  Because of this, Brian Nelson compares her to her cows in that the cows just go along doing what they’re supposed to do without thinking twice until they die.  While this insults her, DJ realizes that she has put aside her own happiness in order to do what others expect of her.  In this sense, Dairy Queen is a coming-of-age story, chronicling DJ’s journey of self-discovery.  Even though many will not be able to relate to the conditions DJ goes through in baling hay and painting the barn, this journey of finding what makes her happy and how she can be true to herself is a universal teen issue.  In fact, it is something that many adults struggle with, as well.

Reader's Annotation

Taking care of her family’s farm, DJ Schwenk does whatever she is expected to do, without thinking of the alternative.  After a summer of training with the rival high school’s back-up quarterback, DJ realizes that she wants to thwart everyone’s expectations of her and find her own happiness—step one being trying out for high school football.

Information About the Author

Catherine Gilbert Murdock was raised in Connecticut on a small farm of mostly honeybees, a couple of goats, and Christmas trees.  Her sister is Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, and Murdock admits that her sister was the writer of the family, while she was (and continues to be) a diligent reader of young adult literature. 

Murdock writes on her website, “When someone recommends a book, I immediately ask, ‘Is it for grownups? Because I don't read those.’ Followed by "Does it have dragons?’”  Aside from being a struggling screenwriter, Dairy Queen was Murdock’s first attempt at creative writing since her high school years.  (information taken from author’s website: http://www.catherinemurdock.com/catherinemurdock/cgm_home.html)

Genre

Young Adult – Chick Lit/Sports

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

1. Discuss Brian’s analogy that compares DJ to a cow.

2. DJ’s family does not talk much.  Address the impact that the lack of communication has on the relationships between family members.

3. Focus on the story from Brian Nelson’s point-of-view.

Reading Level/Interest Age

13+

Challenge Issues

There are no foreseeable challenges to this novel.

However, should complaints arise about this novel, librarians should become familiar with the material and its content.  Turn to reviews from publications such as Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist, as well as reviews from teens that have read it.  Also, it is beneficial for librarians to present reasons backed by the ALA in support of intellectual freedom.  As stated in the Library Bill of Rights:

I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

Why Include Book in Selection? 

This audio book was recommended to me by a friend and, looking into it, I found that the novel was on the ALA’s 2007 list of the Best Books for Young Adults.