Author: Iris Murdoch
Genre: Young Adult
Why I picked Them Up: I was browsing the library and saw Dairy Queen. I'd heard about it before and the cover appealed to me. It them sat in my car and room for a week and a half while I haphazardly browsed through it before actually reading it cover to cover. Then I ran to the library for the sequel.
Basic Plot: Both novels follow fifteen-year old D.J. Shwenk as she runs her family dairy farm (her father having thrown out his back the year before), trains the rival quarterback as a favor to a family friend (and because he's arrogant and stubborn and kind of cute and needs a lesson in hard work), learns to express and stand up for herself (and not "be a cow"), and deals with a devastating family tragedy.
Review: I seriously enjoyed these books. They made me smile (I've been saying that a lot lately but it's true none the less). it took me a while to get into the first one, but then D.J. started to freak out about how she's a [dairy] cow and how actually everyone she knows is a complacent, silent, do-nothing cow that I got hooked. And then she started making herself happy and I was a sucker.
The sequel is just as good as the original too. A serious family tragedy steers the last two thirds of the book, but it's not about the tragedy. it's about how, as a family, the Schwenks (primarily DJ, though) get through it. And how they do so is honest and complicated and painful and sad. But awesome.
Final thoughts: I don't know why, but I feel like I'm vomiting sunshine after this review.
I saw a review for Dairy Queen in Elliot Bay. It said "finally -- a good book about girls in sports." I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Not having ever been "a girl in sports" myself, I can't guarantee accuracy. But it certainly felt genuine.
ReplyDeleteHighly recommended.