Dairy Queen: A Novel

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen: A Novel. Dairy Queen Series, Book 1. 2006. 275p. FIC MUR on the library shelves.

D.J. Schwenk is literally running the farm all by herself. After her father’s accident, she has taken care of the twice daily milking, the haying, and the cleaning of the animals. And in the summer, she has to work twice as hard. Her two older brothers are off working at football camps, while her younger brother completes a baseball season. D.J. is the only one around.

The Schwenk are a football family. Everyone plays, and everyone watches. D.J.’s brothers Wen and Bill were star players on their team, and Curtis holds the promise of another great player. She’s grown up around football and witnessed how much effort her brothers put into the sport.

When the football coach from rival Hawley asks her to train Brian Nelson, their star quarterback, D.J. is not so sure. He’s stuck up, rich, and blames everyone else but himself for his poor playing. But as they work together over the summer, fixing the barn in the morning and training in the afternoon, they become closer.

That’s when D.J. decides to do something completely out of character. Brian and her had several conversations about her being a cow, always doing what others told her she needed to do. To do something only for her, she decides to join the Red Bend football team, with Hawley as arch-enemy. Can D.J. and Brian’s budding relationship survive the meeting of two players on the field?

Fans of DJ will enjoy Lucy's adventures in Playing with the Boys.