library_mama | Dairy Queen (Reply)

Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. Read by Natalie Moore It’s the summer between DJ Schwenk’s sophomore and junior years. She’s managing her family’s dairy farm, with both her parents unable to help and her little brother busy with Little League. Her two college-age older brothers are off coaching at a football camp. Busy, simple, boring. Then a family friend, the coach of the rival high school’s football team, asks DJ to coach his back-up QB. Brian is a rich and snotty quarterback already loathed by the entire Schwenk family. Naturally, DJ and Brian forge a connection as they’re running and bringing in the hay. But more than that, his casual insults make her think about what she does and why. DJ decides to find a way to do more of what she really loves – football. There’s also an interesting subplot with DJ’s best friend, Amber. This is a rare book with a protagonist for whom thinking and words don’t come easily. Natalie Moore brought DJ to life with a great Midwestern country teen voice. DJ's humor and honesty with herself kept me going straight on to the second book, The Off Season.