Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock



When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

Those are harsh words, and D.J. is kind of shocked to hear them from Brian Nelson of all people. But D.J. also can’t help admitting that Brian might be right. When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that gets shoved down and ignored, that maybe shouldn’t be.

Stuff like why D.J.’s best friend Amber isn’t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother Curtis never opens his mouth. Why D.J.’s mom has two jobs and one big secret. Why her college-basketball star brothers won’t call home. And why D.J.’s own dad would go ballistic if D.J. dared to try out for the high school football team herself. And maybe why the guy she’s stuck tutoring, Brian Nelson, football jock and all-around star is so, so very out of her league.

Yeah. When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff ends up not getting said. 

Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D.J Shwenk of Red Bend Wisconsin learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot to say…

(Book talk for the Texas Tyashas Award)


Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock



D.J. Schwenk is proud of her two older brothers' football skills which sent them off to college. She'd rather focus on basketball, herself, but instead must daily work at the family's dairy due to her father's hip injury. Then a family friend, and a rival school's football coach gets her to agreeing to train HIS charming but lazy star quarterback,  Brian.

Brian soon discovers that D.J. is not a chatty airhead girl, and she successfully improves Brian's skills. So: Why not join her own school's football team like her brothers did, if she’s that good?

Well, now now the whole town's talking about D.J. And Brian thinks she's a traitor because she knows too much about him—knowledge that can help D.J.’s school beat his team.

When these two football teams finally meet, there’s going to be a showdown—and DJ is right in the middle of it all.

(Booktalk by Lyla Anderson)