Book Review: Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

First published in: 2006

By: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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

Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. Schwenk can’t help admitting to herself that maybe he’s right. Because it's obvious that no one is talking about why D. J.'s best friend, Amber, isn’t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Or why her mom has two jobs, or why her college-football-star brothers don't call home. And certainly no one is talking about how D. J.'s dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the football team. There's definitely a lot not being said. And that's not even mentioning the many reasons that Brian Nelson is out of D. J.'s league.

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

My review:

The best thing about book blogging is all the great books I've been introduced to; there are so many books that I never would have even heard of, that have become absolute favourites. To this happy list, I add Dairy Queen.

Like the Jessica Darling series and the Ruby Oliver series, a simple description of Dairy Queen doesn't make it sound like anything special: It's just the story of a teen girl, trying to grow up and deal with family and friends and boys. What makes these books special is the refreshingly authentic character voice they are each written in. D. J. Schwenk is another heroine who won me over immediately. D. J.'s atypical of most YA heroines - she's not real book smart and she doesn't know fancy words or use poetic turns-of-phrase, but her plain-speaking style never seems flat; it's honest, charming and extremely witty in its own way. Example:

"If there ever was a TV show called People Who Are Crazy and Need to Have Their Heads Examined, I'd be the very first guest. They'd put me on one of those couches and a guy with a beard and funny accent would ask me questions, and the audience would ooh and aah as they realized this girl was crazy. What else would explain what I had just done?"

I love D. J. lots and lots. She's so self-deprecating and down-to-earth, not to mention hard-working - she's running her family's farm almost single-handed and just reading about the 5am starts and the heavy lifting made me shudder. In addition to that, D. J.'s helping to train rich kid Brian Nelson for the next season of football, when she really wishes she could be the one playing. D. J.'s basically doing everything for everybody else and nothing for herself.

The defining things in D. J.'s world - American football and farming - don't interest me one iota, but they don't have to. D. J.'s family revolves around football; her father used to play, her brothers play and she wants to play, but it's like Friday Night Lights, where you don't have to care about the game, only care about the characters and what happens to them. I was really impressed by the way Catherine Gilbert Murdock takes a cute coming-of-age tale and weaves in deeper themes. As you can probably tell from the synopsis, communication is the key one and pretty much all the conflict in the story comes from the characters not saying what's on their minds. So Dairy Queen is not really a story about how much D. J. wants football, but how she learns to express what it is she wants.

There's also some interesting exploration of gender roles, too. I almost teared up at the moment when it becomes apparent that even the adults are hopelessly trapped by gender expectations and don't feel free to be themselves.

And D. J. and Brian! They have shot up the list of my favourite YA couples ever. They're friends, they're equals and they 'get' each other. I ordered the next book straightaway because I have to know what happens between them.

I hope I'm selling Dairy Queen. I don't know how to get across everything that it is: funny, serious, light, deep, sad, uplifting, romantic, family-orientated...one of YA's great heroines, a unique writing style and a book you really must read now.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Top Ten Tuesday: Rewind

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

Many times I have looked at the great past topics for Top Ten Tuesday and been sad that I discovered blogging and the meme so late and never got to do them. But now Rewind week has come along! This week we can do any past topic we choose and I have chosen:

Top Ten Characters That I'd Name My Children After

I've always thought it would be so cool to be named after a book character and be able to read about the adventures of your namesake. So, of course, I would like to give that coolness to my own children.

10. Daenerys from A Game of Thrones

Do I want to give birth to the Mother of Dragons? Hell yes!

9. Brandon from Sense and Sensibility

It feels like the Mr Darcys and Mr Knightleys are the Austen men who get all the love. Of course, I've swooned over them like any red-blooded female, but if I had to choose only one Austen hero to have in my life, it would be the quietly supportive Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility. 

8. Briony from Atonement and Chime

I love this name - it somehow sounds both soft and sharp. So it's fitting that it's been given to two of the most complex characters I've ever read about. OK, so I hope that no child of mine (or anyone I know) would make as big a mistake as Briony from Atonement does, but as a lover of books, I've always been intrigued by the central idea of Atonement - that stories can take the place of real life, in both good and bad ways. And Briony from Chime? Well, she's convinced she's wicked, but she's really a good egg underneath it all: Intelligent, witty, loyal and kind.

7. Alanna from Song of the Lioness

I've already pledged to give any daughter of mine this as at least a middle name. For what little girl wouldn't want to be Alanna, the fearless girl who competes against every noble boy in the kingdom and bests them all? I can imagine the child now, begging me for amour and a sword.

6. Lucy from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

I'm from a family of four: two boys and two girls and when we were kids, we thought it was so great that we matched up perfectly with Pevensie family, so The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was our favourite game to play together. As the youngest girl, I got to be Lucy. My siblings thought this was very fitting, as I would totally be the one to go exploring round an old house and find a magical wardrobe. So in a way, naming a daughter Lucy would be a cool way to name her after myself.

5. Nalia from The False Princess

Isn't this such a pretty name? But I can't reveal the meaning behind it without revealing the major twist of the book! I'll just say that it's a name that unites people.

4. Cassandra from I Capture the Castle

One of my favourite heroines of all time, I'm sure a daughter of mine would be honoured to bear the name of Cassanda Mortmain. I cannot promise her a castle, though.

3. Jude from Jude the Obscure

Jude is my favourite boy's name, with or without this Thomas Hardy novel. I wouldn't want a son of mine to have the life of unrelenting misery that most Hardy characters do, but I also can't help but love Hardy's protagonists and Jude Fawley is no different.

2. Éponine from Les Misérables

What is it with me and hopelessly tragic characters? But I adore Éponine with all my heart. She is just so headstrong and independent and brave and would do anything for the people she loves.

1. Matilda from Matilda

Matilda will always be such a special character for me, as she was the first one I ever recognised myself in, and it was in reading about her, that I discovered I could find a friend in books. I thought Matilda was just like me: a quiet, book-loving misfit and I can't even describe the jubilation I felt to see her become powerful and achieve all her dreams. My child will get a stack of Roald Dahl books to read and I hope that, like me, Matilda will be her favourite. If she manages to develop telekinetic abilities? Well, that could be useful.

Book Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

First published in Great Britain: 7th February 2012

By: Atom

Worlds kept them apart. Destiny brought them together. 

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim. 

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive...

My review:

  

Surprisingly, I ended up really enjoying this. The surprise was because the first 100 pages are a bit lacking - not bad, but it takes that long for the story to really click. 

Under the Never Sky is told in a third person restricted narrative style, each chapter alternating between Aria and Perry's PoVs. When we first meet Aria, it's difficult to feel a connection with her for a couple of reasons. One is that a lot of major events - her mother going missing, her friend dying, leaving her home - either happen before the start of the book or in the first few pages. We don't really get a feel for who Aria is normally, and therefore, probably don't care as much as we should, that 'normal' has been taken away from her: Every thing, every person in her life, we only hear about second-hand. Another reason is that Aria, at the start of the book, is kind of annoying. She's been very sheltered in Reverie and told a lot of half-truths and exaggerations about life outside, so she reacts stupidly and hysterically to the real world. She toughens up and becomes a pretty cool character, but she's difficult to like at first.

Perry's early chapters are much better and I'm convinced it's because we actually get to see his life in his tribe. We see him interact with his brother, his nephew, his friends, so the relationships and dynamics are much more interesting for the reader. The story starts to take off, however, when Perry and Aria finally meet and, united by a common goal, begin to travel together.

The strength of Under the Never Sky, for me, is the relationship between the two main characters. Perry and Aria have it all: Hepburn/Tracy-style banter (or Ron/Hermoine-style if you don't get that reference), hot chemistry (the fact that Perry is ripped and shirtless helps this along significantly) and most importantly, true friendship that's built up gradually over the pages. I totally believed in them as a couple and by the end was a soppy fool over their love: "They make each other better people! It's just so beautiful!"

Don't let this make you think Under the Never Sky is all romance. It's not; the romance works so well primarily because it's not allowed to overtake all the other character and story development. The novel is very action-packed; every step Aria and Perry take leads them into higher stakes and greater danger and there are some very well done fighting and battle scenes. The end reveal is a triumph, too, managing to both make perfect sense and be truly shocking.

I think most readers who like sci-fi/dystopia/apocalyptic stories will end up liking Under the Never Sky. For its genre, it pretty much does everything right: Well plotted, lots of action, with strong characters to pull it off. Get through the imperfect beginning and you'll be rewarded with a solidly entertaining read.

Rating: 4 stars