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The Dairy Queen series by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

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One of my favorite series of books is wrapping up with the final episode, Front and Center, in a couple of weeks. Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Dairy Queen series has been a very quiet set of books, receiving fewer nods than it deserves, but I think this final book may in fact help establish this as one of the best reads for girls of any age — with no foul language and a few sweet kisses as the most risque scene in book three, this will please readers and parents alike.

The Dairy Queen introduces readers to the Schwenk family, living on a farm in Red Bend, Wisconsin. And what’s Wisconsin without a major high school football rivalry? The Schwenks have two college players — Win at University of Washington and Bill at the University of Minnesota — who lives to tell the tales of the big Red Bend vs. Hawley games that always bring out the towns in huge numbers.

D.J. Schwenk’s the only girl on the farm, and with dad having problems and mom being so busy with work, she’s become the default farm worker. But the summer before her sophomore year, Brian Nelson comes by and informs her he needs to be helping on the farm. With trepedition, D.J. shows him the ropes of the farm….and how to condition so he can become the star quarterback of the Hawley football team. Yes, THAT football team.

Perhaps the biggest problem with the Shwenk family is that they don’t talk, and D.J. has a lot to say. It’s with Brian she finds a companion and she finds someone she can just talk to. As D.J. improves as a football player and Brian becomes a stronger quarterback with greater work ethic on the farm, they become more than just friends — they become football rivals when D.J. becomes a player on the Red Bend football team.

What I loved about the Dairy Queen was D.J.’s fantastic voice. She’s a strong girl but is so unsure of her actions and always feels weird — but she tells Brian these things. D.J.’s challenges are externally shared and I think these are all things we all feel that we’re too afraid to not say. Moreover, a female football player is such a great story in and of itself, and Murdock does her readers a great service in writing a sports-filled book without bogging it down in too many sport-related details. I don’t think there is a way you just can’t love and admire D.J. and live with her through the highs and lows of her social life, which, by the way, involves learning that her best friend in the world, Amber, is a lesbian. Oh . . . and had a crush on D.J.

The Off Season is the second book in this series, and it picks up with D.J. being interviewed and followed by People magazine because she’s a female football player and quite a butt kicker at that! In this installment of D.J.’s life, things really begin looking down: she injures her shoulder and must make a very important decision about whether she will continue playing football and potentially ruin her future as a basketball player (something which she thinks might be her only way into college since, well, she isn’t very good at English and doesn’t have the best grades — it’s not that she’s dumb at all, it’s just that being in charge of the farm really takes a lot of her time away from homework).

Moreover, the story in People may have just ruined her friendship with Brian.

Although these are huge challenges for D.J., the biggest comes during a University of Washington football game that the Schwenks had gathered around to watch over Thanksgiving. To save this from being a spoiler, I won’t say what happens but that her life is turned upside down, and D.J. is once again reevaluating her role in her family and her future. Oh, did I mention, too, that the Schwenk farm is bleeding money and that Amber, D.J.’s best friend, has been traveling the country with her new girlfriend Dean?

The Off Season developed a lot of challenges and resolved few, making room for the final installment of this series, Front and Center. It’s D.J.’s junior year of high school, and after choosing to pursue basketball as her sport, she’s being told from her coach she needs to step it up as a leader on the team if she ever wants to be recruited by a college. But where will she go? Will she go at all? With the trouble the family has financially, the only hope is a full scholarship.

D.J. struggled in this book with her desires for a relationship with Beaner or with Brian — yes, THE Brian Nelson. More importantly, D.J. doesn’t think she wants to go on to play ball at a Division 1 school. After visiting the University of Minnesota last year and again this year and watching the pressure these players feel from tens of thousands of fans, she feels it might be safer to go to a Division 3 school where she can play for fun, rather than feel the pressure to perform.

Of course, D.J. is offered two full rides from two very different schools that each have their strengths and weaknesses and she struggles with the decision to go at all. This is perfectly overlaid with the relationship struggles she’s feeling and the challenges at home. This book makes D.J. so human and so relatable, that with every page I wanted to be her best friend and her cheerleader.

It is Win, D.J.’s brother, who ends up helping her make the most important decision of her life, and it is he who ultimate changes her way of thinking about herself and her life. But it’s not JUST Win, it’s everyone in her life, including Amber and Brian, and mom and dad Schwenk.

The Dairy Queen series is one that I think all teen girls should read. D.J. is such a good kid, but she has challenges in her life that all teens do — and she is able to make solid, strong decisions in ways that teenagers can, too. Her family’s not perfect, but she is able to see them as people and understand why they do what they do and why that’s necessary. She’s funny and likable in so many ways. She’s empowered but vulnerable, and she’s not afraid to be either one of them. D.J. is a perfectly imperfect person. Murdock also weaves in a story of homosexuality that is well done and so realistic without being flat or stereotypical. Bravo.

I listened to the first two books on audio and commend them for those productions. The voice of D.J. is perfect, and throughout my reading of Front and Center, I couldn’t imagine her sounding any other way. I can’t wait to listen to this one again when it comes out on audio.

If you haven’t picked these up yet, please do. Now that the series is complete (well, okay, it will be in October), it’s the perfect series to recommend to readers looking for something with a strong character, great plot, and that will remain with them for a while.

YA Lit Conference and Why YA Matters

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This weekend, I got to meet the likes of Ellen Hopkins and Libba Bray, listen to the stories behind the stories of James Owen and Gennier Choldenko, and share lunch and stories with Michelle Zink. The main theme? How YA literature is really the best written material being published these days, how the writing process works, and why book banners are not only bad but that they seem to be increasing in numbers and in anger.

Perhaps it was best stated that the reason so many teens and adults love ya material now is because it’s a fiction of growth and of choice and of change — something we all, regardless of age, always go through. Sure, we aren’t picking out a college when we’re in our 20s, but we can always be making similar life course choices, so we know exactly what that character is going through. We relate to the situations and issues, and age isn’t the determining factor.

To open the event, Judy Blundell and Ellen Hopkins gave thirty minute talks. Judy discussed going from a writer for hire to a National Book Award winner, while Hopkins gave a very moving and provoking speech about those in Norman, Oklahoma who banned her from giving a talk. She then read her Manifesto, written for this year’s Banned Books Week, and she read these incredible letters from readers who were moved by her work.

After the morning talks, we all could choose two of six panels to attend. I went to a panel about local authors that included Cynthea Liu, Claire Zulkey, Susan Fine, and David Kraus. Cynthea made me pumped to finally check out the Students of the Seven Seas series and I was so excited to see Claire since I was reading her book at that moment (more on that in a minute). Susan’s book really excites me, too, as it sounds like such a fantastic book group book. It sounds like a very contemporary Chocolate War. And finally, David’s current book not only excited me, but his talks about a huge book he just submitted sounds like it’s going to be a hit — it’s about modern grave robbers.

Honestly, I should have chosen another session for the next panel; I attended one on new and upcoming books. I chose it over another panel, and I felt like I got nothing out of that one. Alas!

After that panel, we got to get books signed and eat lunch. It was then I met and had my photo taken with Ellen Hopkins:


And sitting next to Ellen was Claire Zulkey. As I mentioned, I bought her book for our library and was reading it — it’s a cute story and one that covers a very interesting topic (that of choosing NOT to attend college right after high school). Her talk during the panel was interesting because I learned about another local author to read about. But, I went up to her and asked if she’d sign the library’s book to the kids. Not only did she do that, but she said it was her first library book. Woo hoo!


Immediately after lunch, James Owen talked about his work as an author/illustrator. He reminded me of those speakers you do listen to in high school and junior high, filled with wisdom and insight. I loved it and couldn’t stop thinking about what a great speaker he’d be, especially for boys.

We had the opportunity for two more break out sessions, and for the first one, I listened to a panel of fantasy writers, including Michelle Zink, James Owen, Kaza Kingsley, and Libba Bray. I don’t know a lot about the genre nor have I read quite enough, but there was a fascinating discussion of female fantasy readers and female-aimed books. Earlier during lunch, Michelle had been talking with my table mates and I about Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series and the role of Bella — that she’s an empty vessel for Edward to be a main role, rather than being a main role herself. Needless to say, they were in agreement that the fantasy coming out now really features enviable, strong, empowered females. And most importantly, it is read and enjoyed — Twilight was really an important gateway for these readers who seek stronger, more literary pieces, too.

My final panel session of the day was on contemporary fiction, featuring Jill Wolfson, Ellen Hopkins, and Lisa Yee. Julia Keller was going to come too, but had to pull out for family reasons at the last minute (keep your eye here for a review of her book very soon, btw!). Perhaps what was most interesting about this panel, aside from accumulating a huge to-read list, was that almost all of the panelists came from journalism backgrounds. I think it shows in their writing and in the topics they tackle — talk about contemporary! I’m very excited to read their titles. If Lisa Yee doesn’t sound familiar, you might know her better as the brains behind the “Pass the old El Paso” slogan.

Finally, the day wrapped up with talks by Gennifer and Libba. Gennifer talked about Alcatraz and writing her book, Al Capone Does My Shirts. I didn’t know how much her book was steeped in reality, so it made my love for it just a little bit stronger. She was very funny and the photos and research she did for the books were right up my alley. Libba’s talk centered on her strange brain (her words, not mine!). She was hysterical but powerful. Right after, I ran up to her and got her to sign my copy of Going Bovine.

All of this is to say that YA will be here a while, and I think it’s going to continue being the most popular area writers want to publish in. The readers aren’t just teenagers; adults continue to be a big market because the writing and the topics are so good and relatable. Perhaps more importantly, we’re going to keep hearing about challenges and struggles from audiences seeking to protect teens from reality in these books — and by trying to do so, limit everyone’s access to such powerful writers and stories. We need to keep fighting and keep promoting, as it will only expand the believers. And we need to keep supporting these authors who care SO MUCH about their readers. The love and utter respect and understanding they have for teenagers is what those teenagers need in their lives and what so many may not have.

When the cover fails

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I have to give credit to Bookshelves of Doom for this one.

One of my favorite books this year and perhaps in a very long time has been Christine Fletcher’s Ten Cents a Dance. It’s set in 1940s Chicago and follows Ruby as she becomes a taxi dancer to make money to move her family up in the world. It’s beautifully rich, with a great plot, great characters, and a fantastic setting and era. Here’s the cover:


Perfect! It captures a sense of time and place, and it doesn’t give you too much in terms of what the story’s about so that as a reader, you can make your own images.

Well, as has been a trend for a while now, the publisher has decided to change the cover for the paperback of this book. This is the paperback cover:


I’m really, really disappointed in this one. First, it kills any sense of time. Second, the male character there? He’s not in the story. And really, groping on the front cover? I don’t think this looks like a 17-year-old in 1940s Chicago at all. In fact, this books like every other book out recently set in contemporary times. It reminds me a lot of many of Simone Elkeles’s paperbacks.

I think this is a mistake — it’s now going to have a harder time finding its audience, who may be turned off immediately by a cover that not only looks like so many others on the market, but also because it doesn’t convey that it’s a historical fiction that’s not filled with boys groping girls (Ruby would actually be quite offended, I think!). Although I don’t require my books to give me anything on the cover, when a cover is such a success because it DOES capture the essence of the story, it’s disheartening to see that discarded for something generic.

What do you think? Have you seen any other hard cover to paper back cover changes that have made you cringe?

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

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When this title showed up at work, my coworker and I talked about whether it was a graphic novel or teen fiction. After thinking it over and looking around a bit, I decided to buck the trend and put it with graphic novels. Now that I’ve read this one, I still don’t know. Perhaps I’m more confused now!

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan is a picture book for teens and adults (I don’t think it’s exclusively one or another, really!). More accurately, it’s a collection of short stories accompanied by detailed, fantastical art work. This is not my usual genre but I absolutely adored it.

This collection of short stories is bizarre yet familiar. As you read it, you are transported into an alternate reality that at the same time feels so normal or familiar. In the first story, a family’s international student decides to live in the kitchen cupboards during his stay and collects not the interesting and valuable pieces of the Australian culture, but instead the garbage and “throw away” pieces of life. At the end, he leaves his hosts a wonderful little surprise made with those assorted discards.

Another story — inspired by the cover pictured above — is about a deep sea diver in the old get up showing up in a family’s yard. Unsure what to do with this strange guests, the children deliver him to “Mrs. Bad News,” their neighbor who returns all of their lost toys to them broken. The images are beautiful and the story ends much differently than the children planned.

A couple other stories involve the discovery of hidden worlds within one’s own home and a story about what happens to the poems people write and never do anything with.

Each and every story is beautifully illustrated. This is a book that those who like fairy tales or fantasy, as well as short stories or graphic novels will love. It is part fiction and part graphic novel, as well as part book of art. Tan received a grant from his home country of Australia to complete it, and I think they were smart to let him develop such a unique book. This is a great one for an adult story time or for a family read. I am so eager to get my hands on Tan’s other book, The Arrival, because this one was just so darn good.

I think this is one of those books that proves literacy is so much more than the words on a page. Literacy is also visual, and without the visuals that Tan provides, this book wouldn’t be quite as fun. Although it’s a picture book, I don’t think this is the sort of book the younger crowd would “get” as well as teens and adults would simply because of the importance of the visuals to the stories and because of the sheer (wonderful) absurdity of some of the tales.

So, even if you’re not the traditional graphic novel aficionado, give this one a whirl. It might change your mind … or at least give you an appreciation for the fine art of balancing words and images to weave a set of fun and memorable stories.