Audio Book Review: Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Title: Dairy Queen (Dairy Queen, #1) 
Author:  Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Format:  Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary / Fantasy
Source: Library Copy
Published: May 22nd 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

From Goodreads.com

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. can’t help admitting, maybe he’s right. When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn’t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won’t even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. 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.

Since I started blogging, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Dairy Queen. When I saw that my library had the audio-book? I snagged it as quickly as I could! I mean, I love football. I love farming. And girls doing both? Well, it’s gotta be a win, right? Plus, ALL of the reviews on Goodreads are just amazing. From bloggers I trust, and typically agree with.

But, I have to admit? I was a bit disappointed. It’s a good book, I really enjoyed it. But it just wasn’t great.

I think the thing that really annoyed me is that DJ, the main character? Is so incredibly naive. I grew up in a mid-sized city, but my family and my husbands family were all from small towns and farms in Nebraska, so I’ve had a lot of experience with farmers in the mid-west. And I just couldn’t stand how ignorant and naive DJ was. To be completely honest? I found it offensive. And I just couldn’t get past that.

I love the story though, I really do. I love the girl who is running the family farm all by herself (although I hated that her parents didn’t seem to give her any credit until near the end!) and I loved that she was training the totally hunky football player from the next town over. I even liked DJ, a lot. She was great. But she just wasn’t believable to me.

In the end, I enjoyed Dairy Queen (and I will probably, eventually, read the rest of the series) but it just didn’t live up to my expectations.