Friday, May 21, 2010

Girl Athletes: Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock

Welcome to my first post profiling a novel that features a girl athlete as a protagonist. I've also got a dedicated page with a running list of books. Let me know if you've got something to add!

I wanted to profile Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock first because it's a realistic contemporary sports romance (sort of) for young adult girls.  The sport is different, but that genre describes my WIP as well.  

This synopsis is from Bookbrowse. 

          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.

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.

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.
(Isn't that a great synopsis?  I wonder if it's what Catherine used in her query letter or if it came later??)

I read this book last summer when I was doing research on comps for my WIP.  I really liked DJ Schwenk.  She's not your "typical" YA protagonist.  She helps her family business, she works hard, she's not stick thin, and she loves football.  She busts the stereotypes.  I also love this interview of Catherine talking about writing DQ.

I haven't read the two sequels yet, but they're on my list.  If you've read Dairy Queen, I'd love to know what you thought.

Read more about Catherine Murdock.

12 comments:

Creepy Query Girl said...

Wow- great review. I've never heard of this book before but it sounds right up my ally! thanks for sharing:)

Kristine Asselin said...

CQG - It's a quick read, too. Definitely check it out! Thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this book. I loved that she went out for football like her brothers. I loved her relationship with her dad. And the other QB (I forget his name).And her narration style totally sucked me in. A good recommend. :)

Tina Laurel Lee said...

This book had me at the title! Why is that? The synopsis does sound great! Thanks for the rec! (Laura, comment makes it sound amazing too.)

Loved your interview.

Kristine Asselin said...

Laura - thanks for your additions!

Tina - I love the title, too. Thanks for reading my interview at Heather's!

Kelly Polark said...

I will have to check this out. I was a sporty girl growing up and never had a sporty main character to read about back then!

Kristine Asselin said...

Thanks, Kelly. There aren't too many now, but I think the genre is growing. I read a lot of books about girls and horses AND girls who ice skate -- though I didn't do either. ;)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Awesome! I love the idea of reviewing sports books for girls. I hopped over from your interview with Heather. Loved it! :-)

Kristine Asselin said...

Thanks, Shanon! I think it will be fun, too. Thanks for stopping by!

Lydia Kang said...

This looks like a great read! thanks for the review.

D said...

Kris, your two-timing WIP just showed up at my door wanting some sexy time...but then I drove him away because my bean burrito made a comeback.

Kristine Asselin said...

No wonder I'm struggling w/ the last chapter. He just won't stay put. ;)