Hello. I'm Catherine Weller and this is the Open Book.

This week's selection is Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock.

Growing up is never easy. And D.J. Schwenk's sophomore year has been particularly difficult. First of all, she's fifteen, and that's no picnic. Then there's her family, loving but uncommunicative and at times combative. An old hip injury has sidelined her father, so D.J. must take over the day to day duties of her family's dairy farm: each morning and each evening are devoted to the cows, leaving little time for anything else. D.J. had to drop out of her high school basketball team, something she loved. And she failed sophomore English, something she didn't love so much but was smart enough to pass. D.J. isn't going to wallow in self-pity though. It's not in her nature.

Dairy Queen opens with D.J.'s charming narration about the sad fate of Joe Namath. Not that Joe Namath. D.J.'s Joe Namath is a cow, a ten year old calver and milker at the end of her life. All of the Scwhenk family farm cows are named after football players or coaches. Each new calving season, D.J's dad picks a team and names all the calves after a particular season's line up. This little tidbit deftly points out the other driving force in the Scwhenk family's life: football.

When an old family friend and rival football team coach sends his star quarterback to the Scwhenk's to "help out," D.J. finds herself jarred out of her dutiful rut. Brian is a prima donna: talented, but lazy and irresponsible. It's clear to everyone that he's been sent to the farm to learn how to work. Since D.J. is the only one working the farm, that job falls on her broad shoulders as well.

Much to everyone's surprise, especially D.J. and Brian's, the arrangement works out for both of them. D.J. gets a little help, Brian learns responsibility, and - most importantly - D.J. learns to communicate and to truly explore what she wants. After a disastrous first week, when Brian compares D.J. to a cow, just working without complaint until it's time to go to the slaughterhouse, D.J. begins thinking. Then she begins talking. And then she takes action: she goes out for her high school football team.

Dairy Queen is a nearly perfect young adult coming of age novel. It contains all the necessary tropes: doubt, self-discovery, unlikely love. But it explores them with a clarity and a sense of humor that I've seen in young adult books for quite awhile. D.J. is a strong young woman, a confident and funny character concerned with boys and her appearance, but not consumed by them. She's a character teen readers can identify with and maybe even learn a little from without feeling preached to. And her story, though set in rural Wisconsin, can be enjoyed by anyone. Catherine Murdock may be the next Judy Blume. Don't miss her writing.

You've been listening to The Open Book on KCPW. I'm Catherine Weller.

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