Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen is a 2006 novel written by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. It received recognition as a 2007 Best Book for Young Adults from the American Library Association. The sequel is called The Off Season, and the next book is Front and Center. Plot summary 15-year-old girl Darlene Joyce (D.J.) Schwenk lives on a farm in Red Bend, Wisconsin, where she and her family own a dairy farm. When D.J.'s father hurts his hip, leaving him unable to work, D.J. reluctantly leaves her high school's volleyball and basketball teams to fill in for him on the farm. In the process she gives up her chance at a college scholarship, and her grades begin to slide. Meanwhile, D.J. is pressured into training Brian Nelson, a stubborn football player who plays for the rival Hawley High School team. Over time the two become friends, and D.J. develops romantic feelings for Brian.