book data
805 ratings,
3.94
average rating, 207 reviews
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published
2007
by Houghton Mifflin
binding
Hardcover, 288 pages
isbn
0618686959
(isbn13: 9780618686957)
description
Life is looking up for D.J. Schwenk. She's in eleventh grade, finally. After a rocky summer, she's reconnecting in a big way with her best friend, Amb...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1,137)
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avg 3.94
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in March, 2008
D.J. is back at it again in the sequel to Dairy Queen, The Off Season. Things are finally on the upside for D.J. She is friends again with Amber and even Amber’s girlfriend Dale, and she is still sort of dating cutie quarterback Brian Nelson. She couldn’t be more happier than playing football for Red Bend and the guys actually accept her as part of the team.
But as we know, D.J.’s life has been anything but easy. She injures her shoulder during practice and has to decide between...more
But as we know, D.J.’s life has been anything but easy. She injures her shoulder during practice and has to decide between...more
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Read in September, 2007
I loved Dairy Queen, so I was very eager to read The Off Season. It took a lot of turns I didn't expect, which makes it hard for me to review it, because as always I don't want to spoil the surprises for anyone else.
Picking up essentially where we left off, D.J. has passed sophomore English and is good to go with football. The team is totally psyched to have her. Unfortunately, not all that far into things, a certain situation at school puts that all in jeopardy. Add to it a physical...more
Picking up essentially where we left off, D.J. has passed sophomore English and is good to go with football. The team is totally psyched to have her. Unfortunately, not all that far into things, a certain situation at school puts that all in jeopardy. Add to it a physical...more
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Read in August, 2008
Sometimes, after a successful first novel, its sequel may fall flat. This certainly is not true in the case of Catherine Gilbert Murdock's sequel to Dairy Queen. In The Off Season, we find D.J. Schwenk coping with even more challenges than ever, many of which could topple someone twice her age. While we know that D.J. has real style and substance, this time we find her to be more of a hero than ever. Once again, she rises to the occasion, providing the stability for her injured brother to move o...more
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Read in March, 2009
Wonderful! But I want to know what happens after the book ends. Ms. Murdock will you please write another book?
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As far as debut novels go, it’s hard to top Murdock’s DAIRY QUEEN, a winning combination of wit and heart, love and loss. But incredibly, she succeeds with its sequel, THE OFF SEASON. It is everything her first book is, and more.
As quite possibly the first girl in her state ever to be on her high school football team, D.J. Schwenk has been getting a lot of attention and publicity lately, and she doesn’t want any of it… particularly as she fears it will make her something-or-oth...more
As quite possibly the first girl in her state ever to be on her high school football team, D.J. Schwenk has been getting a lot of attention and publicity lately, and she doesn’t want any of it… particularly as she fears it will make her something-or-oth...more
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Read in January, 2009
Review: “The Off Season” comes to life when D.J. gets accepted by her high school’s football coach and players as a starter. D.J. proves herself on the field during their first preseason game against rival Hawley, when D.J. scores after intercepting a pass thrown by her tentative boyfriend Brian (see review for Dairy Queen). Finally, a girl can ride the waves of adulation football players receive. D.J.’s even trying to stay on top of her homework this year. The entire Schwenk famil...more
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Read in January, 2008
The day after reading Dairy Queen, I discovered there was a sequel! Oh joy to the world! I forced my husband to take me to Borders (on our way to a party for which we were already late) so I could buy it. Now, I don't just go out and buy books. A book has to be tried and tested before it takes up valuable space on my bookshelf, but I was obsessed. Also, my library didn't have the sequel and I had to have it NOW. After faking my way through an evening of conversations (I didn't want to talk to re...more
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It wasn't until I was a fair way into this novel that I realised how invested I was in Win and the rest of the Schwenk family. DJ's older brothers, Win and Bill, had been peripheral characters for Dairy Queen and with Win's injury, I realised how much I had bought into the concept of this family that worked a dairy.
The Off Season picks up from where we left off. DJ's successfully integrated into the Red Bend football team, re-established her friendship with Amber, secretly (kinda) d...more
The Off Season picks up from where we left off. DJ's successfully integrated into the Red Bend football team, re-established her friendship with Amber, secretly (kinda) d...more
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Read in November, 2007
I enjoyed this sequel to Dairy Queen way more than the original. I was actually sort of hesitant to read the follow up but I'm glad I did. The writing is clear and uncomplicated, even though the character's lives often are not. For fans of the first, this is a must. For those new to the series, I recommend this to anyone who enjoys books with strong female leads who handle tough situations with ease.
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Read in November, 2007
I enjoyed Dairy Queen last year—with some reservations—but this is a much more assured piece of writing. Characterisation is solid, the romance is believable and fresh, especially in its "resolution", and the family dynamics are satisfyingly explored. The conservative rural, sports-mad milieu is also beautifully realised—I am looking forward to the forthcoming third "DJ" novel.
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Read in July, 2009
4.5 stars. I haved loved the two books about the Schwenk family. The first book, Dairy Queen, followed D.J. as she tried out for the boys' football team in her high school while also taking care of her family dairy farm. This 2nd book continues the story as D.J. deals with other family problems and with her precarious social life. The characters in this family are just all so likable! :-) I think a book is successful when you come to really care about the characters. I would love to have ...more
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Read in March, 2009
D.J.'s junior year has begun and with it, the football season. Being the only girl on the high school football team isn't easy, but with D.J.'s guts and hard work, she makes a place for herself. Life doesn't always go the way we hope, though, and this season ends up being "off" - in more ways that one.
What I like most about D.J.'s character is that she's smart aleky, she loves her family and she's honest about high school life. She's hilarious, also, which helps. The book w...more
What I like most about D.J.'s character is that she's smart aleky, she loves her family and she's honest about high school life. She's hilarious, also, which helps. The book w...more
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Read in January, 2009
I really liked some stuff in this book and other stuff was pretty silly. I really liked how they went into detail about the recuperation of her brother. That was very interesting. I also liked that she seemed to have enough self esteem with all her boyfriend problems-but wow, get a clue already! It took her long enough to figure it out. Also, it was kind of slow going and I thought it very improbable that her parents would let her spend so much time away from school even though she brought ...more
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Read in March, 2009
The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Off Season is the sequel to Murdock’s Dairy Queen which I read a couple years ago. I was excited when I saw that Murdock had written a follow-up book because I really enjoyed Dairy Queen. That said, I have mixed feelings about The Off Season.
The Off Season definitely has some great conflict and I really liked how Murdock resolved the conflicts she created. The protagonist, D.J. Schwenk, comes across as a real person, with real and be...more
The Off Season is the sequel to Murdock’s Dairy Queen which I read a couple years ago. I was excited when I saw that Murdock had written a follow-up book because I really enjoyed Dairy Queen. That said, I have mixed feelings about The Off Season.
The Off Season definitely has some great conflict and I really liked how Murdock resolved the conflicts she created. The protagonist, D.J. Schwenk, comes across as a real person, with real and be...more
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Read in December, 2008
This sequel to Dairy Queen is equally awesome, but the story is a bit more emotionally intense. For fans of Dairy Queen, it's got the same great, funny tone, the same complexity of characters, plenty of sports talk and family drama. But it's not at all a cookie cutter sequel - it picks up right where the first book left off, but it deals with fresh issues without ditching all the stuff from before. I also like the very realistic depiction of how teen relationships aren't always happy ever aft...more
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Read in February, 2009
While I don't mind DJ having some romance in DAIRY QUEEN I enjoyed the sequel OFF SEASON more. I don't want her brother to get injured in a football game and bring angst to DJ's life, but DJ sure is a real-seeming character. She has realistic experiences. It was hokey that her mom was laid up and her dad couldn't leave the farm long enough to go to Washington, but I suspended my reality long enough to enjoy the story.
Of the two, I enjoyed this one more. The subject matter was d...more
Of the two, I enjoyed this one more. The subject matter was d...more
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Read in December, 2008
recommended to Jennifer by:
Juliarecommends it for: anyone who played high school sports
A sequel to the book, Dairy Queen, this novel follows the continuing saga of DJ Schwenk in the fall of her junior year at Red Bend High School. Things seems to be going well. DJ has become a somewhat accepted member of her high school's football team. Her relationship with Brian, the quarterback from a rival high school, continues to grow. Every weekend, her family gathers to watch the college football games of her two older brothers--one at the University of Minnesota and the other at Unive...more
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Read in June, 2008
A very satisfying sequel. And I can't wait for the third one (due out next year, according to Catherine Gilbert Murdock's website)! DJ has to take on a lot of responsibility in this book. She handles it admirably and writes about it in her direct, wry way. Curtis has his own set of adventures, although of course it takes a while for the family to understand them since he still doesn't talk. Brain at times is wonderful and at other times very much is not.
Although the Schwenks go through...more
Although the Schwenks go through...more
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Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com
When we last left D.J. Schwenk in DAIRY QUEEN, she was trying to cope with her family's problems, the inclusion of Brian into her life, and surviving being on the Red Bend football team. You know, when most people thought girls shouldn't be on the team.
At first it seemed like she had found solutions to all of those problems. But all good things must come to an end, whether D.J. likes it or not...more
When we last left D.J. Schwenk in DAIRY QUEEN, she was trying to cope with her family's problems, the inclusion of Brian into her life, and surviving being on the Red Bend football team. You know, when most people thought girls shouldn't be on the team.
At first it seemed like she had found solutions to all of those problems. But all good things must come to an end, whether D.J. likes it or not...more
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recommends it for:
any teenager
I loved this book. Main character D.J. Schwenk is in eleventh grade finally. After a rocky summer, she's reconnecting with her best friend, Amber. She has a new boyfriends Brian Nelson, who's cute, popular, and smart. And then there's football: she's starting for the Red Bend High School team, she's the first girl linebacker in the state of Wisconsin. As fall progresses, D.J. struggles to understand Amber, the Schwenk Farm, her relationship with Brian, and especially her family. As a whole lot o...more
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