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Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets. Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year.
While spacing out in Chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk, and added a message to her. Intrigue! Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters - sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she's kind of falling for this letter writer. Only who is he?
As a congressman's daughter in Washington, DC, Kate Hamilton is good at getting what she wants - what some people might call "interfering". But when her family moves to West Texas so her dad can run in a special election, Kate encounters some difficulties that test all her political skills. None of her matchmaking efforts go according to plan. Her father's campaign gets off to a rough start. A pro tip for moving to Texas: Don't slam the star quarterback's hand in a door.
This timely and powerful novel tells the story of three different children seeking refuge. Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe.
Ponyboy can count on his brothers. And on his friends. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up "greasers" like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect, until the night someone takes things too far.
Pay close attention, and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app. Only Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead.
Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets. Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year.
While spacing out in Chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk, and added a message to her. Intrigue! Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters - sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she's kind of falling for this letter writer. Only who is he?
As a congressman's daughter in Washington, DC, Kate Hamilton is good at getting what she wants - what some people might call "interfering". But when her family moves to West Texas so her dad can run in a special election, Kate encounters some difficulties that test all her political skills. None of her matchmaking efforts go according to plan. Her father's campaign gets off to a rough start. A pro tip for moving to Texas: Don't slam the star quarterback's hand in a door.
This timely and powerful novel tells the story of three different children seeking refuge. Josef is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. Isabel is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe.
Ponyboy can count on his brothers. And on his friends. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up "greasers" like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect, until the night someone takes things too far.
Pay close attention, and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app. Only Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead.
When their last outgoing flight is cancelled, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the storm and drop him in Denver to catch a connection. And when the pilot says the single-engine prop plane can fit one more, if barely, Ben offers the seat to Ashley, knowing that she needs to get home just as urgently. And then the unthinkable happens. The pilot has a heart attack, and the plane crashes into one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States.
Jackie does not like surprises. Chaos is the enemy! The best way to get her successful, busy parents to notice her is to be perfect. The perfect look, the perfect grades - the perfect daughter. And then… Surprise #1: Jackie's family dies in a freak car accident. Surprise #2: Jackie has to move cross-country to live with the Walters - her new guardians. Surprise #3: The Walters have 12 sons.Now Jackie must trade in her Type A personality and New York City apartment for a Colorado ranch.
From her first moment at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows she's an outcast. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, a major infraction in high-school society, so her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know glare at her. She retreats into her head, where the lies and hypocrisies of high school stand in stark relief to her own silence, making her all the more mute.
She's just a New York City girl living with her artist mom. News flash: Dad is prince of Genovia. (So that's why a limo always meets her at the airport!) Downer: Dad can't have any more kids. (So no heir to the throne.) Shock of the century: Like it or not, Mia is prime princess material.
Bridge is an accident survivor who's wondering why she's still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody's games - or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: no fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade?
Before Josh and Jordan Bell were streaking up and down the court, their father was learning his own moves. In this prequel to Newbery Medal winner The Crossover, Chuck Bell takes center stage, as listeners get a glimpse of his childhood and how he became the jazz music worshiping basketball star his sons look up to. A novel in verse with all the impact and rhythm listeners have come to expect from Kwame Alexander, Rebound will go back in time to visit the childhood of Chuck "Da Man" Bell during one pivotal summer when young Charlie is sent to stay with his grandparents, where he discovers basketball and learns more about his family's past.
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 15-year-old D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.
"Fans of Joan Bauer and Louise Rennison will flock to this sweet confection of a first novel, as enjoyable as any treat from the real DQ." (School Library Journal)
"This humorous, romantic romp excels at revealing a situation seldom explored in YA novels." (Booklist)
Loved this series! Highly recommend it, it just kept getting better with each consecutive book. Not sure if I’ll ever be a huge Brian Nelson fan, but I wouldn’t mind reading a book from his POV. This series will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride - well worth the investment. In fact I’ve even stood in line to read/listen to it again and again.
If you could sum up Dairy Queen in three words, what would they be?
Good for younger readers (maybe 5th grade- middle school)
Would you recommend Dairy Queen to your friends? Why or why not?
would recommend for my young niece
What does Natalie Moore bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
great Wisconsin accent
Yes, the book did reach what I was thinking.
The narrator was good.
3 star book if I can say.
Would you consider the audio edition of Dairy Queen to be better than the print version?
DJ Schwenk does not have a perfect life. Not by a long shot. It's pretty crappy, actually. But the girl has spirit. Too bad it takes Brian Nelson telling her what a waste of space she is for her to actually realize that.
Dairy Queen is a story of self-discovery and deciding that you are worth something, no matter who you are.
DJ is one of the most moving characters I have ever read, and her progression and growth throughout the novel is absolutely brilliant.
Not even two chapters in, you think to yourself that perhaps you should pity DJ. But you don't. Instead you want to be her.
Catherine Gilbert Murdock is just that good of an author.
Who was your favorite character and why?
DJ -- She is such a realistic character, a young teenage girl floundering as she is supposed to be figuring out her life but is barely able to hang on to it. She is strong, even though she doesn't realize it, and stubborn and judgmental and also forgiving and passionate. She is the kind of person I would like to be.
Have you listened to any of Natalie Moore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, but I just bought the two sequels to this book narrated by her as well, Front & Center and The Off Season. I can't wait to listen to them!
Her performance for this book was spectactular. She emulates DJ in a very realistic, subtle way, which is suiting to the character.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There are too many to count. Every chapter is moving. Seriously. Read it and you'll know what I mean.
I initially purchased this book because I liked Catherine Gilbert Murdock's "Princess Ben". "Dairy Queen" is written in a first-person point of view of D.J. Schwank. D.J.'s family has fallen on hard times after her dad hurt his back and she's had to take up a lot of the slack on the farm. I really enjoyed the author's down-to-earth phrasing and how D.J. thought a lot about things that were said (and not said). Although D.J. claims not to be smart, she really is smart and although she makes some mistakes, she also makes some great decisions. I knew long before the audiobook was over that I was spending my last two credits to get the sequels.