Today we bring you a review of a Young Adult Fiction title by our own Graphic Novels coordinator, Liz B. Liz reviews books for a wide range of age levels at her wonderfully named blog, A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy. She’s always up on the kidlitosphere’s news and hot topics, and also features a Buffy Quote of the Week. Her reviews are candid and light-hearted, yet also cut right to the core of the book that she’s discussing. Here, she takes on Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Dairy Queen.
DJ is quiet (like most of her family), with only a few friends. It hasn’t helped that for the past year she’s been doing backbreaking work to make sure the family farm survives. It’s affected school (failing classes, dropping out of sports). But being quiet isn’t the same as having nothing to say; and when DJ does speak (even if it’s just to the reader) she can be quite sarcastic: If there was ever a TV show called People Who Are Crazy And Need To Have Their Heads Examined, I’d be the very first guest and I hadn’t done anything all weekend unless you count sulking, but I guess my body needed the rest.
When DJ overhears an angry Brian making fun of her, she could get mad and get even. But — and here is why DJ is a great character — after the anger, the hurt, and the wee bit of revenge, she listens to what he said. And thinks, am I just a cow? Going along with my life, not really thinking about it, not making choices?
Read the rest here.