Mini Reviews: Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock & Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

So this is sort of the oldies edition of mini reviews. The below two books have been on my wish list for the longest time. The library I signed up at had them and I grabbed them immediately. I am just happy I finally got to read them!

Dairy Queen (Dairy Queen #1)

Catherine Gilbert Murdock
June 4, 2007

3.5/5 stars

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Dairy Queen's D.J. is a sophomore who has taken way too much responsibility at her age. Because of her father's recent back problem, she found herself in charge of their whole farm, from milking the cows, plowing the land, transporting the hay, to trying not to not flunk out of high school, something that has become a challenge. D.J. was a very opinionated character, the only hitch to that is that she keeps all her opinions to herself, as in the readers know about them, but she can't seem to verbally convey them to her dad, mom, younger brother, and even two older brothers who left the house and never looked back almost six months ago, during "the big fight". I found D.J. to be a very whiny and weak character in the beginning. She would complain constantly to us but plaster on a smile in front of everyone. When Brian asks for her help in football training, she accepts. Her older two brothers play in the big leagues right now. Brian and D.J. felt a bit awkward in the beginning, I honestly didn't feel like they could click together and I felt no chemistry whatsoever. However the good news is that the second half of the novel gets better, good enough for me to finish the novel and give it a 3.5. D.J. finally seems to realize that keeping everything in won't solve anything and caring about pleasing everyone but herself isn't really working in her favor. Brian didn't leave a big impression on me but I am hoping to see more of him as well as D.J. 2.0 in The Off Season, the sequel of this novel. 

For fans of: Sarah Dessen's What Happened To Goodbye and Elizabeth Scott's Perfect You

Audrey, Wait!

Robin Benway
April 2, 2009

4/5 stars

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Audrey, in the first chapter, finds herself the center of attention because of a song her ex-boyfriend wrote about her after she broke up with him. The song is called "Audrey, Wait!" the last two words he told her before she ran out of his house after breaking up with him. Audrey isn't just horrified of the publicity, but also annoyed that Evan would be so open about their relationship. Her friends calm her down because the song will fade away by itself. No one imagined that the song would bring Evan's band to stardom, topping the music singles charts in the US AND UK. Not only does Evan's band shoot to stardom but Audrey seems to forcefully get strapped along for the ride. Everyone wants to know who Audrey is. She started getting calls from all the major news agencies, magazines, newspapers, and even from sponsors and tv stations. To say it simply, Audrey has become a celebrity. This novel is about Audrey's struggle in the unwanted spotlight as well as trying to find her place and figuring out a way to live with all this publicity. I really loved Audrey's voice, she spoke to us directly. She was also very independent, vocal, and always spoke her mind. Her conversations and encounters with her parents as well as her humungous cat were very humorous. The new love interest (yes, Evan starts touring in Tokyo and all over so we don't see him) was cute, but again, he didn't leave a big impression on me. I have to say, with my super high expectations for this novel, I was glad that I enjoyed it in the end. Yes, I didn't love it, but it was very entertaining. 

For fans of: Meg Cabot's How to be Popular & Teen Idol and Lauren Conrad's L.A. Candy trilogy