What do you think?
Rate this book
Dairy Queen #4
Heaven Is Paved with Oreos
Sarah Zorn has had enough with being teased that she and best pal Curtis harbor secret feelings for each other. Allowing everyone to believe they really are an item is the only solution. But pretending proves difficult as stronger feelings emerge. When Sarah's zany but loveable grandmother invites her on a well-timed Roman holiday, Sarah jumps at the chance to discover Italy and escape Wisconsin and the awkward situation with Curtis. The trip holds plenty of surprises for Sarah, however, about the nature of friendship, family secrets, and first love.
This humorous, romantic romp by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of the critically-acclaimed Dairy Queen series, is a sweet and easy read, perfect for the middle-school audience.
This humorous, romantic romp by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of the critically-acclaimed Dairy Queen series, is a sweet and easy read, perfect for the middle-school audience.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2013
35 people are currently reading
2233 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Gilbert Murdock
13 books817 followersI grew up in small-town Connecticut, on a tiny farm with honeybees, two adventurous goats, and a mess of Christmas trees. My sister claims we didn’t have a television, but we did, sometimes – only it was ancient, received exactly two channels, and had to be turned off after 45 minutes to cool down or else the screen would go all fuzzy. Watching (or rather, “watching”) Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds was quite the experience, because it’s hard to tell a flock of vicious crows from a field of very active static; this might be why I still can’t stand horror movies, to this day.
My sister Liz, who is now a Very Famous Writer with a large stack of books, was my primary companion, even though she was extremely cautious – she wouldn’t even try to jump off the garage roof, which involved crouching right at the edge for ten minutes working up your nerve, and then checking each time you landed to see if you’d broken anything – and she learned early on that losing at games was easier in the long run than putting up with me losing. Now, of course, she travels all over the world collecting stories and diseases, while I stay at home scowling over paint chips, and losing on purpose to my kids. So the cycle continues. (Read an New York Times article by Catherine and Liz.)
People sometimes ask if I played football in high school: no. I ran cross country and track, badly, but I have absolutely no skill whatsoever with ball or team sports. Plus my high school didn’t even have a football team. Instead, I was part of the art clique – taking extra art classes, spending my study halls and lunch periods working on my latest still life. (Please tell me this was not a unique experience.) I didn’t do much writing – my sister was the anointed writer – but I read my little eyeballs out. I was the queen of our library’s YA section.
In college I studied architectural history. The formal name was “Growth and Structure of Cities Program,” but for me, it was all about buildings. I’ve always been fascinated with the built environment – how spaces fit together, how streets work, how they read. And curiously (Warning: Life Lesson approaching), it’s paid off in the oddest ways. For example, several of us in our neighborhood recently got quite upset about a enormous building going in across the street, and while everyone agreed that they didn’t like the way it looked, I was the one who stood up at public meetings and used words like entablature and cornice line and fenestration – all this architectural jargon I’d learned back at Bryn Mawr – and sounded like I knew what I was talking about. And because of that, the building ended up getting redesigned, and – in my humble opinion – now will look much more attractive and appropriate, which is nice because I’ll be looking at it for the rest of my life. So don’t be afraid to study what you love, because you do not know now, and you may not know for twenty years, how amazingly it will pay off. But it will.
Dairy Queen was my first stab at creative writing since high school, not counting several years as a struggling screenwriter (which followed several years as a struggling scholar). I unabashedly recommend screenwriting for mastering the art of storytelling; just don’t pin any hopes on seeing your work on the big screen. But you’ll learn so much in the process that this won’t matter. I also recommend, you know, living. I've been passionate about food pretty much my whole life – first eating it, now preparing and then eating it. And so it plays a pretty big role in my writing, and adds so much flavor . . . not literally, of course, but the more you can add that's true, whether it's emotion or geography or gardening (that’s me in the picture above), then the stronger that story is.
My sister Liz, who is now a Very Famous Writer with a large stack of books, was my primary companion, even though she was extremely cautious – she wouldn’t even try to jump off the garage roof, which involved crouching right at the edge for ten minutes working up your nerve, and then checking each time you landed to see if you’d broken anything – and she learned early on that losing at games was easier in the long run than putting up with me losing. Now, of course, she travels all over the world collecting stories and diseases, while I stay at home scowling over paint chips, and losing on purpose to my kids. So the cycle continues. (Read an New York Times article by Catherine and Liz.)
People sometimes ask if I played football in high school: no. I ran cross country and track, badly, but I have absolutely no skill whatsoever with ball or team sports. Plus my high school didn’t even have a football team. Instead, I was part of the art clique – taking extra art classes, spending my study halls and lunch periods working on my latest still life. (Please tell me this was not a unique experience.) I didn’t do much writing – my sister was the anointed writer – but I read my little eyeballs out. I was the queen of our library’s YA section.
In college I studied architectural history. The formal name was “Growth and Structure of Cities Program,” but for me, it was all about buildings. I’ve always been fascinated with the built environment – how spaces fit together, how streets work, how they read. And curiously (Warning: Life Lesson approaching), it’s paid off in the oddest ways. For example, several of us in our neighborhood recently got quite upset about a enormous building going in across the street, and while everyone agreed that they didn’t like the way it looked, I was the one who stood up at public meetings and used words like entablature and cornice line and fenestration – all this architectural jargon I’d learned back at Bryn Mawr – and sounded like I knew what I was talking about. And because of that, the building ended up getting redesigned, and – in my humble opinion – now will look much more attractive and appropriate, which is nice because I’ll be looking at it for the rest of my life. So don’t be afraid to study what you love, because you do not know now, and you may not know for twenty years, how amazingly it will pay off. But it will.
Dairy Queen was my first stab at creative writing since high school, not counting several years as a struggling screenwriter (which followed several years as a struggling scholar). I unabashedly recommend screenwriting for mastering the art of storytelling; just don’t pin any hopes on seeing your work on the big screen. But you’ll learn so much in the process that this won’t matter. I also recommend, you know, living. I've been passionate about food pretty much my whole life – first eating it, now preparing and then eating it. And so it plays a pretty big role in my writing, and adds so much flavor . . . not literally, of course, but the more you can add that's true, whether it's emotion or geography or gardening (that’s me in the picture above), then the stronger that story is.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 233 reviews
August 21, 2013
This book could have been an awesome, Anna and the French Kiss-like teen romance, but unfortunately it isn't YA, it is clearly aimed at tweens, so adjust your expectations accordingly.
My heart broke a little when I opened the ARC and saw it was written for 10-14 year olds. Then I rejoiced that it had Schwenks (of Dairy Queen trilogy) in it. And then I enjoyed this tweeny novel, in its own way.
It has a bit of young love - Sarah (the MC) and Curtis Schwenk are friends and pretend BF/GF. Then things get confusing and Sarah leaves for Rome with her cooky grandma Z. There she encounters sightseeing and family secrets. HEA.
I liked it, it's sweet, cute and occasionally funny, but I am sad it wasn't written in a more mature way, especially because Curtis is such an unusual boy/love interest. I can literally see how this novel could have been adjusted to be YA. Ugh! and :(
But maybe there will be more books about this couple, preferably when they are older than 14? Pretty please?
My heart broke a little when I opened the ARC and saw it was written for 10-14 year olds. Then I rejoiced that it had Schwenks (of Dairy Queen trilogy) in it. And then I enjoyed this tweeny novel, in its own way.
It has a bit of young love - Sarah (the MC) and Curtis Schwenk are friends and pretend BF/GF. Then things get confusing and Sarah leaves for Rome with her cooky grandma Z. There she encounters sightseeing and family secrets. HEA.
I liked it, it's sweet, cute and occasionally funny, but I am sad it wasn't written in a more mature way, especially because Curtis is such an unusual boy/love interest. I can literally see how this novel could have been adjusted to be YA. Ugh! and :(
But maybe there will be more books about this couple, preferably when they are older than 14? Pretty please?
January 26, 2018
¿Por qué es tan cuqui y por qué la parte cuqui -aka Sarah & Curtis- no ha podido ser la protagonista? Tiene partes muy buenas como esas pero después tiene el viaje y el drama familiar que meh.
Reseña: https://librosdelcielo.blogspot.com.e...
Reseña: https://librosdelcielo.blogspot.com.e...
December 14, 2015
4 oreo pavement loving stars.
SO CUTE. Admittedly, the main reason I wanted to read this was to see more of the Schwenks (ie. adorably awkward Curtis), but I ended up really loving Sarah's voice and having fun with her family secrets and her fascination with a decaying calf named Boris.
I'm dying to see more of Sarah and Curtis in a YA novel. These two definitely deserve a hilarious and beautiful high school first-love story. I'm adding that to my list of requests, along with D.J. Schwenk's college adventures. Pretty please?
SO CUTE. Admittedly, the main reason I wanted to read this was to see more of the Schwenks (ie. adorably awkward Curtis), but I ended up really loving Sarah's voice and having fun with her family secrets and her fascination with a decaying calf named Boris.
I'm dying to see more of Sarah and Curtis in a YA novel. These two definitely deserve a hilarious and beautiful high school first-love story. I'm adding that to my list of requests, along with D.J. Schwenk's college adventures. Pretty please?
February 8, 2019
I am rereading this, and Sarah is visiting churches in Rome. If it seemed odd that the author of the Dairy Queen trilogy is also the author of The Book of Boy, this book shows how this can be.
July 21, 2013
Sara and her best friend Curtis got tired of everyone in middle school teasing them about whether or not they were dating. So they decided to just to say they were. Now it's the summer before high school, and things are changing. Curtis "breaks up" with Sara, saying he doesn't want a fake girlfriend. He wants a real one. Sara isn't sure of her feelings, and jumps at the chance when her quirky grandmother, Z, invites her on a trip to Rome. But the trip is more than Sara bargained for as she discovers things about her family her never knew.
Very sweet. Much like Dairy Queen, it was heartfelt and thoughtful and middle grade girls, especially the ones who loved Dairy Queen, are going to love this. The Curtis that Sara is "dating" is, of course, the Curtis from Dairy Queen, DJ's little brother. DJ shows up in Heaven is Paved with Oreos as well, playing an important but small role.
Sara is very smart and doesn't have a lot of close friends. This doesn't matter because she has Curtis, but then she doesn't. We, of course, know she like likes him the whole time, but it takes Sara a while to realize that. When Curtis "breaks up" with her, she's hurt and upset and confused about why. But lucky she gets to distract herself with an international trip.
So the relationship aspect is one part of the story and then the family issues are the other part. Sara has a mom and dad and little brother, and a grandmother, her father's mother, who they call Z. Z is not like most grandmothers. She didn't raise Sara's father, having gotten pregnant young and left the baby for her parent's to raise while she went off to the big city. Z is arty and free and adventurous and Sara loves her. It isn't until the trip that she starts thinking about how all the cool stories that Z tells her about her life meant that she wasn't there for her dad when he was growing up.
Sara learns that Z had a much bigger reason for going to Italy then just as a trip for the two of them, and it shakes Sara up quite a bit. She starts to think about how people are not always what they appear to be, on the outside. They are upsetting discoveries, and it takes talking to her family to figure things out. And then she decides what she needs to do is also talk to Curtis.
So there's just the right amount of relationship/romance and just the right amount of family angst and secret discoveries. It was a lovely book and if you have middle grade girls it is a must buy.
Heaven is Paved with Oreos comes out September 23, 2013.
Very sweet. Much like Dairy Queen, it was heartfelt and thoughtful and middle grade girls, especially the ones who loved Dairy Queen, are going to love this. The Curtis that Sara is "dating" is, of course, the Curtis from Dairy Queen, DJ's little brother. DJ shows up in Heaven is Paved with Oreos as well, playing an important but small role.
Sara is very smart and doesn't have a lot of close friends. This doesn't matter because she has Curtis, but then she doesn't. We, of course, know she like likes him the whole time, but it takes Sara a while to realize that. When Curtis "breaks up" with her, she's hurt and upset and confused about why. But lucky she gets to distract herself with an international trip.
So the relationship aspect is one part of the story and then the family issues are the other part. Sara has a mom and dad and little brother, and a grandmother, her father's mother, who they call Z. Z is not like most grandmothers. She didn't raise Sara's father, having gotten pregnant young and left the baby for her parent's to raise while she went off to the big city. Z is arty and free and adventurous and Sara loves her. It isn't until the trip that she starts thinking about how all the cool stories that Z tells her about her life meant that she wasn't there for her dad when he was growing up.
Sara learns that Z had a much bigger reason for going to Italy then just as a trip for the two of them, and it shakes Sara up quite a bit. She starts to think about how people are not always what they appear to be, on the outside. They are upsetting discoveries, and it takes talking to her family to figure things out. And then she decides what she needs to do is also talk to Curtis.
So there's just the right amount of relationship/romance and just the right amount of family angst and secret discoveries. It was a lovely book and if you have middle grade girls it is a must buy.
Heaven is Paved with Oreos comes out September 23, 2013.
November 5, 2018
Who is Z? Z is one of the weirdest grandmothers yet. When she takes her granddaughter to Rome, thats where the story really begins. The protagonist Sarah is in a complicated stage in her life between friendships and enemies. When her grandmother comes and wants to take her to Rome Sarah has a chance to escape the drama that is her life. But what is going on between her and her best friend? What is going on with Z's weird behavior? I can relate this book to real life when me and my family went to France and saw cool places like Sarah and her grandmother, Z did. People who would like this book are people who like to travel or travel books and the people who like drama. this book was not my favorite because it didn't really draw me in.
dnf
November 12, 2018Dnf.
The Dairy Queen series was a delight to read, and I think I'd like to remember it as the trilogy it was meant to be and leave off on the high-note that was the last book. I listened to the whole series on audiobook so it immediately felt weird having to read this book, the writing is pretty low-level and reads like middlegrade (because it is), and I went into it with a negative outlook expecting it to be bad due to its low rating. Also I just literally don't want to read this. So I'm not going to.
The Dairy Queen series was a delight to read, and I think I'd like to remember it as the trilogy it was meant to be and leave off on the high-note that was the last book. I listened to the whole series on audiobook so it immediately felt weird having to read this book, the writing is pretty low-level and reads like middlegrade (because it is), and I went into it with a negative outlook expecting it to be bad due to its low rating. Also I just literally don't want to read this. So I'm not going to.
Click to read my other Dairy Queen Reviews:
Dairy Queen
Off Season
Front and Center
Heaven is Paved with Oreos*
*Current review
March 10, 2016
2.5 stars
Nowhere near as good as the original series. The story should've been constructed in a better way. This journal format weakened the narrative greatly.
Nowhere near as good as the original series. The story should've been constructed in a better way. This journal format weakened the narrative greatly.
Read
February 28, 2020This is a very good book. Z, Sarah's grandmother, gives Sarah a journal to write her thoughts down in. Z is a very cool grandma, at one point in the book Sarah said that even a trip to the grocery store was an adventure for her. Sarah's older brother Paul had his mom sign him up for music lessons, but Z also wants Paul to walk her dog, Jack Russel George. Sarah wants to go with so she can walk him. Z comes to dinner and asks Sarah's parents if Sarah can go to Rome with her. Sarah has a fake boyfriend named Curtis, they are fake dating because everyone kept asking if they were dating, they said they were to get everyone off their back. I don't think I could ever have a fake boyfriend, it would be very weird. Sarah's parents finally said that Sarah could go to Rome. Sarah and Curtis 'broke up' after they hadn't talked for about a week. I really enjoy this book so far and can't wait to read the rest of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2019
I hope that Murdock’s recent Newbery will bring all of her books to the forefront. She is a wonderful writer who writes such a range of excellent books. This title is loosely linked to her Dairy Queen series which is truly terrific. Highly recommended especially for MS and HS students.
December 10, 2021
They kept teasing us and saying we were working on the project because we are boyfriend and girlfriend, which was especially bad because it was not true! We were only friends. We were good science friends, which is the best kind of friends to be.
It's basically The Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, but for middle grade readers. I didn't find this story particularly compelling, but I think younger readers might. Also middle grade is not my favorite and I'd been reading a lot of it around this time, so that might have also been part of it. Who knows.
Also not nearly enough Oreo references.
It's basically The Star Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, but for middle grade readers. I didn't find this story particularly compelling, but I think younger readers might. Also middle grade is not my favorite and I'd been reading a lot of it around this time, so that might have also been part of it. Who knows.
Also not nearly enough Oreo references.
October 22, 2023
Fans of the Dairy Queen series and D.J. Schwenk will appreciate her brief appearance in this story about Sarah and D.J.'s brother Curtis. This is mostly Sarah's story. Readers of the Dairy Queen series will recall that Curtis is D.J.'s younger brother and Sarah is his friend who is a girl. This book does clarify their relationship, but too many details will spoil the story. After being asked if they are boyfriend and girlfriend, Sarah and Curtis come up with a "Brilliant Outflanking Strategy", that is, to say, yes indeed, they are so named a couple. Neither socially awkward teen really knows what being a boyfriend or girlfriend really means. So, they break up when Sarah gets to go on a Roman holiday with her grandmother. Her grandmother gives Sarah a journal, so we get to hear her thoughts on the beautiful scenery and historic places she sees, all the while thinking of Curtis and how much she misses having him around. A delightful story for pre teens. Fans of D.J. will want to read this to catch up, however briefly, on D.J.'s life as well as Sarah's older brother, Paul. This will appeal the most to middle school students or freshmen in high school, as that is the age of Sarah and Curtis. This takes place the summer before high school. Delightful. I enjoy the author's way with words and capturing how real kids talk, to each other and inside their heads when only yourself is listening.
September 12, 2013
I think I am predisposed to like this BECAUSE I went on a tour of Rome when I was just about Sarah's age. And I was a massive journaler when I was her age, too. BUT that aside, this is still an awesome book. It's definitely middle grade and Murdock captures the tween voice - it's fresh and funny and aching and real. Sarah's dealing with her first kinda boy-girl *thing* and it's confusing. Remember how confusing it was? To even figure out how YOU YOURSELF felt? Yeah, Murdock gets it.
PLUS, the Schwenks are supporting characters, so if you are a die-hard DAIRY QUEEN fan like I am, it is very nice to see your friend D.J. again. (However, note that this is very much a middle-grade novel, not a YA companion novel to the DQ books.)
Readalikes:
I'd hand this to fans of Frances O'Roark Dowell and/or Joan Bauer. Readers ready for something a little more mature shouldn't miss Dairy Queen.
PLUS, the Schwenks are supporting characters, so if you are a die-hard DAIRY QUEEN fan like I am, it is very nice to see your friend D.J. again. (However, note that this is very much a middle-grade novel, not a YA companion novel to the DQ books.)
Readalikes:
I'd hand this to fans of Frances O'Roark Dowell and/or Joan Bauer. Readers ready for something a little more mature shouldn't miss Dairy Queen.
November 15, 2015
Heaven is Paved with Oreos is middle school appropriate. (In fact we have this novel in my middle school library). D. J. Schwenk is in this novel but she isn't the main character, Sarah Zorn is. Sarah Zorn is best friend's with Curtis, D. J.'s younger brother. While I didn't love this novel as much as The Dairy Queen trilogy, it was still enjoyable. The plot is interesting- Sarah's grandmother, who goes by "Z" offers to take her on a trip to Rome but doesn't invite Sarah's older brother Paul. Z has been to Rome before but hasn't visited the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome which is something she feels compelled to do. Z says the trip is to celebrate her birthday and spend time with Sarah but once they arrive in Rome, Sarah realizes there's a more serious, secret reason for visiting. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Dairy Queen trilogy.
September 15, 2013
Still very much in the thrall of "Dairy Queen" (how COULD I have waited so long to enjoy that fun experience?), I could not resist "Heaven is Paved with Oreos" when it landed in my hands on the way to the new shelf. I was delighted to find myself back in Red Bend, Wisconsin and to find Schwenks in the cast of characters.
Where I have described "Dairy Queen" as hilarious, I would describe this slim new tween-aimed book as cute. Sarah Zorn is a sweet kid with a gently complicated family situation that takes her on an adventure to Rome and through a journey of discovery about her hippie-dippie, once-an-unwed-teen-mom grandmother. Along the way, she has to take stock of her own situation as her best-friendship with Curtis Schwenk takes an unexpected turn.
Where I have described "Dairy Queen" as hilarious, I would describe this slim new tween-aimed book as cute. Sarah Zorn is a sweet kid with a gently complicated family situation that takes her on an adventure to Rome and through a journey of discovery about her hippie-dippie, once-an-unwed-teen-mom grandmother. Along the way, she has to take stock of her own situation as her best-friendship with Curtis Schwenk takes an unexpected turn.
January 4, 2022
This epistolary novel reads like a travelogue for the most part.
I skimmed over everything in this rather tedious book except the parts where Curtis's name is mentioned. I loved DJ's little brother in the Dairy Queen trilogy, and I was hoping for so much more out of this book regarding Curtis than this author provides.
What I absolutely did not need to encounter in this book is to find out that DJ and Brian have broken up. Ugh!!
This author can only be enjoyed if you aren't expecting to find romance included as anything but a minor subplot. Her main interest is family melodrama.
I skimmed over everything in this rather tedious book except the parts where Curtis's name is mentioned. I loved DJ's little brother in the Dairy Queen trilogy, and I was hoping for so much more out of this book regarding Curtis than this author provides.
What I absolutely did not need to encounter in this book is to find out that DJ and Brian have broken up. Ugh!!
This author can only be enjoyed if you aren't expecting to find romance included as anything but a minor subplot. Her main interest is family melodrama.
November 23, 2024
An adorable middle-grade edition to the Dairy Queen universe. The romance in it is very light and like DJ Schwenk, Sarah Zorn has a much fuller life than simply 'boy-liking'. Still, we all like Curtis Schwenk.
It was delight to revisit this book again to meet a prompt with a setting in a country bordering at least five countries. Sarah and her grandma pilgrimage to Italy, to Eat and Pray a little, even if the Love was a little on the lighter side.
It was delight to revisit this book again to meet a prompt with a setting in a country bordering at least five countries. Sarah and her grandma pilgrimage to Italy, to Eat and Pray a little, even if the Love was a little on the lighter side.
June 20, 2016
this is a sweet little book. it's narrated by Sarah instead of dj and, even though she makes brief appearances, I just missed dj. it's no dairy queen. but sometimes when you love characters you are willing to enjoy even a simple story like this one. but if the author wanted to switch back to dj for the next book, this reader would not be complaining!
July 2, 2013
Fans of DJ Schwenk will not want to miss this MG novel about Sarah Zorn (Curtis's science fair partner in the original trilogy) and the summer before high school. This book had everything I loved about the Dairy Queen books, and new readers will also enjoy it.
July 31, 2013
Cute and perfectly enduring. A fabulous summer read. Made me reminisce of middle school years. I felt as if I were actually falling back into my own 8th grade journal. Minus the trip to Rome, of course.
June 29, 2013
middle schooler sarah winds up on trip to rome with zany grandma at same time as her friendship (and fake? romance) with curtis is falling apart. so cool to revisit same town (and characters) as dairy queen sequence, but for middle grade audience.
March 21, 2016
3.5 Stars
more D.J. and Brian, please!
more D.J. and Brian, please!
February 23, 2014
It was only OK, which was really disappointing because I am such a huge fan of the Dairy Queen series.
July 18, 2014
Super sweet. This works exceedingly well as a stand alone middle-grade novel, but it's about a thousand times more delightful once you've read her Dairy Queen trilogy.
{3.5 stars}
{3.5 stars}
Want to read
August 20, 2013You had me at Schwenks.
July 19, 2018
"Love is the hardest thing in the world"
Honestly, this book didn't really live up to my expectations. Yeah, I mean the title was cool (not as cool as the cover though) and I thought it would be really awesome! Reading it, it was kind of boring. I didn't really like the storyline. So here's a summary:
Sarah Zorn, a 14-year-old girl has been invited to go to Rome with her grandmother, Z. Z tells her they are going to do a pilgrimage of the 7 churches to ensure that they will go to Heaven. Of course, they both love Oreos and their family, but this trip may not be just for what Sarah thinks it's for. Along the way, she'll learn what love really means for her friends and her family.
It just wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be. I mean, I wouldn't have really liked it either if it was just a bunch of hopeless romantics running around trying to fall in love, but at least it would be more exciting in a way. The whole first 2/3 of the book was about Sarah in Rome. Sarah in Rome. Sarah in Rome. etc, etc, etc. I guess it was cool to see how she felt about Rome and such, it just didn't hook me at all.
The last 1/3 of the book was probably the most interesting part, but still, it was a calm type of excitement and change. I still liked how it made a turning point in Sarah's life.
But, the author killed the ending! I really loved it! It wasn't as great as it could have been, but it was still pretty good. It was nice to see how Sarah reacts to things back in Red Bend, as well as how things ended up for her and her family. I also liked how the author included endings for all the characters. She didn't write it specifically, but it was a scene where the main characters were all included.
Overall, on Goodreads, 3 stars. I liked it, but it wasn't really awesomeness for me. If it were on a scale of 1-10 though, I would have to give it 5/10. And yeah, sure I would probably recommend it, but it's probably not the first thing that will come to my mind.
Sure, this book can get 3 yesses, it probably would have been good enough.
“Hell is paved with good intentions. Heaven is paved with Oreos.”
Honestly, this book didn't really live up to my expectations. Yeah, I mean the title was cool (not as cool as the cover though) and I thought it would be really awesome! Reading it, it was kind of boring. I didn't really like the storyline. So here's a summary:
Sarah Zorn, a 14-year-old girl has been invited to go to Rome with her grandmother, Z. Z tells her they are going to do a pilgrimage of the 7 churches to ensure that they will go to Heaven. Of course, they both love Oreos and their family, but this trip may not be just for what Sarah thinks it's for. Along the way, she'll learn what love really means for her friends and her family.
It just wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be. I mean, I wouldn't have really liked it either if it was just a bunch of hopeless romantics running around trying to fall in love, but at least it would be more exciting in a way. The whole first 2/3 of the book was about Sarah in Rome. Sarah in Rome. Sarah in Rome. etc, etc, etc. I guess it was cool to see how she felt about Rome and such, it just didn't hook me at all.
The last 1/3 of the book was probably the most interesting part, but still, it was a calm type of excitement and change. I still liked how it made a turning point in Sarah's life.
But, the author killed the ending! I really loved it! It wasn't as great as it could have been, but it was still pretty good. It was nice to see how Sarah reacts to things back in Red Bend, as well as how things ended up for her and her family. I also liked how the author included endings for all the characters. She didn't write it specifically, but it was a scene where the main characters were all included.
Overall, on Goodreads, 3 stars. I liked it, but it wasn't really awesomeness for me. If it were on a scale of 1-10 though, I would have to give it 5/10. And yeah, sure I would probably recommend it, but it's probably not the first thing that will come to my mind.
Sure, this book can get 3 yesses, it probably would have been good enough.
“Hell is paved with good intentions. Heaven is paved with Oreos.”
March 31, 2024
This is a very short book; however, I'm guessing that I started it early in February and just finished it March 20 because I had it as a bedside book and it had a slow painful start. Just a little too realistic on the middle school age life. I felt I was reliving junior high/ middle school all over again. Add this to reading that same middle school life at the same time in the non-fiction book I Will Always Write Back. Still, as a nighttime book, I kept reading because I originally bought it due to the "love letter...to Rome..." recommendation on the front of the book cover. It took to the middle third of the book (Journal #2) to get to Rome, but I did appreciate that part in Italy. Also, by the end of the story, the novel took on a bit more depth. The readers who felt this was a "tween" book aren't far from right. My copy is a library discard and I think perhaps today's readers might be more savvy than this book allows for. Therefore, I can understand why it might have been discarded. Nonetheless, the crisis in the last third might be a bit much for a 10 year old. I'm not sure. I did like the family dynamics and the neighbors. Apparently the Schwenks are quite the draw for Murdock's books, but I have not read the Dairy Queen series. I'm glad I read it. I might see if my 14 year old granddaughter wants to read it. Would my mom read it? Ummm, I'm not sure. Grandma Z might be a bit much for my mom.
December 27, 2018
Most of the novels in the Dairy Queen series follow the Schwenk family. This spinoff about some of their friends has its good points, but it lacks the depth of character and strong sense of place that make the other books worth reading.
Heaven is Paved with Oreos follows 14-year-old Sarah Zorn, the sort-of girlfriend of Curtis Schwenk, as she tries to get the hang of this dating thing. The teen love affair gets put on hold for most of the book, however, as Sarah and her grandmother fly to Rome for a reprisal of Grandma's 1967 pilgrimage to seven famous churches.
There are some nice features here. As I've come to expect from Murdock, the writing is competent and clear. The humor is pleasant and the relationship between Curtis and Sarah is convincing, but overall the book seems to run out of ideas fairly early in the text.
The novel is clearly aimed at younger readers. Sarah's voice often seems younger than 14, and a bit too cute to be believable. The great secret at the heart of the climax isn't really such a surprise, and the lengthy conclusion drags the action out longer than I think was really necessary.
Three stars for a novel that was okay but not particularly interesting.
Heaven is Paved with Oreos follows 14-year-old Sarah Zorn, the sort-of girlfriend of Curtis Schwenk, as she tries to get the hang of this dating thing. The teen love affair gets put on hold for most of the book, however, as Sarah and her grandmother fly to Rome for a reprisal of Grandma's 1967 pilgrimage to seven famous churches.
There are some nice features here. As I've come to expect from Murdock, the writing is competent and clear. The humor is pleasant and the relationship between Curtis and Sarah is convincing, but overall the book seems to run out of ideas fairly early in the text.
The novel is clearly aimed at younger readers. Sarah's voice often seems younger than 14, and a bit too cute to be believable. The great secret at the heart of the climax isn't really such a surprise, and the lengthy conclusion drags the action out longer than I think was really necessary.
Three stars for a novel that was okay but not particularly interesting.
June 3, 2022
Ooof. The Dairy Queen series saw its returns diminish, but this spinoff is just BAD.
First and foremost, the protagonist’s voice (this is written as her journal entries) is juvenile beyond belief. She is supposed to be 14, but writes and thinks as if she were about ten. It just made for a completely incongruous experience, reading about a teenager with some grown-up-adjacent issues (teen pregnancy in the family, etc.) responding to the world as if she were a little kid.
But also… the story doesn’t add up to much.
Also, the fact that this is a spinoff means DJ and company are shoehorned in – including brief asides about how
First and foremost, the protagonist’s voice (this is written as her journal entries) is juvenile beyond belief. She is supposed to be 14, but writes and thinks as if she were about ten. It just made for a completely incongruous experience, reading about a teenager with some grown-up-adjacent issues (teen pregnancy in the family, etc.) responding to the world as if she were a little kid.
But also… the story doesn’t add up to much.
Also, the fact that this is a spinoff means DJ and company are shoehorned in – including brief asides about how
April 30, 2021
Heaven Is Paved with Oreos is not nearly as good nor endearing as the Dairy Queen series. I found myself a bit irritated that it is categorized as "Dairy Queen, #4". It's not.
I began the book thinking this would be about Sarah and D.Q.'s shy brother, Curtis. Ostensibly it is, however the story revolves around Z, Sarah's grandmother, her exploits, her decisions, past and present, and her disappointments. While Z's story is interesting, I was angry with Grandma because of how unfair a burden she placed on young Sarah on what should have been a grand memory making experience of her young life. The memories with which Grandma burdened Sarah left her bereft and confused.
I hope Heaven Is Paved with Oreos is an early vehicle to tell the stories of Sarah and Curtis, with more to come. They are very different young people than the older D.J and Brian. I think their story and how they grow and mature can be interesting.
4 stars
I began the book thinking this would be about Sarah and D.Q.'s shy brother, Curtis. Ostensibly it is, however the story revolves around Z, Sarah's grandmother, her exploits, her decisions, past and present, and her disappointments. While Z's story is interesting, I was angry with Grandma because of how unfair a burden she placed on young Sarah on what should have been a grand memory making experience of her young life. The memories with which Grandma burdened Sarah left her bereft and confused.
I hope Heaven Is Paved with Oreos is an early vehicle to tell the stories of Sarah and Curtis, with more to come. They are very different young people than the older D.J and Brian. I think their story and how they grow and mature can be interesting.
4 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 233 reviews