Published: 15th September 2015
Source: Bought
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
My Rating:
Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.
Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine— Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.
I had been wanting to read Dumplin’ for over a year. I loved this book so much that I read it in one day. I didn't want to stop because I loved Willowdean in all her flawed greatness. I wanted to know what happened and I wanted to see if she and Ellen were OK and I just cared an insane amount about her story. So, I may have been late to join the ‘I love Dumplin’ party’ but I got there in the end and I am here to tell you about why it’s so awesome.
Willowdean is a self-proclaimed fat girl. She owns that aspect of herself because if she doesn't someone else will. She recognises she is heavier than is considered right bit is her body and she is happy with it. Even if others tease her for it and her mom might make her feel less than ok about it. I loved Willowdean and I certainly thought a bit more about my body and how no one can judge me for it unless I let them. It's a fantastic message to be putting out there for young girls who will read this and are uncomfortable with their body (because who isn't as a teen?) but also for anyone reading because it's so easy to forget.
I loved all of the characters in this book outside of Willowdean as well, though. I loved Ellen and how she didn't let Will tell her what to do and stuck to her guns when it was something which mattered. And I loved Millie and her sweet positive ways. And I loved Amanda and how she was a little snide but still awesome. I loved Hannah and her negativity because that I can relate to from my teen years. I was angry and pessimistic and really sarcasm is still my default setting. My absolute favourite (apart from Willowdean) was Bo.The fact that he continually had a lollipop (his poor teeth) and his peach butt. And let’s not forget his angry sweet adorableness. I really I just loved this cast of characters and how everyone had such a distinct personality. They were all memorable and distinct and I was thrilled to learn there’s a second Dumplin’ book coming!
I occasionally have doubts about still really enjoying YA reads as much as I did but then I read books like this one and I know that YA is fantastic and there are gems like this to be read. You should definitely give this book a go if you’re a fan of YA it will make you feel body confident and make you want to go and tell everyone to shove off as you can do anything you want.
Anyone else read this or any of Murphy’s other books? What was the last book you read in one sitting?
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