Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
A pageant, friends, love interests, and Dolly Parton. Bring all these together and you get Dumplin', one of the best books I've ever read. Dumplin' was written by Julie Murphy and is centered around a teenage girl named Willowdean Dickson. Willowdean lives in Clover City, Texas, a town that takes pride in its Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant, the pageant that her mother is the host of. Willowdean is often made fun of because of her weight. Living in a town with people who devote their lives to being skinny and looking pretty to be in the pageant puts a lot of pressure on her. Willowdean tries not to let her physical insecurities get in the way of living her life. Her life without the one person who understood her the most, her aunt Lucy. Aunt Lucy also struggled with being overweight and had suffered a heart attack. One day, when Willowdean was cleaning out Lucy's belongings she finds a sign-up form for the pageant. This gives Willowdean an idea.
Much to her mother's surprise, Willowdean joins the pageant along with her friends Ellen, Hannah, Millie, and Amanda. All of them are outcasts wanting to show the small town of Clover City that just because you don't fit in doesn't mean that you have no chance at winning. Between all of this, Willowdean goes through fights with friends and conflicts with loved ones, which don't make planning for the pageant any easier.
Dumplin' is an excellent story about finding self confidence within yourself, being okay with your body image, and accepting new challenges no matter who you are and what you look like. I think the author did a good job at writing about a topic that their readers can relate to, even if it's a topic that can be hard to process. As I said before, this book is one of the best books I have ever read and I recommend it to whoever is interested.
-Ellen
I really loved this review, Ellen! I am not a huge fan of realistic fiction, but this book sparked an interest in me. The topics found in this novel are relevant in the present. I think countless of valuable lessons can be learned from this book. I have heard great words about this book, so I will definitely include this on my must-read list!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your review! I appreciate how you explained the characters and setting without giving too much away. I agree with Sarisa that the book seems to touch on a lot of extremely relevant issues and tells a story that isn't often written about. Thank you for recommendation!
ReplyDeleteI recently watched the movie about this, but I wasn't aware that it's from a book. I am curious if the movie changed anything from the movie. This book also covers important issues that deserve to be talked about more so it's important to recommend books like these to a lot of people. Great review!
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