ŷ������

Before I get into my review, I haven’t watched the movie yet, so if you have any thoughts on the movie, or the movie in relation to the book, leave your thoughts in the comments because I have to make up my mind about whether to watch the movie or not, and I would love to talk to you guys about it.

"I’m Dumplin��. And Will and Willowdean. I’m fat. I’m happy. I’m insecure. I’m bold."

This is a book about confidence, friendship, and being comfortable in your own skin. It’s a book about teenage, growing up, and growing apart.

Dumplin�� was a very impulsive read for me. I hadn’t planned to start reading it anytime soon, in fact the list of books I have planned to read is growing exponentially by the moment. I opened the book fearing the worst, that it would be an overly emotional story about a girl depressed about herself and everything she goes through, because I did not remember the blurb from when I read it last year, which I must say is becoming quite typical of me. In all honesty, this book was an amazing reading. I started it and finished it very quickly, the story moves at a great pace, and the protagonist is great while not being unrealistic.

I can’t get over how beautifully realistic this book is. The high school background, the characters, the situations they’re placed in, and Willowdean herself are extremely naturalistic. Willowdean is an amazing character with a personality to trump all else. While being aware of her weight, Willowdean is never weighed down by her appearance and focuses on being the best possible version of herself. Of course, she is also susceptible to the woes of being in high school, and her mom’s endless efforts to make her lose weight. But through it all she stays true to herself and everything she believes in. She is a determined young woman with the power accomplish whatever she wishes, and I loved that Julie Murphy took the time to show us Willowdean at her most vulnerable to convey that no one, no matter how strong we are, can go through life without feeling the ups and downs.

"I think you gotta be who you want to be until you feel like you are whoever it is you’re trying to become. Sometimes half of doing something is pretending that you can."

The setting of the book is pretty typical, in Clover City, Willowdean goes to your typical high school with its typically assorted student bodies. Willowdean’s mother is generally the host of the Miss Clover City beauty pageant, which she won when she was in high school. And every year when Pageant week starts her mother goes all in with the preparations choosing to escape from the reality of what her life has become. In this book, Willowdean’s aunt Lucy is said to have died a while ago and while Willowdean still mourns her aunt’s death her mother seems very emotionally detached from the whole situation.

Willowdean and Ellen have been best friends for pretty much their whole lives, it all started when Ellen’s mother and Willowdean’s aunt had once bonded over their love for Dolly Parton, who was a famous singer, and now both Willowdean and Ellen are also big fans. We see Willowdean and Ellen grow slightly apart in this book when the differences in their life become a bit too hard to handle. The bond between friends being a major part of this story, Willowdean and Ellen’s friendship plays a huge role in leading to character growth.

We see new friendships formed in this book when Willowdean makes the decision to join the pageant. She inspire the outcasts or unnoticed or the most frequently picked on people in the school to join too. While doing this, her long time crush Bo seems to return her feelings, but their relationship is nothing but eventful.

This book was a sweet book about friendship and family and if you haven’t read it yet you should check it out, it might surprise you.