Monday 7 September 2015

Review: Dumplin' by Julie Murphy


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.


Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: September 15th 2015 by Balzer + Bray
 
Terri's Thoughts

** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is September 15th, 2015**

I found myself really enjoying this book.  It brought me back to when I was a teenager and all of the insecurities that face girls at that age.  This story covered it all and in the process shared a really great message.  No matter how confident someone looks, there are insecurities regardless of shape or size.  I like how this story showed that.

Willowdean was a good character.  I liked how she was confident in her own skin until a boy came along to make herself question it.  This has a habit of happening at that age when young attraction is unknown and can make you question everything.  I am so happy to be past that angst stage in my life!

I also liked how Bo accepted Willowdean as she was.  In fact he found her beautiful with all of her "flaws".  It didn't hurt that I tend to like the brooding leading men who say more with their eyes and actions than their words.

The supporting cast was humorous and realistic in the fact that they were all dealing with their own self image issues in very different ways.  The fact that nobody was perfect, even Ellen brought a sense of realism that can easily be missed.

I would recommend this story to any female of the YA demographic.  It has a great message to give.  It shows that everyone is dealing with some type of self image issue and the fact that you should embrace your flaws as they are what make you unique. 

 
 
About the Author
 

Julie lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cat who tolerates her. When she's not writing or trying to catch stray cats, she works at an academic library. Side Effects May Vary is Julie's debut novel.

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