Dumplin'

Author: Julie Murphy
Genre: Teen
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 371
Series: #1 in Dumplin' series
Source: Local Public Library
First Published: Sept 15, 2015
Opening Line: All the best things in my life have started with a Dolly Parton song.

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.

My Rating: 3 stars

My Review: Dumplin' is a story about Willowdean Dickson (aka Dumplin'), a plus-sized teen who enters her small-town Texas beauty pageant. I was looking forward to a Teen read with a body positive message and a strong main character I could root for as she gains confidence and self-acceptance. And I got that ... kind of.

Unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me with its plot, unnecessary love triangle and Willowdean herself. I had expected her to be this confident plus-sized main character who didn't give two hoots about how she was perceived by others. Instead, she's kind of hard to like. She's perpetually ticked off at most people around her, kinda selfish and overly critical as she shames other girls for their weight, legs, teeth etc. C'mon Willowdean!

I give high fives to the author for showing diverse female relationships, the ups and downs of friendships and for portraying body positive story lines. But, while the premise is solid, I felt the execution of the themes and the romance left me wanting just a little bit more.