Blog Tour & Review - Dumplin'

Dumplin' #1 by Julie Murphy

What they say: 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. 

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UK Release: 28th Jan from Harper360

• ISBN: 9780062327185
• ISBN 10: 0062327186 
• Imprint: Balzer and Bray
• Pages: 384

Buy links: Amazon US * Amazon UK * Harper360 * B&N

I received a copy from Harper360 in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: I loved Dumplin' and I'm off to read Julie Murphy's previous book Side Effects May Vary. I'm going to start by saying I was expecting a story similar to The DUFF (which I also really enjoyed), but apart from some obvious similarities and common themes, the story told in Dumplin' is really different.

Willowdean is a full figured girl, who is comfortable with her body. She's happy as she is and is refreshingly realistic about her weight and life. I loved her honesty and how she takes a stand for other bullied and downtrodden teens.

I'm not sure why, but I was expecting Dumplin' to be somewhat preachy - it really isn't! Willowdean rocks. As confident as she is, she's not always positive, in fact, a lot of Will's charm focuses around her snarky and cynical side. Handsome Bo confuses her. He makes Will doubt herself so she takes a stand against being more of a target for bullies.

Murphy includes an interesting bunch of secondary characters, who have varying impacts on Willowdean's life. I felt as though her friendship with El was honest and accurate. I'm not the biggest fan of Will's mother, because she's often thoughtless, too concerned with appearances and, of course, beauty pageants.

The balance between drama and humour worked really well. Will is funny, her exploits with the contestants had me in hysterics. I'd love to read a story about some of the other girls...

I'd never given much thought to Dolly Parton and her songs, but Will and El have inspired me.
4.5 Stars in my Sky!

Author Spotlight:
Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cats who tolerate her. When she's not writing or trying to catch stray animals, Julie can be found in a library smelling old books and manning the reference desk.
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