Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (and giveaway!)
Monday, September 07, 2015
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Publisher: Balzer and Bray
Publication Date: September 15, 2015
Pages: 384
Source: BEA
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
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. ---Goodreads
The sass level is high with this one. Willowdean’s attitude coupled with Julie
Murphy’s voice made the perfect recipe
for a hilarious book. Not only would
Dumplin’ have readers double over in
laughter but Murphy is highly quotable.
If you’re looking for some awesome quotes about being yourself, being
confident and just being awesome, Murphy has loads for you.
When I started Dumplin’,
I expected it to be about this confident girl who was going to change the
world. It definitely started off going
in that direction. However, the more
readers got to know Willowdean, the more they find that her confidence hides
her insecurities. Some parts were so raw and real that it is hard to
believe it’s fiction.
The DUFF by Kody
Keplinger reminds me a bit of Dumplin’. The sass of both protagonists are very
similar. As much as I’d love to say this
is the first of its kind, Dumplin’ is
not—following in cliché footsteps with the message: people of all sizes can do anything they dream of. That is to say that the message doesn’t still
need to be heard. Dumplin’ is an inspiring novel, empowering readers to challenge
themselves and go for their dreams.
Will was constantly unfocused, changing her mind at every
turn. Murphy’s message still remained
but the protagonist was too confused to stay on one path. It made for a realistic character. It didn’t really seem to me that she joined
the pageant to make any sort of statement.
She joined because of her aunt.
Only when she became an inspiration, afterwards, did she begin to see it
as a message. However, her heart was
never in the pageant. She kept doing
everything last minute and Willowdean’s character never really was an
inspiration to me—Murphy’s message and the statement that Will was
unintentionally advertising was what made Dumplin’
so empowering.
Dumplin’ is the
portrayal of a girl outside of her comfort zone, of a girl who is still trying
to figure out the world. It’s a wild page-tuner, hilarious until the
very end.
Open to US only
I'm giving away two copies of DUMPLIN' by Julie Murphy--- two winners will be picked!
Contest ends September 21, 2015
For more information, check out my policy page!
0 comments