Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

No Spoiler Book RevieW

Willowdean Dickson, aka Will, aka Dumplin’, is the plus-size daughter of a former Texas Bluebonnet Beauty Queen. She has always been confident and always had strong relationships with her friends and family.
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Willowdean’s mother remains an important part of the local pageant planning team and committees. For a few months every year, the pageant takes-over life at the Dickson household. Will has never had an interest in the pageant and seems to just stay out of her mother’s way, when it’s pageant season. After a few interactions rub her the wrong way, Will decides to enter the pageant to prove a point. 
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On top of prepping for the pageant, which is way more in depth and involved than Will would have expected, she is also going to school and working at a hamburger restaurant. When she starts falling for her good looking co-worker, Bo, her confidence starts to unravel, but not for the reasons you might expect.

This book came out in 2015 and was quickly made into a movie, both were popular when they came out. I haven’t been as drawn to Young Adult or Romance for a few years, so my interest was pretty low. Yet, for some reason I kept adding this book to my list, then taking it off, then adding it again. Something about it kept drawing me in.

I finally checked-out the audio at a time (Covid-19 lockdown) that I was looking for light and uplifting books. Turns out, Young Adult Romance was exactly what I needed to be listening to.
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This is a great choice for girls and women who are high school age or older. This book is bursting with positivity. It is complex and hopeful. I think a lot of women could benefit from the messages in this book. There are tons of great quotes from this book, which I will be posting on my Pinterest.

Readers interested in adult contemporary romance may also enjoy this No Spoiler Book Review of Flatshare.

If you are looking for more “body positivity” books check out this No Spoiler Book Review of Over the Top.
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Goodreads Summary

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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Check back Thursday for a Young Adult Summer Reading Club Book List!