My rating: red5

(4.5 stars! 😀 )

Hello, fellow bloggers! It’s only been a day and I’m back with another review! And it’s Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy! At first, I was so excited to read this book. The premise sounded amazing and reviews amped me up! But then, when I finally got the book, I wondered if the hype surrounding is really true, which made me put off reading it for a while. Finally, I got over my fear, and just read it. And I’m glad that I did.

I read this book in one day, non stop. It was easy to read and had a protagonist that was really relatable, to the point where I would agree with her (within reason). The plot had the conventions of a YA contemporary with a few things that surprised me. I found it interesting that she starts question how she feels about her body right after kissing Bo. Like Willowdean says, shouldn’t you like yourself more if someone else likes you, too? I’m not saying that as my personal opinion; it’s just something that happens a lot in YA contemporary novels.

But this change in how she looks at herself might not have to do with Bo, but her Aunt Lucy, who’s been her rock until recently. All throughout the novel, Willowdean gets out of her comfort zone and explores who she is within her small town. There’s her relationship with her mother, that’s been buffered for quite a while. Even throughout the criticism, the love between Willowdean and her mother is apparent. They just have to work their way back there. Then there’s her best friend, Ellen. They definitely needed to air out some of the details of their friendship. It was pretty predictable in that regard but really satisfying at the end.

Willowdean’s journey in novel consists of lots of self evaluation, haters and people like Willowdean and her friends, who do not let them get the best of them. For the most part. I think that’s the most important message; that people can be jerks, but if you don’t do anything about it, then it’s you that’s stopping you. If that makes any sense… :/

Those are my thoughts on Dumplin’ for now. If you have any questions, feel free to leave it in the comments below. Have a nice day!

-Sumaya