Apr 12
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A fave read
Puddin’
By Julie Murphy (2018)
“It is a companion novel to Dumplin', which follows supporting characters from the first book in the months after Willowdean's star turn in the Clover City pageant. Millie Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a girl. Not this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream—and to kiss her crush. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring the girls together over the course of a semester, they will surprise everyone (especially themselves) by realizing they might have more in common than they ever imagined.”
This was such a delightful read! Friendship is an important aspect of the story, and it is so very sweet and fulfilling. Millie is such a wonderful character! I found her a lot more relatable than Willowdean in Dumplin’, and it was great to see her optimism, drive, and positive attitude. Parts of this book were a little bit harder to read. Every other chapter is from the point of view of Callie, who starts out as your typical skinny mean girl character. Some of her comments closer to the beginning of the novel are intentionally mean and fatphobic, so it’s pretty hurtful to read. This hurt is worth the payoff, as Millie and Callie’s friendship is formed throughout the story, and you get to see her embrace a kinder side of herself.
This was super heart warming and sweet. I think it’s an absolutely wonderful body positive read! Its all about ambition, love, self-growth, and defying other’s expectations of you.
Dumplin’
By Julie Murphy (2015)
“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. “
This is an absolutely lovely novel, and something that I've considered to be a YA classic for a long time. I am glad I finally got around to reading it! This book presents a character who has already started a body positive journey, which I think is very important. I really loved that it showed that you can still hit roadblocks in your self esteem, even after you have found self confidence. This writer really understands that self acceptance is an ongoing thing that takes work. It is great to see a character like Willowdean, since she has a lot of personality and has a narrative with a lot of very human thoughts. This novel also tackles grief and relationships well, especially her relationships with her mother and her best friend.
I think this is THE body positive read, and I would recommend it to everyone.
