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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had high hopes for this book, based on the hype that the movies has, it's not living up to it. Sorry! I was honestly disappointed. This is not even about body positivity. *sigh* Willowdean was rather a hypocrite, her inner monologues were at times really hateful and judging.
Overall it was a fast-read. 3 stars.
Overall it was a fast-read. 3 stars.
2½ stars out of 5
I wanted to like this book, you guys. I really, really did. But I wanted a book about a badass fat girl who enters a beauty pageant, and what I got was a love triangle where she can’t stop thinking about this one guy (whom I didn’t even like) and strings along another guy (who is so sweet to her and his only flaw is that his best friend is a jerk).
Other things that annoyed me:
- The beauty pageant felt like a minor part of the story to me. Willowdean doesn’t take it very seriously until maybe the very end of the book.
- I really liked Willowdean’s friendship with Ellen–their best friendship is set up on the very first page–but they have a falling out that lasts more than half the book, and I hate when that happens in books. Their relationship was the center point of the novel for me, so as soon as they stopped talking, I checked out, emotionally.
- I also enjoyed the “misfit” friends that Willowdean made through the beauty pageant, but I didn’t feel like we got nearly enough of them. Also, Willowdean wasn’t a great friend to them.
- Millie, who’s a great character, is described by Willowdean on the 5th page as, “that girl, the one I am ashamed to admit that I’ve spent my whole life looking at and thinking, Things could be worse.” Millie may be large, but she is the badass character in this book, not Willowdean. She is so confident and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of her.
Can I get a Grey-like rewrite of this book from Millie’s perspective instead? Willowdean is a relatable main character, but she was often mean to the characters I really liked, which got old very quickly.
I did like hearing about Willowdean’s relationship with her deceased aunt (who was morbidly obese), and I could totally relate to her complicated relationship with her mother. Also, one of the side characters turns out to be LGBTQ, which was a pleasant surprise. Still, none of the positives were enough to bump it up to 3 stars for me, because the book ended up becoming one of those “finishing this feels like a chore” books. :(
Did I mention how much I hated the love triangle?
(Cross-posted on Youth Book Review)
I wanted to like this book, you guys. I really, really did. But I wanted a book about a badass fat girl who enters a beauty pageant, and what I got was a love triangle where she can’t stop thinking about this one guy (whom I didn’t even like) and strings along another guy (who is so sweet to her and his only flaw is that his best friend is a jerk).
Other things that annoyed me:
- The beauty pageant felt like a minor part of the story to me. Willowdean doesn’t take it very seriously until maybe the very end of the book.
- I really liked Willowdean’s friendship with Ellen–their best friendship is set up on the very first page–but they have a falling out that lasts more than half the book, and I hate when that happens in books. Their relationship was the center point of the novel for me, so as soon as they stopped talking, I checked out, emotionally.
- I also enjoyed the “misfit” friends that Willowdean made through the beauty pageant, but I didn’t feel like we got nearly enough of them. Also, Willowdean wasn’t a great friend to them.
- Millie, who’s a great character, is described by Willowdean on the 5th page as, “that girl, the one I am ashamed to admit that I’ve spent my whole life looking at and thinking, Things could be worse.” Millie may be large, but she is the badass character in this book, not Willowdean. She is so confident and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of her.
Can I get a Grey-like rewrite of this book from Millie’s perspective instead? Willowdean is a relatable main character, but she was often mean to the characters I really liked, which got old very quickly.
I did like hearing about Willowdean’s relationship with her deceased aunt (who was morbidly obese), and I could totally relate to her complicated relationship with her mother. Also, one of the side characters turns out to be LGBTQ, which was a pleasant surprise. Still, none of the positives were enough to bump it up to 3 stars for me, because the book ended up becoming one of those “finishing this feels like a chore” books. :(
Did I mention how much I hated the love triangle?
(Cross-posted on Youth Book Review)
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Eating disorder, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Toxic relationship
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dumplin' was a delightful reading experience. I had a difficult time putting it down so I would go to bed. Julie Murphy does an amazing job illustrating how everyone can have insecurities, and that what matters most is that you love yourself enough to just be.
This is the book I wish I could have read as a child and would want my child to read. The main character was often outwardly very strong and kind while at the same time inwardly self-conscious and judgemental in a way that felt very real to me. In fact, every character felt very real as they went through life making human mistakes and carrying around imperfections both inwardly and with their outward appearance. In the end, there are so many little lessons and occurrences that add up to a fantastic story.
This was cute and had a very positive and strong view on body-image issues - it was worth reading for that alone. I loved that Will struggled with her body image but still didn't allow anyone to make her feel bad about herself. The love story was sweet but I could have done without the love triangle, plus Mitch was adorable and deserved a lot better. All in all was a nice book to read and it probably deserves 4 stars but between the age-gap and the whole pageant thing I didn't feel as invested in the the story as I would have liked. I'm definitely getting too old for this stuff 😭