A review by mugsandpugs
Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

4.0

I mean it when I say that Julie Murphy books are like a hug and a mug of tea to my fat, queer soul. They all seem to take place in this softer, sex-positive, less racist version of Texas where things just... Work out nicely, and fat gay kids get to be HAPPY for once, and they get to stay fat and there's no bullshit narrative about how they have to lose weight to be worthy of love/intimacy, or whatever. (God, I wish I lived in these books...) And this is coming from me; the cynical, black-hearted, romance-hating bitch who always filters the "fluff" tag out of every fanfic search. (Gimme the smut and angst.) THIS is what I consider a guilty pleasure, something that might ruin my street cred, lol: [b:Pumpkin|55099955|Pumpkin (Dumplin', #3)|Julie Murphy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602546534l/55099955._SY75_.jpg|80641358] stars Waylan, a flamboyant teen trying out the drag queen scene for the first time in his young life. (And yes, it's respectful and there's plenty of emphasis on how queer people OF COLOR, particularly Black artists, originated the art form. Julie Murphy does her damn research, I promise; she's one of the good ones.) And while these books are fluffy and happy and the allies and families are well-meaning with hearts of gold, the issues they face are still real. Waylan's drag video is outed without his consent, and his feelings about it are treated seriously. And his issues with his appearance aren't downplayed — I found it almost painfully relatable. I too am made extremely uncomfortable at physical compliments. They might be meant with 100% sincerity, and still they feel patronizing to me. Julie Murphy GETS it, is what I'm saying. If you need this series the way I do, you know it. Yeah it's mostly fluff, but it has some depth, y'know.