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A review by karrama
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
4.0
Dumplin' is her pageant-winning mother's name for her. Some people call her Willow or Will, but Bo calls her Willowdean. Her whole name. This quiet boy from the private school sees Willowdean for the whole person she is, someone even her beautiful, gold-hearted best friend has trouble doing. This book is a wonder for self-esteem and starting over. We have rounded characters who we know and love.
Dumplin' deals with real issues dealt with every day, but Willowdean lives in a tiny town populated with largely good people. Many of the issues she faces are situations where people don't realize the stress they place her under or, mostly, they don't realized the long-term effect of their words. Julie Murphy managed to address body issues in a way that doesn't trivialize or sensationalize them. While some readers may feel early self-deprication in a hurtful way, the trouble passes. Willowdean starts to see the other students in her life as people like her, and that Willowdean might be just like the other people in her life, too.
From here, I have a few spoilers because I want to address how my expectations weren't met...but nothing that will cause real problems for potential readers. There is a lot in Dumplin' that the "it could have been worse" crowd will point to as proof that the story isn't traumatizing. That might be if one has never been relentlessly called "less than." Willowdean deals with the daily reminder that she is overweight. Her mother, her classmates, her own mind tell her that she is overweight and that she isn't as good as other people because of that. It's a feel good book, so that lessens as time goes on.
Small-scale spoilers below, but an attempt to help those looking for trigger warnings on books that might need them.-->
However, because of the adult language, the tone, and some of the off-screen sexual encounters in the book, I spent much of the book waiting for the other foot to drop. I waited for Bo or Mitch or even the school bully to physically attack her in any number of ways. I kept waiting for the horror of physical violence against the girl with low self esteem. This didn't happen. Knowing this will help some readers enter Dumplin' more fully.
At the same time, we have a "magical gay godfather" moment that felt a little contrived. That is a small part of an overall good junior/senior year in high school book.
Dumplin' deals with real issues dealt with every day, but Willowdean lives in a tiny town populated with largely good people. Many of the issues she faces are situations where people don't realize the stress they place her under or, mostly, they don't realized the long-term effect of their words. Julie Murphy managed to address body issues in a way that doesn't trivialize or sensationalize them. While some readers may feel early self-deprication in a hurtful way, the trouble passes. Willowdean starts to see the other students in her life as people like her, and that Willowdean might be just like the other people in her life, too.
From here, I have a few spoilers because I want to address how my expectations weren't met...but nothing that will cause real problems for potential readers. There is a lot in Dumplin' that the "it could have been worse" crowd will point to as proof that the story isn't traumatizing. That might be if one has never been relentlessly called "less than." Willowdean deals with the daily reminder that she is overweight. Her mother, her classmates, her own mind tell her that she is overweight and that she isn't as good as other people because of that. It's a feel good book, so that lessens as time goes on.
Small-scale spoilers below, but an attempt to help those looking for trigger warnings on books that might need them.-->
However, because of the adult language, the tone, and some of the off-screen sexual encounters in the book, I spent much of the book waiting for the other foot to drop. I waited for Bo or Mitch or even the school bully to physically attack her in any number of ways. I kept waiting for the horror of physical violence against the girl with low self esteem. This didn't happen. Knowing this will help some readers enter Dumplin' more fully.
At the same time, we have a "magical gay godfather" moment that felt a little contrived. That is a small part of an overall good junior/senior year in high school book.