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sandrareilly513 's review for:
Dumplin'
by Julie Murphy
16 year-old Willowdean, or Dumplin' as her former beauty queen mom affectionately calls her, is your average high school student. She has hopes and dreams, a best friend who is her world, and a crush on the hot private school basketball player she works with at her part-time fast food job. Willowdean also struggles with the typical female body issues: not technically obese but far from skinny, she has always tried to embrace her body as it is and not let other people or uncomfortable situations (like not fitting into a Halloween costume) affect her and her self-image. All that changes, though, when her best friend claims Willowdean is holding her back from life and the hot basketball player slash coworker seems to want to kiss her every time they are alone. Forced to evaluate everything she thought she knew -- including her friendship, her confidence, and her place as a curvy girl in this skinny world -- Willowdean decides to do the unthinkable: enter her mother's prized event, the Miss Clover City beauty pageant, shocking herself even more than everyone else.
Like so many girls, I was beyond self-conscious about my weight in high school. I still am, to be honest. (I still marvel at how I managed to land such a handsome husband!) In high school, I wore clothes to hide my figure as best as I could and I had a best friend who was not just skinnier than me but also prettier and much more confident. I used her as my safety blanket -- she always made me feel great about myself, she would never leave my side or make me fend for myself, and she was my biggest supporter. There was a part of me, though, that felt inadequate because I knew what people must be thinking: I was the "designated fat friend". My self-esteem was in the tank and the fact that guys wanted to go out with her and not me definitely made it worse. I couldn't even imagine that a guy would be interested in me. Turns out, I found out years later that there were a few who wanted to ask me out but didn't because I made it clear at the time that the only person I needed was my best friend. Willowdean and I have a lot in common, apparently: we sabotaged potential relationships due to our insecurities. Then I got my first boyfriend, who I thought was way better-looking than I deserved, and the insecurities skyrocketed. Does he really think I'm cute? Why would he want to date ME? Can he feel my fat when he hugs me? Dumplin' is my high school life story, but funnier and with a beauty pageant that my teen self never in a million years would have had the guts to take part in, and I adored reading every page. My only qualm? I would've liked to see more of the ending. I felt it was a bit abrupt and left me needing more closure even though I could clearly see where author Julie Murphy was leading Willowdean.
Teens and adults alike will love Willowdean, her friends, her potential love interests, and the kick-butt way she goes after life. Dumplin' is a story many can relate to: growing up, forging new friendships, adjusting old friendships, and dealing with insecurities and trust in yourself as well as those around you. We are all trying to find our place in this world, regardless of age, and Dumplin' captures this perfectly.
Like so many girls, I was beyond self-conscious about my weight in high school. I still am, to be honest. (I still marvel at how I managed to land such a handsome husband!) In high school, I wore clothes to hide my figure as best as I could and I had a best friend who was not just skinnier than me but also prettier and much more confident. I used her as my safety blanket -- she always made me feel great about myself, she would never leave my side or make me fend for myself, and she was my biggest supporter. There was a part of me, though, that felt inadequate because I knew what people must be thinking: I was the "designated fat friend". My self-esteem was in the tank and the fact that guys wanted to go out with her and not me definitely made it worse. I couldn't even imagine that a guy would be interested in me. Turns out, I found out years later that there were a few who wanted to ask me out but didn't because I made it clear at the time that the only person I needed was my best friend. Willowdean and I have a lot in common, apparently: we sabotaged potential relationships due to our insecurities. Then I got my first boyfriend, who I thought was way better-looking than I deserved, and the insecurities skyrocketed. Does he really think I'm cute? Why would he want to date ME? Can he feel my fat when he hugs me? Dumplin' is my high school life story, but funnier and with a beauty pageant that my teen self never in a million years would have had the guts to take part in, and I adored reading every page. My only qualm? I would've liked to see more of the ending. I felt it was a bit abrupt and left me needing more closure even though I could clearly see where author Julie Murphy was leading Willowdean.
Teens and adults alike will love Willowdean, her friends, her potential love interests, and the kick-butt way she goes after life. Dumplin' is a story many can relate to: growing up, forging new friendships, adjusting old friendships, and dealing with insecurities and trust in yourself as well as those around you. We are all trying to find our place in this world, regardless of age, and Dumplin' captures this perfectly.