This was one of my must reads for 2015. Willowdean Dickson (self-identifying fat girl) is a Texan teenager with a beauty queen for a mother. Over the summer she falls in love with a coworker named Bo aka Peachbutt. Events conspire and she decides to sign up for the Miss Teen Blue Bell pageant her mother runs, even though she’s not the typical beauty queen contestant. With her best friend, Ellen, by her side, she navigates the tricky terrain of adolescence.
I had great expectations for Dumplin’ and even though I did like the book, it didn’t quite live up to those expectations. Murphy wrote some great, believable characters, but the plotting had serious issues. The pacing was incredibly uneven. And although the blurb would have you believe that the plot revolves around this pageant, it mostly doesn’t. Most of the book is about Willowdean’s social life with the pageant taking up only a small part at the end. In fact, the entire ending felt rushed and incomplete. I realize that she’s not going to become suddenly super confident at the end, but I was hoping for a little character development. Unfortunately neither she nor the supporting characters seemed to grow as human beings.
I realize I’m making the book sound bad, but I mostly enjoyed it. There are some charming parts (including mega love for Dolly Parton!) and I felt like Willowdean was a realistic character. Her friendships and familial relationships were complex and interesting. And then there’s the fact that there just aren’t that many YA books about fat girls that are positive portrayals. Even though she doesn’t like how people judge her for being fat, she loves herself and her body. I can’t say Dumplin’ is all the way there as a positive portrayal, but at least it’s a start.
