From Goodreads,"Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.
Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart."
Goodreads - Dumplin'
Awards and Nominations:
- Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2015)
- Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee for High School (2017)
- Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2017)
- Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee (2018)
I purchased this book a few months ago because the synopsis was catchy. Soon after I realized they were making a movie adaptation of the book. I was in the middle of a couple other books and one book led to another that led to another. Soon I realized the movie was out on Netflix and I was behind on the times. I wanted so badly to watch the movie, but I have a strict movie-book policy. I ALWAYS read the book before I watch the movie. I have done the opposite before and found that the book was completely ruined for me. So I decided to finally start the book and was blessed with a snow day that allowed me to finish it.
Dumplin' is about a teenage girl named Willowdean who is often called Dumplin' by her beauty queen mother. Willowdean is a typical girl who goes to school and works at a local restaurant. The only difference is that Willowdean is a self proclaimed fat girl. She always had a connection with her Aunt Lucy who was also overweight, but Lucy passed away. Willowdean is trying to figure out how to do the thing called life with school, boys, and friends in the mix without her Aunt Lucy. One day Willowdean discovers a pageant entry form that her aunt had filled out. Willowdean decides to try her hand at the pageant world and to try to find her self confidence.
I really enjoyed this book on a personal level. I'm overweight and it is something I have struggled with for years. Willowdean exudes confidence in this book. She is so sure of herself and all that she does. This is a book that gave me confidence and made me want to go out and chase my dreams no matter who says I can't. There is a lack of self confidence among girls and women today. We all believe what society tells us and what others say about us. Every girl and woman is influenced by society. Imagine a place where there was a positive light and energy around women. Imagine magazines that told you it was okay to be curvy instead of sharing the "10 secrets to losing belly fat". We need to find confidence within ourselves and share it. When someone gives me a compliment it makes my day. I've had multiple people compliment me on a perfume I wear. And guess what? I have been wearing it more often because it makes me feel confident and powerful. Women and especially girls need to see positive things in the environment that are uplifting and bring confidence. This book really made a point that we need to stop point out our flaws and focus on the things that we are good at and exude that confidence.
I normally give you another positive or a negative about the book, but I've decided to give a brief review of the movie itself and how it compares to the book. I was definitely glad that I read the book first, because the movie was a bit of a hot mess. There were a couple characters from the book that didn't make the cut into the movie which was disappointing. The book had a strong focus of the relationship that Willowdean had with Bo during the summer, and it was NEVER brought up in the movie. I was so mad. There was also the relationship she had with Mitch who wasn't in the movie. There were also many moments in the movie that had no explanation as to why it was happening or the connection. For example, we never really find out the back story of why Amanda decides to participate, but it's in the book. The movie had some major differences and overall it disappointed me.
The book was really good and I enjoyed it. I'm definitely excited to read the next book in the series titled, Puddin'. The movie was okay, but nothing to brag about. I think that a lot of teenage girls and girls in their twenties would enjoy this book. I know that I definitely did. I give this a solid 4 stars and recommend you read the book before watching the movie.
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