Dumplin‘ by Julie Murphy
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date and # pages: September 15th, 2015; 375 pages
Plot Summary: Willowdean Dickson (nicknamed Dumplin’ by her mother) is overweight and she knows it. Nevertheless, she’s always been comfortable in her skin. She has her best friend Ellen, her obsession with Dolly Parton, and a secret crush on Private School Bo, her coworker. This Summer is shaping up to be pretty much the same as any other until Will finds something she never expected in her dead aunt’s things: an application for the local beauty pageant. Lucy was big too and Will is initially confused as to why she would have started an application for the pageant. But as summer comes to a close and school resumes, Will starts to understand what might have inspired her aunt to start the application and she resolves to finish what her aunt started.
Characteristics of Young Adult: Teenage characters, self-discovery and the search for identity, evolving friendships, first romantic relationships.
Appeal Terms: Spirited and diverse characters, Southern culture/small town, fast paced
Read-alikes: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg; The List by Siobhan Vivian; Future Perfect by Jen Larsen; Pitch Perfect (Movie)
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