29 February 2016

Review #354: Dumplin' by Julie Murphy with Author interview



My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"I think that whatever size or shape body you have, it's important to embrace it and get down! The female body is something that's so beautiful. I wish women would be proud of their bodies and not diss other women for being proud of theirs!"

----Christina Aguilera



Julie Murphy, an American best-selling author, has penned an inspiring as well as thoroughly entertainingly YA novel, Dumplin' that unfolds the story of a "curvy" high school teenage girl who after losing her self-confidence over her image enters a beauty pageant of her town to make people know that beauty pageants are not only for skinny girls but are also for "curvy" girls.



Synopsis:

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.



Willowdean is the fat and curvy teenager whose mother is the former teen queen of Clover City. That feels like it puts a lot of pressure on her image. Instead, Will is the most confident teenager of her high school who is comfortable in her own skin and has always been, even though she has a "perfect and skinny"
best friend, Ellen. During the summers, Will takes up a job at the junk food diner mostly because of the money and for free hot dogs. But when she meets a private school hot guy, Bo, who too works with Will, things change for Will. She develops an instant crush on Bo and eventually Bo too started liking her back, that is when Will is hit hard with her low confidence over her fat body. That is when she enters the beauty pageant to gain back her confidence over her "curvy" body and especially to put an end to all kinds of bullying. She wants to show the people of Clover City that she can compete with her curves along with the skinny girls. Can she do it despite her mom's reluctance towards Will's participation in the pageant?

The author's writing style is quite sassy and is layered with funny anecdotes which makes the readers go ROFL at times. The narrative is light and free-flowing and is inspired from the way the modern day teenagers converse among themselves. The story is set in Clover City in Texas and the author has vividly captured the summer landscape as well as the sultry weather of this state. The author explores the value of friendships between teenagers, the relationship between a teen and her parent, especially about the expectation from both the parties and not to mention young corny love. While the main story revolves around the idea of self-confidence, self-acceptance and self-love. The author has loudly and clearly explained the message that, you need to be comfortable in your own skin and be able to love your body type be it whatever type it is, in bold letters.

The characters are simply fantastic, well-developed with their witty demeanor that is both real and terribly funny with proper emotions. The main character, Willowdean a.k.a. Dumplin' as called by her mother, is a real charm of this book. Her imperfect body and her daring confidence made me her fan. Her amusing attitude crack me up with laughter. Her character goes through a lot of evolution when a perfect boy falls for her. Well, this situation is way too relatable for me, if an extremely hot boy falls for me, then I start to doubt my body, my looks, my beauty, my hair and all. I think this is a trait found in almost every females, be it young or old. Will, too, goes through the same phase, where she starts doubting herself which makes her participate in the beauty pageant. Yes, Will is smart, brave and funny like any normal teenage high school girl. Yes, Will is subjected to bullying, but she handles them with a class and that made her stand out in the rest. Will's story is believable and it can be anyone's story which the author has depicted that with lots of positivity. I kept rooting for Will till the very last page and certainly, and from my review, it is pretty obvious that I could not let her go even after the end of the story and when I found out that there is a sequel to Will's story, I can't read to read the next book in the series.

The supporting cast, comprising of Will's mother, Will's dead aunt Lucy, some gay characters, Will's bff, Ellen, some bitchy divas, Will's crush, Bo etc are too well-developed and their striking demeanor leaves an impression even after the end of the story.

The love story- alas- this is where things go a bit wrong for me,as it is comprised between three characters, meaning a predictable love triangle, although the author hasn't stressed too much on the love triangle aspect between Mitch and Will and between Will and Bo. The romance between Bo and Will takes time to develop which makes the love story worth while and in this age of insta-love, Bo and Will stood out among the rest. The love between them is cute, sweet and corny but in a good way and that definitely made my heart fill with a desire to fall in love once again.


In a nutshell, the story is positive, very real, fascinating and motivating that is both funny and thoughtful. Will is an epitome of all those teenage girls who do not feel confident about their body type, and on a positive note, we must remember what Will conveys through her story "Go Big or Go Home".

Verdict: A must read book for all the girls as well as for the ladies too!

Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Hachette India for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Book Purchase Links:
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A Short Interview with Julie Murphy:




Me: Hello and welcome to my blog, Julie. Congratulations on your new book, Dumplin'. Can you please tell us briefly what was your source of inspiration for this book?

Julie: Thanks for having me! I've always been a bigger person, and am constantly looking for characters that reflect my own experience in a body that doesn't fit popular beauty standards. So the story definitely started with Willowdean.


Me: Tell us one trait of Willowdean Dickson, that intrigues you the most.

Julie: Willowdean isn't fearless, but what I love most about her is her ability to recognize her fears and push past them. If you ask me, that's way more brave than being fearless.


Me: How will you describe your journey so far as an author? Was it always your one true dream to be an author?

Julie: So far I've been very lucky to work with people who are as invested in my career as I am. Of course, I've face rejections and struggles, but seeing the finished product and meeting readers makes up for the low points. I didn't always dream of being an author, but I've always been obsessed with storytelling in all its forms. It was a long time, though, before I built up the courage to tell my own stories.


Me: What's next up on your writing sleeves? Can you please tell us briefly about it.

Julie: My next book is currently titled Ramona Drowning, and I can't say too much about it yet, but it's about a girl who's too tall and is starting to feel like she's outgrowing every aspect of her life.


 
 

Me: Thanks Julie for joining me today on this interview session, I wish you luck for all your future endeavors.

Julie: Thank you so much for having me!


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Julie's Bio:
Julie lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cat who tolerates her. When she's not writing or trying to catch stray cats, she works at an academic library. Side Effects May Vary is Julie's debut novel.


Connect with Julie on: Website | Twitter | Instagram Pinterest 


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