I love to read. Always have since I was a little kid. My mom would read to me every night. I’d max out my number of books I could take out from the library because I wanted to read all of them. And there have been many books that have stuck in my head for whatever reason. But, there’s one I wish had existed when I was about 12/13 when I really needed the lesson from it. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy.
Dumplin’ is the story of Willowdean Dickson, a plus size teen in Texas. Her mother is a former beauty queen and she decides to take part in the pageant. The story chronicles her struggle to, at first, fit in with the other contestants and then finally learning to say, “Screw it. This is me. I may not fit the mold of beauty but I’m awesome and beautiful and anyone who thinks otherwise or thinks they can shame me for my looks can take a walk.”
Willowdean is such a heartwarming character. She treats everyone equally. She loves Dolly Parton, has a crazy family. Any teen can relate to her in some way.
I needed a book like this in my early teens. I’ve always struggled with my weight and self love. It was at its worst in 6th grade. I’ve talked my experience with bullying before so I won’t make myself a broken record. But, if I had a book like this, it would have helped me get through all the torment. To learn to not care what others thought.
I’m going to make sure my daughter reads it and learns the lessons from it. And, I really need to watch the Netflix movie. If for no other reason than the Dolly Parton music.
Definitely check out Dumplin. It’s a fun, inspiring story and we need more curvy girls in empowering roles in media.