Review originally posted on journeyintotheshelves.tumblr.com and journeyintotheshelves.wordpress.com. 
 **I received an ARC of this book courtesy of HarperCollins at BookExpo America. This has had no bearing on this review. 
 Dumplin' follows the story of a teenaged girl named Willowdean who lives in a small town in Texas where the biggest thing in this down is the annual beauty pageant. Willowdean has always been confident and self-assured of her body - she is a self proclaimed "fat girl" and proud of it - but when she starts to doubt her confidence, she and a ragtag group of other "unconventionally pretty" girls decide to sign up for the pageant to show everyone what they're made of. 
 Within the first forty pages of this book, I was crying. And not sad crying. I was crying of relief and utter joy because I finally found a character that I related to on such a deep, visceral level. Willowdean was the me I wanted to be in high school and the me I slowly became throughout college. She deals with body issues so intensely, and it was so refreshing to read a YA book talk about something like this, and talk about it so bluntly. Almost every thought that went through her head has got through mine - whether it's a reaction to being with a guy, or reacting to what snide comment her mother makes - at some point in my life. She's such a powerful character, and a heroine in her own way and it was just fantastic to read. 
 This book is so important, I think. If I had this book in high school, I think it would have made such a difference in the development of my confidence because Willowdean is someone like me, struggling with the same things and conquering her fears and doubts without losing herself or changing herself, which is a really important aspect of this book. Not once does she even attempt to lose weight; she's always like, "Screw you guys, I'm perfect the way I am" and I loved every minute of it. And this book isn't just for "fat girls." It's for every girl, boy, person who has had or continues to have body issues, and the struggle that Willowdean goes through is one that every reader can connect to on some level. 
 The writing was funny as hell. Julie Murphy did a wonderful job at creating a unique and memorable voice. I found myself laughing constantly, but there was also a good balance of funny and serious that really helped to keep this book taken seriously. I also liked Murphy's use of dialogue, description and internal monologue. It is told in first person point of view, but the reader does get the emotions and feelings of the secondary characters more so than in novels that I have read in the past. It's vibrant. It's vivacious, and truly an entertaining read. 
 The plot was well developed and moved quickly. It's told as a day-to-day kind of story, with the pageant as a frame for the entire story, so it isn't a story about the pageant (it's, honestly, only about the last twenty pages or so when the pageant actually takes place) which I wasn't expecting, but I also wasn't disappointed that it wasn't. 
 Overall, Dumplin' is one of my favorite books of 2015 and one of my favorite books of all time (yes, it cracked the list). It's quick witted, funny, and honest and Willowdean is a YA character that should be remembered for a long time.