Gosh, what wasn't to love about this book?! Dumplin' by Julie Murphy is sweet, funny and, at times, very serious with its subject matter. I think all teenage girls should read this book. No, scratch that: I think all women should read this book. 
 Dolly Parton fanatic? Check. 
 Sassy? Check. 
 Grieving a loved one? Check. 
 FAT? Check. 
 Willowdean Dickson is the unapologetic fat girl in a story where sometimes you never really knew you were lost until you need to find yourself. Dumplin' deals with real world issues for girls who don't quite conform to what society deems "beautiful" but you know what? She doesn't really give a fuck about all that. She likes her Dolly Parton obsession (coincidentally shared with smoking hot BFF Ellen), she doesn't care what you think of her in a swimsuit and she doesn't give two hot shits about boys. 
 Until she does. 
 Reading Will meet and feel flutters for the hot jock Bo, while slinging fries and taking burger orders, is a sort of callback to our own youths when we felt those flutters for the first time. Where one would expect you to feel confident and sexy (because who doesn't love when the person they like likes them back?), you actually begin to experience that self-doubt that can be so detrimental to your self esteem. So where Will starts out strong and in charge, she devolves into a quivering mess of emotions, including a lack of conviction of her own self-worth. 
 To change all that, she decides she is going to join the local beauty pageant, which is - interestingly enough - run by her mother, a former winner who places great value on being "pretty". Willowdean's entire existence has been peppered by her mother's desire to make her skinny and beautiful, complete with casually turning on TV programs like The Biggest Loser and reminding her she needs to shed some pounds. There relationship was imperfect, striking and complex. 
 Dumplin' is such a great story. Its themes explore how fat people are treated in our society and challenges the social moors of what is acceptable criteria to enter a beauty pageant. And it shows that true beauty comes from within.This book may have been provided in exchange for an honest review, and therefore will be noted on the original post.