Dumplin' tackles a lot of good messages that YA literature usually leaves untouched. Murphy skillfully handles the struggle of being an outcast in a lot of areas: boys, school, family, body acceptance. I identified with Willowdean's struggle throughout the book, and I thought her insecurity was well written. I loved the female relationships she gained as the plot progressed; they were characters that encouraged and echoed Willowdean's own journey, and the book would have been missing something without them. 
 With that said, I did struggle in a few areas. For a book that does so well with body positivity for Willowdean, there were a few scenes throughout the book where Willowdean was just as judgmental about body weight as other people are on her. This doesn't happen in the latter half of the book, and I can understand the arguments for why it needs to be included in the beginning: it helps establish Willowdean's own insecurities, helps show the contrast in Willow's mindset, etc, etc. However, I felt it undermined the point the book was trying to make overall in those scenes. 
 My other problem was with the ending. On one hand, I loved the abruptness of it. I really liked how she did what she needed to do, and just peaced out to go find her other bit of happiness. On the other hand, there wasn't really a resolution between her mother and Willow, especially with regard to Lucy's character. I think the point of it ending without that piece was to signify that this will always be a problem between Willow and her mother, but it was left on a particularly bad note in the ending. Willow overcomes it, but it was a loose end that needed some type of scene. 
 Overall, I liked it. There were excellent messages about fitting in, friendships, labels, body positivity, and self awareness. I wish more authors were brave enough to address the hard issues.