Title: A Spoiler-Free Review of "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Hey everyone, it's Haley and today I'm going to be doing a spoiler-free review for dumplin' by Julie Murphy. So, this is a contemporary novel that follows the protagonist Willow Dean Dixon or as her mother calls her Dumplin'. She is a self-proclaimed fat girl who is really proud of herself and her body. She's happy in her own skin and doesn't care what other people think about her size. However, when she likes someone and finds out they like her back, she starts to second guess her confidence and consider how others see her.

This realization leads Willow to decide to enter a beauty pageant that is huge in her town, with the goal of showing everyone that she's just as beautiful as the skinny girls or the average girls. The writing in this book is really great, it's snarky and has a great use of vernacular that makes you feel like you're actually in Texas, surrounded by Dolly Parton fans and beauty pageant contestants. This all works together to elevate Willow's character, making her come alive through the writing of the book.

One of the things I loved about this book is how relatable it is. Willow isn't your typical confident protagonist; she's got a front of confidence that can sometimes be shaken up by things. And honestly, who hasn't been there? She's not just a character with a lot of attitude and sass - she's also got some vulnerability to her that makes her feel like a real person. I think it's great that the author didn't make Willow perfect; instead, they made her realistic.

I also appreciated how the book explores themes of body image and self-acceptance. Willow is on a journey to learn to love herself, flaws and all, which is something that we could all benefit from doing. And I think the author does this in a really thoughtful way, avoiding any preachy or heavy-handed moments that might make it feel like a lecture.

Having characters who are realistic and flawed can be really empowering. They're not just idealized versions of people; they're complex and multi-dimensional, with their own strengths and weaknesses. And I think that's what makes this book so great - it doesn't try to present an idealized version of Willow or her world; instead, it presents the messy, complicated reality of life.

One of my favorite aspects of the book is how well it explores the relationship between Willow and Bo. Their dynamic is really interesting, and I loved seeing how they interact with each other. It's clear that they have a deep connection, but it's also clear that they're both struggling with their own issues. This made me appreciate them even more - they're not just cute characters; they're fully fleshed-out people.

The plot of this book is pretty fast-paced, with something always going on. And I think that suits the tone of the book perfectly. It's a story about growth and change, and sometimes that means things get messy and complicated. But overall, it's a really enjoyable read that had me hooked from start to finish.

For me, one of the biggest things that stood out about this book was how relatable Willow is. I used to be in a similar situation, struggling with body image issues and feeling like I wasn't good enough. And when I saw Willow on the page, I couldn't help but feel a sense of recognition. She's not just a character; she's someone who could have been me, or you, or anyone else.

This book is also really important because it tackles themes that are often overlooked in young adult literature - body positivity, self-acceptance, and the importance of loving yourself exactly as you are. It's clear that the author believes these things are important, and they're passionate about spreading this message. And I think that passion comes through on every page.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary fiction or is looking for a story with a strong female protagonist. The writing is snarky and engaging, the characters are complex and relatable, and the themes of body positivity and self-acceptance are timely and important. If you're looking for a read that will make you laugh, cry, and feel good about yourself, then I think this might be the book for you.

I gave this book four out of five stars because it really exceeded my expectations. I wasn't sure what to expect from a story about a fat girl in a beauty pageant, but the author did an amazing job of subverting those expectations and creating something truly unique and special. The only thing that kept me from giving it a full five stars was that there were a few moments where I felt like some plot threads were a bit resolved too quickly. However, this is a minor complaint, and overall I think the book is just fantastic.

If you've read this book before, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below! And if you haven't, but are thinking about reading it, I'd love to hear your thoughts after you've finished. Don't forget to subscribe for more reviews and recommendations, and be sure to follow me on social media at the link down below my username is hails Hearts onyc.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone it's Haley and today I'm going to be doing a spoiler-free review for dumplin by Julie Murphy so this is a contemporary novel that follows the protagonist Willow Dean Dixon or as her mother calls her dumplin and Willard Dean is a self-proclaimed fat girl she is really proud of that she's happy in her own skin she is just really happy she doesn't care that she's bigger and she's just super confident but then she likes someone and she finds that they like her back and she starts to kind of second guess that self-confidence and really consider how other people see her so she decides to go and enter a beauty pageant that is huge in her town to kind of show people that she's just as beautiful as the skinny girl or the bigger than her girl and or the average girl just that she's beautiful even though she may be bigger the writing of this book was really great it was really snarky there was a great use of vernacular that really made it feel like you were in Texas that you were a Dolly Parton fan and you were in this beauty pageant it really all worked to kind of um Elevate Willow's character she really came to life because of the writing of it and I really enjoyed that this book really was made by the characters um Willow was just such a confident character but she wasn't too confident she was really relatable because though she kind of has this front of confidence you saw it kind of um shaken her get shaken up by a few things and I liked that she wasn't just this I'm confident like no one can I don't question anything blah blah blah because that's not realistic at all I really liked that she was able to be this powerful character but at the same time she was able to kind of have this um kind of second guessing personality and I thought that that was really realistic and really relatable and I think having a character that isn't the perfect uh like a main character that isn't the perfect like blonde beautiful like striking eyes all that stuff that you get normally as the protagonist like the girl protagonist in a book I liked having one that was really realistic like a normal girl and I thought that her character being so snarky and just so sassy I loved it because she was just really great and really empowering I think I really liked seeing how she inter acted with the other characters as well I thought um having Bo with her and kind of seeing how he made her second guess herself their relationship was really interesting to me and how that kind of worked out that Dynamic I really liked seeing that the plot of this book was pretty fast-paced there was always kind of something going on um mostly this book is really kind of a look inside of uh Willow's mind and kind of how she's considering how other people see her and I found that to be really relatable because I used to be a lot bigger than I am right now I've lost 50 lbs over the past year so I found her struggle in like kind of considering how other people would view her to be really relatable because I was super uncomfortable with myself and didn't want anyone near me like anyone touching me or anything when I was bigger and I think she really um embodied that struggle but she really made me feel more confident and I think that's kind of the mission of this book what it's really to be confident in your own no matter what size you are anything about you just to be comfortable with yourself and then you that makes you a beautiful person and I really love that message because I think it's really important today so I think having this in young adult literature is really awesome so overall I gave this book a four out of five stars I really enjoyed it I love the characters the plot the message behind it I thought it was really great and it really surprised me because I wasn't really expecting to like this book cuz i' had I'd heard really mixed things but I really enjoyed it so that's going to be all for today's review if you have read this book let me know your thoughts on it and don't forget to subscribe I put out new videos every Tuesday and Thursday and if you wanted to follow me on social media all that stuff is link down below my username is hails Hearts onyc so basically Google that and you will find me so yeah that's all for today's video I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you guys in the next video byehey everyone it's Haley and today I'm going to be doing a spoiler-free review for dumplin by Julie Murphy so this is a contemporary novel that follows the protagonist Willow Dean Dixon or as her mother calls her dumplin and Willard Dean is a self-proclaimed fat girl she is really proud of that she's happy in her own skin she is just really happy she doesn't care that she's bigger and she's just super confident but then she likes someone and she finds that they like her back and she starts to kind of second guess that self-confidence and really consider how other people see her so she decides to go and enter a beauty pageant that is huge in her town to kind of show people that she's just as beautiful as the skinny girl or the bigger than her girl and or the average girl just that she's beautiful even though she may be bigger the writing of this book was really great it was really snarky there was a great use of vernacular that really made it feel like you were in Texas that you were a Dolly Parton fan and you were in this beauty pageant it really all worked to kind of um Elevate Willow's character she really came to life because of the writing of it and I really enjoyed that this book really was made by the characters um Willow was just such a confident character but she wasn't too confident she was really relatable because though she kind of has this front of confidence you saw it kind of um shaken her get shaken up by a few things and I liked that she wasn't just this I'm confident like no one can I don't question anything blah blah blah because that's not realistic at all I really liked that she was able to be this powerful character but at the same time she was able to kind of have this um kind of second guessing personality and I thought that that was really realistic and really relatable and I think having a character that isn't the perfect uh like a main character that isn't the perfect like blonde beautiful like striking eyes all that stuff that you get normally as the protagonist like the girl protagonist in a book I liked having one that was really realistic like a normal girl and I thought that her character being so snarky and just so sassy I loved it because she was just really great and really empowering I think I really liked seeing how she inter acted with the other characters as well I thought um having Bo with her and kind of seeing how he made her second guess herself their relationship was really interesting to me and how that kind of worked out that Dynamic I really liked seeing that the plot of this book was pretty fast-paced there was always kind of something going on um mostly this book is really kind of a look inside of uh Willow's mind and kind of how she's considering how other people see her and I found that to be really relatable because I used to be a lot bigger than I am right now I've lost 50 lbs over the past year so I found her struggle in like kind of considering how other people would view her to be really relatable because I was super uncomfortable with myself and didn't want anyone near me like anyone touching me or anything when I was bigger and I think she really um embodied that struggle but she really made me feel more confident and I think that's kind of the mission of this book what it's really to be confident in your own no matter what size you are anything about you just to be comfortable with yourself and then you that makes you a beautiful person and I really love that message because I think it's really important today so I think having this in young adult literature is really awesome so overall I gave this book a four out of five stars I really enjoyed it I love the characters the plot the message behind it I thought it was really great and it really surprised me because I wasn't really expecting to like this book cuz i' had I'd heard really mixed things but I really enjoyed it so that's going to be all for today's review if you have read this book let me know your thoughts on it and don't forget to subscribe I put out new videos every Tuesday and Thursday and if you wanted to follow me on social media all that stuff is link down below my username is hails Hearts onyc so basically Google that and you will find me so yeah that's all for today's video I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you guys in the next video bye\n"