Dumplin'
By Julie Murphy
4/5
()
About this ebook
Now a popular Netflix feature film, starring Jennifer Aniston, Danielle Macdonald, and Dove Cameron, as well as a soundtrack from Dolly Parton!
The #1 New York Times bestseller and feel-good YA of the year—about Willowdean Dixon, the fearless, funny, and totally unforgettable heroine who takes on her small town’s beauty pageant.
Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body.
With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.
Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any girl does.
Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
Editor's Note
Breaking tropes…
This fan-favorite about a self-proclaimed fat character who accepts herself breaks conventional tropes. It’s now also a Netflix film starring Jennifer Aniston and Danielle Macdonald.
Julie Murphy
Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband, who loves her, and her cats, who tolerate her. When Julie isn’t writing, she can be found watching movies so bad they're good, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, or planning her next great travel adventure. She is the author of the middle grade novels Dear Sweet Pea and Camp Sylvania as well as the young adult novels Ramona Blue, Side Effects May Vary, the Faith series, Pumpkin, Puddin’, and Dumplin’ (now a Netflix original film). You can visit Julie at imjuliemurphy.com.
Read more from Julie Murphy
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Reviews for Dumplin'
707 ratings70 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to have a unique voice and a great message about body image issues. It is a fun and profound read that resonates with many readers. Some wished for a more realistic reconciliation between the main character and her mother. Overall, the book is enjoyable and will make you smile, frown, laugh, cry, and feel proud."
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5DUMPLIN’ by Judy MurphyThis book is not PC. A teenage girl is called Dumplin’ by her mother who constantly reminds her how fat she is and how pretty she would be if she just lost some weight. Dumplin’ and her friends decide to enter the beauty contest Dumplin’s mother runs and had won many years before. Hilarity runs rampant as the young women (one fat, one disabled, one perhaps autistic and one gay) prepare their talent acts and wardrobes. This could have been awful. It was not. It becomes a sensitive and empathetic tale of young women learning to love themselves and accept others. Oh, and there is also a gentle love story. This would be great book for a mother/parent book club.4 of 5 stars
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The pages on this book flew. I enjoyed reading the story and felt the voices of her characters felt fresh and authentic. I haven't seen the movie adaptation yet - I don't know if I will watch it any time soon since I had such a satisfying reading experience - I am reluctant to watch something that might change my memory quite yet!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What can I say. I loved this. I had heard wonderful things about this book and everything I heard was true. This book is a beautiful young adult book about self-discovery, friendship, and love. I highly recommend. My first 5 star book of 2019. Enjoy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I picked this book up because of a recommendation from a friend, and I am very glad I did! I simply love the main character in this book - Willowdean Dickson - the overweight daughter of a woman who was a former beauty queen. Will is so much more than her weight - she is an awesome character who does not let labels define her. She works at a fast-food restaurant where she meets the guy of her dreams, enters a pageant, changing it forever and makes true friends along the way. The author tackles a number of social issues along the way making this a book for all. As a testament to my enjoyment of this book, I am now reading Puddin' by the same author. Keep writing Julie Murphy - you are as awesome as your characters!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ah, that was sweet! I wanted to watch Dumplin' on Netflix but I've already given up on two free trials, so I was delighted to find the original novel. I love reading about the South in fiction - although South Texas might be a bit of stretch, like the land that time forgot - and have long had a bit of crush on Dolly, so this was bound to be a winner. And Dumplin', the nickname give to Tracy Turnblad-esque teen heroine Willowdean Dickson, is an inspiring character. I love her. I love this book.The only fault I could find is with Bo, the perfect boyfriend who shuns all the glamorous girls for Dumplin'. Not because the two of them couldn't or shouldn't happen, but because that's what happens in all the YA books with atypical heroines. I preferred shy jock Mitch, but that's just me, I suppose. And also the ending was very abrupt. But otherwise, Dumplin' is a wonderful fairy tale. Yes, there are the usual messages about accepting with who you are and being beautiful on the inside, but the lines that could have sounded like cliches only had the ring of truth for me. I will never understand why any woman this side of 1960 would want to enter a beauty pageant, but Dumplin's decision to challenge small town prejudices and her mother's embarrassment is deliciously satisfying.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I don't read much YA literature but made an exception with this one because I want to watch the Netflix movie made from the book. I was very pleasantly surprised with the book -- it was told from a YA perspective but was a story for any age -- be proud of who you are and live your life to the fullest.Willowdean is in high school and her Mom has given her the nickname of Dumplin'. Willowdean knows that she's fat and she is bullied over it but she is happy with who she is and with her life. She has a best friend, a part time job at Harpy's and does well in school. The major negatives in her life are her mom - a former beauty queen who is ashamed of her and the recent loss of an aunt who meant the world to her and who taught her to love Dolly Parton. When a potential boyfriend enters her life, she seems to lose her self confidence and starts questioning herself so she decides that she can gain back her self confidence by competing in a local beauty pageant that her mom is in charge of. Will she be able to gain back her self confidence or will the beauty contest make her hate herself even more? This simple little book was a definite coming of age story for teen girls and one that I wish I could have read in high school. More than that though, is the universal theme of finding that inner confidence and loving who you are no matter what you look like.Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love love LOVE this book! I had heard a lot about it but had to wait to get my hands on a copy of it. I read it in less than a day! Murphy is an excellent writer, and I wanted to crawl inside her world and live there for a week or so. Willowdean’s mom was a beauty queen in Texas, and has fit into her pageant dress every year since. Willowdean, on the other hand, is fat and doesn’t try to hide it. After her aunt, who was more like a second mother, passes away, Willowdean tries to find the confidence she used to have in herself, instead of in others.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A sweet story about a teen trying to find empowerment and acceptance. I was a little annoyed that the moment she starts to like a boy, the formerly confident Willowdean starts to have body issues. Other than that, I enjoyed this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5EXCELLENT! So good I read it in one day!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dumplin' by Julie Murphy is a book and movie I kept hearing about. I am not one to follow the book trends, I like to read books off the beaten path because I find a lot of hidden gems that way but this book intrigued me. The story is about a beauty pageant but the overall theme, ironically, is not to judge others, and to be yourself, love yourself, just the way you are!The characters are great and the plot was predictable but good. I watched the movie after the book. I think the book is geared more for teens since it is more simplified in every aspect. For a grandmother like me and having gone through many of the teen trials and the mother's trials, which the movie seemed to show both of these equally important, I could relate to the movie more. I was laughing one minute then my eyes were leaking the next! ( Darn leaky eyes!)oI usually don't read books that cause leaky eyes but this was good, especially for teens and that was what I was reading it for, my young teen grand daughters. I wanted to see if it was good.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fun romance.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Narrated by Eileen Stevens. Willowdean is a big girl in a Texas town that cherishes its beauty pageant traditions. Even her mother runs the pageant every year. So it's quite a surprise when Will signs up for the pageant along with three other outlier girls. The focus of the story isn't so much overturning pageant traditions as it is Will's journey as a fat girl and her yearnings and insecurities. Stevens vividly depicts the various characters and embraces the heart of the story. Will is insecure and doubtful, then determined and fierce. Bo is drawling and sexy. Amiable Mitch breaks our hearts because you know Will's heart isn't into him. And Will's mother is harried and tradition-bound in a way that's annoying and endearing. A nicely nuanced production.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I loved willowdean's strong voice, it was funny to listen to in the car. It kept reminding me of Eleanor and Park int terms of the authenticity and integrity of its characters. However, the boyfriend voices were cringeworthy. The southern vocal frye made my skin crawl, but other than that, I enjoyed the characters!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dumplin'by Julie MurphyAudio narrated by Eileen Stevens3-1/2*YA novel surrounding Willowdean Dickson, a young woman who has struggled with her weight her whole life. Part of it seems to be hereditary, as she has recently lost an aunt due to morbid obesity, and her mother also struggled when she was younger. Despite her mother's concerns for Willowdean's health and happiness, which unfortunately morphs into judgment and criticism, and a lifelong stream of funny looks, comments, presumptions and bullying from many people around her, Willowdean is actually self confident and unconcerned about what others think of her. She just lives her life.Her confidence, however, starts to wane when the preparations for a beauty pageant, which is a very big deal in her little Texas town, starts to ramp up. Will's mother, a former beauty queen herself, is in charge of this pageant. Without meaning to hurt her own daughter, she encourages Willowdean's best friend, Ellen, to participate in the pageant, but never mentions the same to her. This, despite--and subsequently because of--the newfound attentions from a handsome and popular boy she works with, Bo, and also the attention of star football player, Mitch, makes Will start to doubt herself and her worth. Although she is flattered by these nice boys and is caught a bit in a love triangle, her body image rears its head and makes her afraid to take things further. She realizes that she is going to end up like her deceased aunt (by giving up opportunities) if she doesn't find her own happiness now.Although Willowdean realizes her life would be much easier if she could just conform with society's views of beauty by losing weight and by doing so make others more comfortable, instead, she decides to shake things up a bit by entering the beauty pageant just the way she is, trying to make others see that they need to get used to the idea that there are all kinds of people in the world and that they are the ones who need to change and learn to accept it. By doing so, she inspires a group of other girls who are considered outsiders to do the same, and they start to find their own confidence to be themselves as well.Although this didn't necessarily have a Will Grayson, Will Grayson ending, it was full of life lessons and lessons in friendship and left readers on a hopeful note. I think younger readers would really like this, especially teens who aren't considered "golden children" who have an easy life dished out to them on a platter.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'm not really sure if this is a full three stars for me. Maybe a 2.75? There were some things about this book that were amazing but at the same time, it dragged in parts. I mean really dragged. It says it's book one, so I'm guessing there will be others. If there are, I may read the next one at least just to see what's going on with Willowdean and company, but I hope it doesn't drag like this one did in so many parts.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine -- "Dumplin" is guaranteed to steal your heart.
-- from the book jacket
So, I purposely didn't copy the blurb from the back cover for the beginning of my review. The back cover implies that the main character, "Willowdean", is proud of her body and not self-conscious at all. This is not true, but also not realistic. She has a lot of issues, but don't we all...
No matter how old we are, I think most of us have something about our bodies that we hate. For me, it's my belly. No matter how skinny I was growing up, I was always afraid to wear a bikini because of my belly. Of course, I look back now and laugh at myself. I should have taken advantage of my bikini-worthy body while I could. I look at old pictures and I have to laugh at myself. I was skinny and I don't look like I had a belly at all. Then again, our self-image and what other people see tends to be quite different.
Willowdean has issues with her body, and she is heavy. But she still enters herself in the beauty pageant that her mother once won. Her mother is heavily invested in the pageant and participates in the celebration every year. Her mother is also always trying to get Willow to go on one diet or another. The interesting thing about Willowdean is that when a boy shows real interest in her, she only sees the bad. She worries what he will think about her body and sees only the fact that he is "too good looking" for her. And she worries a lot about what other people would think.
This was a fun book to read and I think gave a realistic look at how teenage girls see themselves. I liked most of the characters and enjoyed watching their development.
Recommended to:
Teenage readers, especially girls. This is a YA book, but I think readers of many ages would enjoy it. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dumplin' is a cute story about Willowdean who is a fat girl with a former pageant queen mom. They just lost Will's aunt Luce who was a die hard Dolly Parton fan and let life pass her by because of her weight. Willowdean starts hooking up with her co-worker Bo and begins to feel self conscious when he touches her and ends the relationship. Her weight is more on her mind, her mom thinks Will can't be happy while she is at her current weight. To prove her wrong Willow joins the pageant her mom won as a teen, her life begins to spin out of control and she is doubting whether she was right before about her weight not standing in her way.
It's a good moral story, everyone has their doubts and self esteem issues. Will is kind of mean towards other people because she doesn't realize this, but really she's just reflecting her own issues on to people. We are constantly told that Will didn't have these problems until she started hooking up with her co-worker, but the story lacked some character development in the beginning. I felt the writing could of been better, but the story is cute and can be related to by everyone. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5First things first: Go I'm ahead and put on the Pentatonics version of "Jolene". No, it's not a dumb cover; Dolly is actually singing along with them.Alright, now we can continue.I have had Dumplin' on my To-Be-Read shelf since it came out. I ended up meeting Julie, the other night, and it immediately jumped to her top of the list because she's just so darn cool.The basic synopsis for the book goes something like this:Willowdean (or "Dumplin'" according to her former literal beauty queen mama), owns her title as "the fat girl" at her small town high school. She's always been self-assured about this and carries on confidently until an otherwise relationship with a co-worker begins to sow seeds of doubt in her head.As a way to attempt to put her confidence back on track, she and a few friends decide to enter their town's beauty pageant, turning heads and upending paradigms at every turn.Nothing too deep or earth shattering from the outside.I thought I knew what it was about.Small town Texas.Reclaiming the word "fat"High school drama.Beauty Pageants.And sure, all of those things play a part but it is so much more than that.We tend to think everyone else is so confident and comfortable in their own skin but the reality, we have NO idea what's going on inside someone else's head.Even though Will outwardly smiles and snarks at teasing from her peers, even though she has close friends, even though she has multiple boys trying to get attention, life is far from perfect.As you can imagine, being a heavy daughter of a pageant winner, in a town obsessed with beauty competitions, is a lot of emotional labor.She describes the town's obsession as some creeping vine of a cultural phenomenon, strangling out all other options of focus."Sometimes I think the pageant is like Christmas, and we just keep trying to celebrate it earlier and earlier until it turns into a year-round event."Even (or especially) at home, she gets no relief. Her mom is a fan of "thing transformation" stories (think Biggest Loser and Extreme Makeover) which has always driven a wedge between the two women. One of the hardest lines to read in the whole book came up after her mom's discussions about Will going to the gym."Have you ever walked into a building that is dedicated to being everything you're not?"That line, I think is so important in terms of building empathy for myriad bodies. And it's something people who are comfortable in their bodies don't think of, often.Her saving grace had been her mother's sister, Lucy. Until Lucy passed, she had been closer to Will's body type than her mother's, shared Willowdean's love of Dolly Parton, and showed "Dumplin'" nothing but fierce, loyal, unconditional love. Without her, the tension between mother and daughter rises and Willowdean is completely adrift.At some points, I got frustrated because Will is incredibly hard on herself. As the reader, through her eyes, you can see two things: 1. that she is pretty dang cool and 2. She can't see it at all.She has a habit of pushing people (her best friend, her partners, and her mother) away from her in vicious self-hatred.I realized that the reason I was getting so frustrated with her was largely due to the fact that I could see myself in those feelings. Self-hatred feels so real inside our heads but seems so irrational when we see it on others.I could probably go through way more analysis but it's better to probably just read the book. Though I got a little bored in the middle, it eventually turned into one of the sweetest, most impactful books I've read in a while.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I enjoyed this audio version a lot. The narrator was excellent and the story was a cute and empowering look at breaking social stigmas. You go Dumplin! 3.5-4 ⭐️
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this novel. It was cute and funny and heart-warming. Willowdean is so spunky and charismatic and flawed...these things make her the perfect heroine. I have never been considered fat but I have friends that have struggled with their weight for a long time and have never felt good enough. I wish they could have read this book in their teens because it would really have cheered them up and made them feel a lot more confident about their body and identity. This novel focuses on body image but it also explores issues like inclusivity (in schools and by society at large) and stereotypes about different kinds of people. I like that deep topics are expressed in a light and humorous tone that still conveys the seriousness of the issues. All in all, this was a great novel and I would recommend this to teenagers everywhere!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy is a YA about a plus-size teen, Willowdean, who realizes that she is more insecure about her body image that she thought she was. She has always felt fairly comfortable in her own skin and often publicly announces herself as the “fat girl” but when the boy that she has a crush on, kisses her she has a hard time believing that he really wants to be with her. Her self-doubt almost causes her to turn her back on romance but over the course of the book she confronts these challenges to her self esteem and emerges with a new self awareness.Body image is something that most females struggle with and this book, aimed at the vulnerable teen market, passes on the message that it’s okay to not be a size two. Willowdean has accepted her weight, but now she needs to see herself as a worthwhile person who deserves happiness. All too often the “fat girl” is regulated to the back burner, she is the best friend, never the heroine of the story, but in Dumplin’ all this changes.Although the plot was a little too youth orientated for my own taste, this is a thought-provoking story with an excellent role model for self-empowerment. I did love that the main character didn’t have to lose weight in order to find her happy ending. The message is clear and positive about not letting your appearance define who you are and what you do.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What a great story; a young woman fighting to overcome a small town's prejudice while inspiring a group of other "out-casts" via a small town pageant & friendship.Willowdean's mother, former Blue Bonnet pageant queen (current pageant chairwoman) still calls Wiilowdean "Dumplin'" and makes no bones about Dumplin's weight.Willowdean's best friend, Ellen, is the total opposite of Willowdean, but they compliment each other perfectly.Willowdean is working out issues of friendship, loyalty, love, & overcoming body issues all at one time.Willowdean, much to her mother's dismay, has entered the Miss Blue Bonnet Pageant along with Ellen & three other friends. Millie is heavier than Willowdean; Hannah, a Dominican lesbian has a bad overbite: and Amanda w/ a short leg & a limp... Together & on their own they prove they have what it takes to the town.The one thing I did not like/understand, was when the school jackass bully called Willowdean a name, she confronted him & kneed him in the groin. Willowdean got suspended for standing-up to him, but the punk got off scott-free.Anyway, there's more to the book and I liked it. I will be reading the newest book by this author: "Puddin'"
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Really enjoyed this YA novel. Can’t wait to see the movie. I have already downloaded Puddin’ so I can read it soon.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Realistic fiction, Dumplin’ tells the story of an overweight girl who just wants others and herself to accept her as a girl and not identified by her size.Willowdean, a “fat girl,” struggles with all the relationships in her life as she finds who she truly is as a person. Willow doesn’t seem to like her mother because her mother comments on her weight, giving her different diets throughout her life. Mom even calls her “Dumplin’.” Willow was closest to her Aunt Lucy who was so large that she really didn’t live life, but she was Willow’s substitute mom. Lucy passed her love of Dolly Parton to Willow and Ellen, Willow’s best friend. When Lucy dies suddenly, Willow is stranded in life. She doesn’t know who can help her with everything--relationships, life, weight, Dolly. Ellen, whose mother was Lucy’s best friend, is the kindest friend who accepts Willow for who she is and doesn’t care about her weight--just wants to remain best friends.Willow’s relationships create angst. A gap seems to be opening between Ellen and Willow because Ellen enjoys knowing other people, but Willow is uncomfortable with them because of her (or their) weight. Ellen also has a serious boyfriend. Willow has one relationship possibly going for her: Bo. She actually has two guys. Bo is the gorgeous one; Mitch is the nice, average guy. Because of the estrangement with Ellen, Willow has no one to talk to as she navigates these relationships. Just to make life more interesting, Willow decides to enter the beauty contest that her mom won years ago and has run for years. They’ve never had a girl of size enter, so other outcasts join her. Now Willow feels responsible for these social pariahs as they try to be seen as beautiful, too.This is the second book by Julie Murphy I’ve read. In both books, I found the main character unlikeable. I found it hard to believe either guy would want to date her because Willowdean didn’t seem like a nice person. She also sabotages her relationships, thinking her size will bother Bo, especially. Mitch is big himself, so she doesn't worry as much about him. This insecurity makes her treat both of them badly instead of realizing that all people have hangups about themselves and we are all our own worst enemies. I still enjoyed the novel, and it kept me interested, just like the other book. In many ways it’s nice to read about a “real” person--someone who isn’t perfect like most characters in books.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Willowdean has always exhibited a fairly high level of self esteem, despite being overweight. She's confident in her body and is more or less a happy teen. Until Bo, her very good-looking co-worker, starts taking an interest in her and some definite chemistry begins to develop. Then all of a sudden she becomes self-conscious. Her self esteem begins to drop, and in order to try to gain it back, she decides to enter the local beauty pageant, not really to try to win, but just to prove to herself that she can do it. But along the way, she seems bent on destroying not only her relationship with her best friend, but with her new boyfriend as well.It's sort of a given that this is one of those teen feel-good stories. And it is. It's somewhat predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. Willowdean is a fun character, and it's hard not to like and root for her. I was in no way blown away by this book, but it was a fun, quick read. It seems destined to be made into a movie (which is expected out next year), and a companion novel is also in the works, which I'll most likely make sure to put on my to-read list as well.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/53 stars? 3.5 stars? I need to think on it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murphy creates a complete and completely believable world in which she explore themes of self-acceptance and social expectations. Willowdean is an overweight teenager being raised by a single mother who peaked when she won a small-town Texas beauty contest to which she remains a devoted organizer. Will is mourning the recent death of her obese aunt, who was her champion, and butts heads with her mother at every turn. Will wants to be seen as acceptable as she is, but of course, her mother and the beauty queens don't get it; and interestingly neither does Will when confronted with a boy who actually finds her attractive. When Will decides to enter the beauty contest, and brings a small cadre of other misfits with her, there is LOTS to explore about what it means to be a friend, to be attractive, and to be acceptable in a culture that is hyper-focused on what young women look like.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Listened to the audio version. Voice actor was a terrific Willowdean. She did an OK job with the male character voices--they didn't sound female, but they weren't totally believable. Still, the characters were so true to life, the writing so smart and honest, and it made me smile. I loved it! Going to order a second copy for my library.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Willowdean Dixon likes Dolly Parton and considers herself a "fat girl". She doesn't use the adjective in a negative way like most people, but that's normally how she introduces herself to people: "Hi, I'm Willowdean: resident Fat Girl." But she wants to shine. Not only shine, but feel good about herself and not always feel like a pariah because of her size. When a whirlwind romance shakes her whole world up, Willowdean feel lost. But in a fit of clarity she tries to achieve the unthinkable: win the Clover City Teen Pageant. With some inspiration from her now-gone Aunt and Dolly, Will tries to get over not only her own insecurities, but also embrace and love the ones around her despite their own flaws.I loved this book. Maybe I'm a bit biased because I was a fat girl growing up, but it's tough to embrace yourself for who you are. I was hoping that Will would have become friends with Mitch -- especially because he is a sweet soul -- but she needed to become her own person and correct the mistakes she made, even though it might have hurt some people in the process. I also liked the friendship that her and Ellen had throughout the story. These girls had their own self-image issues (even seemingly perfect girls like Ellen), and they learned that it is okay to drift apart a little, because that's all part about growing up.Thrilled this book was a Illinois' Read for a Lifetime book; will be recommending this to my students!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What a fun book! Had me laughing out loud more than once. Can't wait to read more by Julie Murphy!
Book preview
Dumplin' - Julie Murphy
ONE
All the best things in my life have started with a Dolly Parton song. Including my friendship with Ellen Dryver.
The song that sealed the deal was Dumb Blonde
from her 1967 debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly. During the summer before first grade, my aunt Lucy bonded with Mrs. Dryver over their mutual devotion to Dolly. While they sipped sweet tea in the dining room, Ellen and I would sit on the couch watching cartoons, unsure of what to make of each other. But then one afternoon that song came on over Mrs. Dryver’s stereo. Ellen tapped her foot as I hummed along, and before Dolly had even hit the chorus, we were spinning in circles and singing at the top of our lungs. Thankfully, our love for each other and Dolly ended up running deeper than one song.
I wait for Ellen in front of her boyfriend’s Jeep as the sun pushes my feet further into the hot blacktop of the school parking lot. Trying not to cringe, I watch as she skips through the exit, weaving in and out of after-school traffic.
El is everything I am not. Tall, blond, and with this impossible goofy yet sexy paradox going on that only seems to exist in romantic comedies. She’s always been at home in her own skin.
I can’t see Tim, her boyfriend, but I have no doubt that he’s a few steps behind her with his nose in his cell phone as he catches up on all the games he’s missed during school.
The first thing I ever noticed about Tim was that he was at least three inches shorter than El, but she never gave a shit. When I mentioned their vertical differential, she smiled, the blush in her cheeks spreading to her neck, and said, It’s kinda cute, isn’t it?
El skids to a stop in front of me, panting. You’re working tonight, right?
I clear my throat. Yeah.
It’s never too late to find a summer job working at the mall, Will.
She leans against the Jeep, and nudges me with her shoulder. With me.
I shake my head. I like it at Harpy’s.
A huge truck on lifts speeds down the lane in front of us toward the exit.
Tim!
yells Ellen.
He stops in his tracks and waves at us as the truck brushes right past him, only inches from flattening him into roadkill.
I swear to God!
says El, only loud enough for me to hear.
I think they were made for each other.
Thanks for the heads-up,
he calls.
We could be in the midst of an alien invasion and Tim would be like, Cool.
After he’s made it across the parking lot, he drops his phone into his back pocket and kisses her. It’s not some gross open-mouth kiss, but more like a hello-I-missed-you-you’re-as-pretty-as-you-were-on-our-first-date kiss.
A slow sigh slips from me. If I could avert my eyes from all the kissing people ever, I’m positive that my life would be at least 2 percent more fulfilling.
It’s not that I’m jealous of Ellen and Tim or that Tim steals Ellen away from me or even that I want Tim for myself. But I want what they have. I want a person to kiss hello.
I squint past them to the track surrounding the football field. What are all those girls doing out there?
Trotting around the track are a handful of girls in pink shorts and matching tank tops.
Pageant boot camp,
says Ellen. It lasts all summer. One of the girls from work is doing it.
I don’t even try not to roll my eyes. Clover City isn’t known for much. Every few years our football team is decent enough for play-offs and every once in a while someone even makes it out of here and does the kind of thing worth recognizing. But the one thing that puts our little town on the map is that we’re home of the oldest beauty pageant in Texas. The Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant started back in the 1930s and has only gotten bigger and more ridiculous with every passing year. I should know since my mom has led the planning committee for the last fifteen years.
Ellen slides Tim’s keys from the front pocket of his shorts before pulling me in for a side hug. Have a good day at work. Don’t let the grease splash you or whatever.
She goes to unlock the driver’s-side door and calls over to Tim on the other side, Tim, tell Will to have a good day.
He pops his head up for a brief moment and I see that smile Ellen loves so much. Will.
Tim may have his face in his phone most the time, but when he does actually talk—well, it’s the kind of thing that makes a girl like El stick around. I hope you have a good day.
He bows at the waist.
El rolls her eyes, settles in behind the wheel, and pops a fresh piece of gum in her mouth.
I wave good-bye and am almost halfway to my car when the two speed past me as Ellen yells good-bye once more over Dolly Parton’s Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That
blasting through the speakers.
As I’m digging through my bag, looking for my keys, I notice Millie Michalchuk waddling down the sidewalk and through the parking lot.
I see it before it even happens. Leaning against her parents’ minivan is Patrick Thomas, who is maybe the biggest douche of all time. He has this super ability to give someone a nickname and make it stick. Sometimes they’re cool nicknames, but more often they’re things like Haaaaaaaanah, pronounced like a neighing horse because the girl’s mouth looks like it’s full of . . . well, horse teeth. Clever, I know.
Millie is that girl, the one I am ashamed to admit that I’ve spent my whole life looking at and thinking, Things could be worse. I’m fat, but Millie’s the type of fat that requires elastic waist pants because they don’t make pants with buttons and zippers in her size. Her eyes are too close together and her nose pinches up at the end. She wears shirts with puppies and kittens and not in an ironic way.
Patrick blocks the driver’s-side door, him and his rowdy group of friends already oinking like pigs. Millie started driving a few weeks ago, and the way she zips around in that minivan, you’d think it was a Camaro.
She’s about to turn the corner and find all these jerks piled up around her van, when I yell, Millie! Over here!
Pulling down on the straps of her backpack, she changes her course of direction and heads straight for me with her smile pushing her rosy cheeks so high they almost touch the tops of her eyelids. Hiya, Will!
I smile. Hey.
I hadn’t actually thought about what I might say to her once she was here, standing in front of me. Congratulations on getting your license,
I say.
Oh, thanks.
She smiles again. That’s really sweet of you.
I watch Patrick Thomas from over her shoulder as he pushes his finger to his nose to make it look like a pig’s snout.
I listen as Millie tells me all about changing her mom’s radio presets and pumping gas for the first time. Patrick zeroes in on me. He’s the kind of guy you hope never notices you, but there’s really no use in me trying to be invisible to him. There’s no hiding an elephant.
Millie talks for a few minutes before Patrick and his friends give up and walk off. She waves her hands around, motioning at the van behind her. I mean, they don’t teach you how to pump gas in driver’s ed and they really—
Hey,
I tell her. I’m so sorry, but I’m going to be late for work.
She nods.
But congratulations again.
I watch as she walks to her car. She adjusts all of her mirrors before reversing out of her parking space in the middle of the near-empty lot.
I park behind Harpy’s Burgers & Dogs, cut across the drive-thru, and ring the freight doorbell. When no one answers, I ring again. The Texas sun pounds down on the crown of my head.
I wait as a creepy-looking man wearing a fishing hat and a dirty undershirt rolls through the drive-thru and recites his painfully specific order down to the exact number of pickles he’d like on his burger. The voice on the speaker gives him his total. The man eyes me, tilting down his orange-tinted sunglasses, and says, Hey there, sweetcheeks.
I whirl around, holding my dress tight around my thighs and punch the doorbell four times. My stomach is squirming with discomfort.
I don’t have to wear a dress to work. There’s a pants option, too. But the elastic waist on the polyester pants wasn’t quite elastic enough to fit over my hips. I say the pants are to blame. I don’t like to think of my hips as a nuisance, but more of an asset. I mean, if this were, like, 1642, my wide birthing hips would be worth many cows or something.
The door cracks open and all I hear is Bo’s voice. I heard you the first three times.
My bones tingle. I don’t see him until he opens the door a little wider to let me in. Natural light grazes his face. New stubble peppers his chin and cheeks. A sign of freedom. Bo’s school—his fancy Catholic school with its strict dress code—let out earlier this week.
The car behind me at the drive-thru backfires, and I rush inside. My eyes take a second to adjust to the dim light. Sorry I’m late, Bo,
I say. Bo. The syllable bounces around in my chest and I like it. I like the finality of a name so short. It’s the type of name that says, Yes, I’m sure.
A heat burns inside of me as it rises all the way up through my cheeks. I run my fingers along the line of my jaw as my feet sink into the concrete like quicksand.
The Truth: I’ve had this hideous crush on Bo since the first time we met. His unstyled brown hair swirls into a perfect mess at the top of his head. And he looks ridiculous in his red and white uniform. Like a bear in a tutu. Polyester sleeves strain over his arms, and I think maybe his biceps and my hips have a lot in common. Except the ability to bench-press. A thin silver chain peeks out from the collar of his undershirt and his lips are red with artificial dye, thanks to his endless supply of red suckers.
He stretches an arm out toward me, like he might hug me.
I drag in a deep breath.
And then exhale as he stretches past me to flip the lock on the delivery door. Ron’s out sick, so it’s just me, you, Marcus, and Lydia. I guess she got stuck working a double today, so ya know, heads up.
Thanks. School’s out for you, I guess?
Yep. No more classes,
he says.
I like that you say classes and not school. It’s like you’re in college and only go to class a couple times a day in between sleeping on couches or
—I catch myself—I’m gonna go put my stuff up.
He presses his lips together, holding them in an almost smile. Sure.
I split off into the break room and stuff my purse in my locker.
It’s not like I’ve ever been extra eloquent or anything, but what comes out of my mouth in front of Bo Larson doesn’t even qualify as verbal diarrhea. It’s more like the verbal runs, which is gross.
The first time we met, when he was still a new hire, I held my hand out and introduced myself. Willowdean,
I said. Cashier, Dolly Parton enthusiast, and resident fat girl.
I waited for his response, but he said nothing. I mean, I am other things, too. But—
Bo.
His voice was dry, but his lips curled into a smile. My name’s Bo.
He took my hand and a flash of memories I’d never made jolted through my head. Us holding hands in a movie. Or walking down the street. Or in a car.
Then he let go.
That night when I replayed our introductions over and over in my head, I realized that he didn’t flinch when I called myself fat.
And I liked that.
The word fat makes people uncomfortable. But when you see me, the first thing you notice is my body. And my body is fat. It’s like how I notice some girls have big boobs or shiny hair or knobby knees. Those things are okay to say. But the word fat, the one that best describes me, makes lips frown and cheeks lose their color.
But that’s me. I’m fat. It’s not a cuss word. It’s not an insult. At least it’s not when I say it. So I always figure why not get it out of the way?
TWO
I’m scrubbing down the counter as two guys and a girl walk in. Work is so slow that I’ve damn near wiped the enamel off. What can I get y’all?
I ask, without looking up.
Bo! Starting point guard for the Holy Cross Bulldogs!
yells the guy on the right in an announcer’s voice with his hands cupped around his mouth.
When Bo doesn’t immediately appear, both boys bark his first name over and over again. Bo! Bo! Bo!
The girl situated between them rolls her eyes.
Bo!
yells Marcus. Get out here so your friends will shut up.
Bo rounds the corner as he stuffs his visor into the back pocket of his pants. He crosses his arms over his puffed-out chest. Hey, Collin.
He nods to the girl. Amber. Rory.
He leans back against the counter behind us, widening the space between him and his friends. What’re y’all doing on this side of town?
Field trip,
says Collin.
Bo clears his throat, but says nothing. The tension between them vibrates.
The other guy, Rory, I think, studies the menu on the counter. Hey,
he says to me. Could I get two dogs? Mustard and relish only.
Uh, yeah.
I punch his order into the computer as I try not to let my eyes wander.
Been a long time,
says Amber.
How is that even possible? There are maybe thirty people in each graduating class at Holy Cross.
Collin drapes his arm over Amber’s shoulder. Been missin’ you at the gym. Where you been lately?
Around,
says Bo.
Do you want a drink with that?
I ask.
Yeah,
says Rory, and holds a fifty-dollar bill in front of my face.
I can’t break anything bigger than a twenty.
I point to the small handwritten sign taped to the front of my register.
Bo,
says Collin, all I’ve got on me is plastic. You think you could do Rory a solid and make some change?
For a moment, there’s this dead silence that sinks. I don’t have my wallet on me.
Collin smirks.
Amber, the Amazing Eye-Rolling Girl, reaches into her pocket and drops a ten on the counter.
I make change and tell Rory, Your order will be out soon.
Collin tilts his head toward me. What’s your name?
I open my mouth to answer, but—
Willowdean. Her name’s Willowdean,
says Bo. I gotta get back to work.
Bo heads for the kitchen and doesn’t bother turning around as his friends call for him to come back.
I like the facial hair,
says Amber. It suits you.
But he’s already gone.
She stares me down, and all I can do is shrug.
At home, I walk around to the back and let myself in through the sliding glass door. The front door’s been jammed for years. Mom always says we need a man to come over and fix it, but my aunt Lucy always said it was the perfect excuse to not have to answer the front door. And I tended to agree with her.
My mom is sitting at the kitchen table, still in her scrubs and with her blond hair piled high on top of her head, watching the news on her portable TV. For as long as I can remember, she’s always watched her shows in here because Lucy was almost always on the couch in the living room. But it’s been six months now since Lucy’s funeral, and she’s still watching her shows in the kitchen on her portable television.
Mom’s shaking her head at the news anchors when she says, Hey, Dumplin’. Dinner’s in the fridge.
I drop my purse on the table and grab the plastic-wrapped plate. The last few days of school mark the start of pageant prep season, which means my mom is on a diet. And when my mom is on a diet, so is everyone else. Which means dinner is grilled chicken salad.
It could be worse. It has been worse.
She clicks her tongue. You’ve got a little breakout there on your forehead. You’re not eatin’ that greasy food you’re selling, are you?
You know I don’t even like burgers and hot dogs that much.
I don’t sigh. I want to, but my mom will hear. It doesn’t matter how loud the TV is. It could be two years from now and I could be away at college in some other town, hundreds of miles away, and my mom would hear me sigh all the way from home and call me to say, Now, Dumplin’, you know I hate when you sigh. There is nothing less attractive than a discontent young woman.
There are, I think, lots of things wrong with that sentiment.
I sit down to eat and liberally spread salad dressing across my plate, because on the eighth day God created ranch dressing.
My mom crosses her legs and points her toes, examining her chipped pedicure. How was work?
It was fine. There was some old guy catcallin’ from the drive-thru. Called me sweetcheeks.
Awww,
she says. Well, that’s kind of flattering if you think about it.
Mama, come on. No, that’s gross.
She flips the dial on her TV, turning it off. Baby, trust me when I say that the man market narrows as you age. No matter how well maintained you are.
This is not a conversation I want to have. Ron was out sick.
Bless his heart.
She laughs. You know he had the biggest crush on me in high school.
At least once a week since I took the job, she brings this up. When I first applied during Thanksgiving break, Lucy told me she always suspected that it had been the other way around. But the way my mom tells it, every guy in town had a thing for her. Everyone wanted a piece of Clover City’s Miss Teen Blue Bonnet,
she slurred one night after a few glasses of wine.
The pageant is my mother’s single greatest accomplishment. She still fits into her dress—a fact she won’t let anyone forget, which is why as head of the pageant committee and the official hostess, she takes it upon herself to squeeze into the dress as a yearly encore for all of her adoring fans.
I feel the weight of Lucy’s cat, Riot, settle in on top of my feet. I tap my toes and he purrs. I saw a bunch of girls doing some kind of pageant boot camp after school.
She grins. I tell you what. The competition gets stiffer every year.
What about you? How was the home?
Oh, you know, just one of those days.
She flips through her checkbook and massages her temples. We lost Eunice today.
Oh no,
I say. I’m so sorry, Mom.
Once a year, like Cinderella, my mom’s life is glamorous. It’s the life she expected to live. But for the rest of the year, she works as an orderly at the Buena Vista Ranch Retirement Home, where she does exotic things like dole out daily prescriptions, feed the elderly, and wipe their asses. Eunice was one of my mom’s favorites. She always confused her for one of her sisters and whispered childhood secrets in her ear every time my mom bent down to help her up.
She had her after-lunch ambrosia and closed her eyes.
She shakes her head. I let her sit there for a minute because I thought she was napping.
She stands and kisses the top of my head. I’m going to bed, Dumplin’.
Night.
I wait for the sound of her door clicking shut before I bury my dinner in the trash can beneath one of those free newspapers. I grab a fistful of pretzels and a soda before running upstairs. As I pass Lucy’s closed door, I linger for a moment, letting the tips of my fingers brush the knob.
THREE
I think I want to have sex with Tim this summer,
says Ellen as she plucks a cube of cheese from her lunch spread and pops it into her mouth. El has been considering
having sex with Tim every Friday for the last year. Seriously, before the start of every weekend we debate the pros and cons of Ellen and Tim finally doing it.
That’s weird.
I don’t look up from my notes. I’m not a bad friend. But we’ve had this conversation so many times. Plus, it’s the last day of school and I have one final left. I’m trying to cram and El is not because she’s done with all of her finals.
With her mouth full of candied pecans, she asks, Why is it weird?
Quiz me on this.
I pop a few grapes in my mouth and hold out a study sheet dissecting the branches of the government. Because it’s not like a wedding. It’s not like, ‘Ohh, I like summer colors. I’m gonna do it over the summer so that I can properly coordinate my lingerie with my most preferred season.’ You should do it because you want to.
She rolls her eyes. "But summer’s like a time of transition. I could come back to school a woman," she says, sparing no dramatics.
I roll my eyes back at her. I hate talking to talk. If El was actually going to go through with it, I’d have crawled over the table to have a nose-to-nose conversation with her about every detail. But she never goes through with it. I don’t get how she can talk about the possibility of sex so much.
When she sees that I haven’t taken the bait, she glances down at the paper. The three branches of government.
Executive, legislative, and judicial.
I decide to give her a crumb. Plus, having sex doesn’t make you a woman. That is so freaking cliché. If you want to have sex, have sex, but don’t make it this huge thing that carries all this weight. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Her shoulders sink and her eyebrows pinch together. How many senators and representatives serve in Congress?
Four hundred and thirty-five and one hundred.
No, but yes. You got it backward.
Okay.
I repeat the numbers under my breath. And it doesn’t matter what time of year it is as long as it feels right. Right? I mean, winter is cool, too, because you’re all like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so cold. Body heat.’
She laughs. Yeah, yeah. You’re right.
I don’t want to be right. I don’t want El to have sex before me. Maybe it’s selfish, but I don’t really know how to handle her doing something I haven’t. I guess I’m scared I won’t know how to be her friend. I mean, sex is serious business, and how can I navigate her to places I’ve never been?
I want to tell her that she should wait. But she and Tim have been dating for almost a year and a half and she still blushes every time she talks about him. I don’t know how to measure love, but that seems like a good place to start. And I don’t know that I’d be asking her to wait for any other reason than me.
As I look over my review, Millie walks down our aisle of tables with a trayful of food and her best friend, Amanda Lumbard, not far behind. Millie and Amanda together are basically one giant moving target that says MAKE FUN OF US.
Amanda’s legs are uneven, so she wears these thick corrective shoes that make her look like Frankenstein. (At least according to Patrick Thomas.) When we were kids and she didn’t have her shoes yet, Amanda just limped around, her hips swiveling up and down with each step. She never seemed bothered, but that didn’t stop people from staring. The nickname thing is pretty lame if you think about it. Frankenstein was the doctor, not the monster.
Millie waves, and I quickly lift my hand as she walks past us.
El smirks. New friend?
I shrug. I feel bad for her sometimes.
She seems happy to me.
El asks me a few more study questions as we finish our lunch. What system is in place so that no part of the government becomes too powerful?
Checks and balances.
So, hey, how was work last night? How’s Private School Boy?
I twist the loose wire from the spine of my notebook around my finger. It was good.
I glance down at my cafeteria lunch. He’s good.
I want to tell her about his shitty friends and his new facial hair, but I’m not sure how to bring it up without sounding like I’m a total nut who saves his nail clippings in a jar underneath my bed. Last night I had to recount my register three times because he kept walking by.
I like Sweet 16 and all, but I’m kinda jealous that you work with guys, too.
She drops her half-eaten carrot into her plastic bag and seals the zipper. I still can’t believe we’re not working together.
El would never let me forget that I’d ruined our after-school job plans by taking the position at Harpy’s. But if she didn’t intuitively get that I didn’t really want to work at a store where I couldn’t even fit into the clothes, then I didn’t want to bother explaining it to her. Why do you care about working with other guys? You’re the one who just told me you wanted to do it with Tim.
She shrugs me off. It’d be fun is all.
We finish lunch, and I take my government final. And that’s it. Tenth grade is over. The parking lot is all primal cheers and tires screeching. But I don’t