''Dumplin is a 2015 young adult novel and the second book by the American author Julie Murphy. It was first published in hardback in the United States on September 15, 2015 through

Balzer + Bray Balzer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur J. Balzer (1895–1962), American merchant * Falk Balzer (born 1973), German athlete * Félix Balzer (1849–1929), French physician * George Balzer (1915–2006), American scree ...

. An audiobook adaptation, narrated by

Eileen Stevens Eileen Stevens is an American actress based in New York City, having done voice work for 4Kids Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video and NYAV Post. Stevens' first major role in an anime series was Belldandy in '' Ah! My Goddess''. In 2011, she wa ...

, was released through

Harper Audio HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the " Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. HarperCollins is ...

. The book focuses on Willowdean "Dumplin'" Dickson, a plus-size teenager who finds love, but also realizes that she is more insecure about herself than she initially thought.

Synopsis

Willowdean, nicknamed "Dumplin’" by her mother and called "Will" by her friends, is a plus-size teenager who has always felt comfortable with her body and herself. She doesn't care that her mother was a teen

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

or that people have poked fun at her weight. However, all of this changes when she meets Bo, a handsome teenage boy her age that has expressed interest in dating her. Suddenly, Will is full of insecurities and can't bring herself to date him out of fear of what others would think and say. In order to prove her self-worth, Will has decided to enter and win the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant. But, as the date of the pageant approaches, Will finds that it's not that easy to take part in a pageant — especially after her best friend Ellen decides to enter.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Dumplin' ''has been positive.

Commonsensemedia Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

and ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' both gave ''Dumplin favorable reviews and both praised Murphy for writing about and through the lens of a plus size teen, "who is struggling with her weight only in terms of accepting it". The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' also wrote a favorable review, noting that, "If the book's ending is a little too

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

optimistic, it's understandable — Willowdean deserves no less."

Adaptation

The movie adaptation stars Danielle Macdonald as Willowdean and

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...

as her mother, Rosie Dickson. The film was written by

Kristin Hahn Kristin Hahn (born 1969) is an American film and television producer, writer and director. Hahn is the founder and president of production company, Hahnscape Entertainment, and the co-founder of production company Echo Films, alongside Jennifer ...

and directed by

Anne Fletcher Anne Fletcher (born May 1, 1966) is an American choreographer, film director, dancer and actress. She directed the films '' Step Up'' (2006), ''27 Dresses'' (2008), '' The Proposal'' (2009), '' The Guilt Trip'' (2012), ''Hot Pursuit'' (2015), '' D ...

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.imjuliemurphy.com/dumplin, name=Book on official website
Author Julie Murphy Talks About Fat, Cake, and Her New Novel 'Dumplin''
at XO Jane 2015 American novels American novels adapted into films American young adult novels Fiction about beauty pageants Balzer + Bray books