Dumplin' (Dumplin', #1)

by Julie Murphy

[jnikkir]

This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved...

-----------------------------

I'm a little sad to have to write this review, because so many people love and adore this book, and the character Willowdean. First off, I fully appreciate and understand why. Dumplin' has a really important message, which so many people need to hear today.

But Dumplin' and I... Well, we never really hit it off. We probably should have, but we never did.

On the surface, Will and I should have gotten along great. We have a lot of similar insecurities, so I definitely related to a lot of what she was going through. But unfortunately, I didn't really like Will that much, so I had a hard time staying in her head for the entirety of the book. Totally a personal preference thing -- if I don't like the main character or find them compelling, I'm just not going to enjoy the book.

My main issue was that I kept seeing Will being not very nice to other people, and she herself does many of the things that she calls other people out on. She also goes back and forth a lot with regards to her confidence -- which is realistic, yes... to an extent. She relayed so many important messages about positive body image and self-confidence; but she also suffered from a lack of that same self-confidence. There were moments when I deeply related to her own self-doubt, and moments when I was pumping my fists when she'd talk about things like how we should never have to feel bad about the way we look. But through it all, I felt really disconnected from her, and I never grew to love her as a character. I'm not sure exactly where that disconnect stemmed from -- if it was just from the fact that I didn't really like her, or if it had something to do with not relating to her enough, I'm not sure -- but I felt it throughout the book.

Another thing that I wasn't really expecting was how serious Dumplin' is. Don't get me wrong, the subject matter is incredibly important and these are messages that are necessary to convey in YA, but which are much too few and far between. They should be treated with the proper amount of respect and not laughed off or treated lightly. But there was a lot about the plot and relationships (with her friends, boys, her family...) that was definitely not happy (realistically so, but still). For me, there wasn't enough positivity elsewhere to balance that out. There was some silliness, and some humor, but just... not enough? Not the right kind? Obviously, again, this is an issue with personal preference and possibly a mood thing, for me.

Also, a quick note about the romance, because most contemporaries with a hint of romance in the blurb are usually assumed to focus on that romance... I think it's important to note that Dumplin' really doesn't. Will's relationships with the boys in her life are pretty complicated, and they're important to Will's overall story; but if you're looking for a book with a focus on romance, and for those threads to be tied up at the end... this isn't that book. The romance isn't the point of this story, and for good reason; but while I appreciated that, I still would've liked a little more closure there.

 
In conclusion...

Can I be totally real with you guys for a second? I honestly feel bad for not liking this book more. As I said before, Dumplin' conveys a message that is incredibly important and (unfortunately) incredibly rare -- at least in the YA I've been reading (point me in the direction of more body-positive books, please?). I wanted to love this, to be able to yell from the rooftops about how amazing it is. But... I didn't connect with it. So I can't.

I do feel like there was a lot of good stuff in this book, but none of it was pulled off in a way that hit home for me. Despite relating to the character, Will never clicked with me, and the tone was a bit heavier than I wanted/was expecting. So, as much as I wanted to love Dumplin', unfortunately, it was just okay for me.

It's definitely a book that I'd recommend picking up for yourself, though, if the blurb appeals to you. You might also want to check out some other reviews, like Cassi's and Shannon's, who both really enjoyed it. :)

--

There were books involved...