Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Posted on 04/08/2019
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy“The students love this clever and funny novel that celebrates being comfortable in your own skin. The book shows the importance of finding yourself, learning what makes you happy, and having supportive friends around you.”
Jeanne Mochel, librarian at Soddy Daisy High School


Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy is the Hamilton book of the week nominated by Jeanne Mochel, the librarian at Soddy Daisy High School. Dumplin’ is a 2015 young adult novel about loving and accepting yourself. Willowdean, nicknamed "Dumplin’" by her mother and "Will" by her friends, is an overweight teen who has always been comfortable with her body and herself. She doesn't care that her mother was a teen pageant queen or that people have poked fun at her weight—until she meets Bo, a boy her age who wants to date her. Suddenly, Will is full of insecurities and can't bring herself to date him out of fear of what others would say. To prove her self-worth, Will decides to enter and win the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant, but as 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. Dumplin’ is now a Netflix feature film, starring Jennifer Aniston, Danielle Macdonald, and Dove Cameron, as well as a soundtrack from Dolly Parton!


Editorial Reviews

Amazon:
from Amazon Readers

From GoodReads.com:
Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom and Will by her friends) has always been at home in her own skin. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked out until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets private school Bo. 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. She sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl. Along the way, she’ll shock Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.



Hamilton Book of the Week seeks to move Hamilton County Schools closer to district goals found in the Future Ready 2023 action plan. We hope to encourage kids to read more books for fun by sharing books popular at area schools.

Goals addressed by more students reading include:
• Reading improvement will increase the number of students on-track or mastering English language arts
• Improve the district ACT score to a district average of 21
• Reach the target goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by 2023