Written by Julie Murphy, the book Dumplin’ is centered around Willowdean, a plus-sized Texas teen. Willowdean works at a local fast-food joint where she meets Bo, a cute, preppy athlete who she later learns will be transferring to her school that fall. She begins to develop a crush on Bo, and he begins to show interest in her. Instead of finding self-assurance, Willowdean begins to lose her confidence and wonders why he would like a girl like her. She is dubbed “Dumplin’” by her mom, who happens to be a former beauty queen and the director of the Miss Clover City beauty pageant, which takes over their town every year. She decides to enter her mom’s precious pageant in part to gain back her confidence, and in part protest, which eventually develops into a full bore revolution when other class outcasts beginning following in her footsteps. I found it interesting how even though Dumplin’ takes place in a high school setting in rural America, Willowdean still has an extensively different life than me. One of the most considerable differences between Willowdean and I is her struggle with maintaining a healthy weight and how that has affected her everyday life. I think everyone has at some point felt self conscious about their appearance or body, but with Willowdean, her weight seems to be a constant factor hanging in the back of her mind. Because she is much larger than most other girls her age, things as simple as going swimming or shopping are a huge struggle for her. Because she has had so much experience with teasing and bullying over her size, she has a very hard time trusting people, even if they have good intentions. Throughout the novel, Willowdean has to learn to ignore the haters and keep her self-worth high. She thinks to herself in the book, “Beautiful, he says. Fat, I think. But can’t I be both at the same time?” She can’t deny that she is overweight, but she can realize that size and appearance aren’t everything. This book made me process how destructive negative comments can really be. We never really know what’s going on in someone’s life, and it’s not okay to share our own opinions if they are going to tear someone else down. Just because someone looks or acts differently than you, it doesn’t mean that they are any less in need of support. Also, it really made me think about the importance of self-worth and how you can’t love someone until you learn to love yourself. Willowdean struggles being in a relationship, until she realizes that just because she’s bigger than most other girls, she’s still beautiful. I realized that you should never worry what others think of you, because your own opinions matter so much more than anyone else’s. Kendra B.
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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November 2022
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