Synopsis from Goodreads:

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 twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

Self-love and self-acceptance have been major struggles in my life ever since I can remember. This book talks a lot about these two and since the beginning, I've been able to relate so hard with the protagonist.

Willowdean is such an amazing character and her growth throughout the book was admirable. She's headstrong and stubborn and those are two things that I can absolutely relate to because I am those. She was very doubtful about a lot of things like I am, and when she opened herself to the possibility of things going her way, I wished I could also do that myself.


Reading this book is very timely with the current situation I'm in because the message in this one was empowering and encouraging. I felt a lot of emotions as I was reading through the story. Reading through Willowdean's perspective had me thinking about how I see myself. Having a lead character who was so sure of herself, who seems to know her strengths and weaknesses, but at the same time also has doubts and insecurities was highly relatable.

One thing's for sure though, I definitely gotta find my own Bo. xx

P.S. I found this in my drafts and decided to publish it. I read this book last year. ✌