Book: Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

★★★★/★★★★★  

Every story is about your typical girl-meets-boy or the other way around. This one is no different but then I think Willowdean is not your typical girl and honestly, Bo is not your typical guy either. So I guess it's not really your typical story.

I love this one because it tells us that a girl doesn't really need to join a pageant to be her own beauty queen. That sometimes we just have to trust ourselves, wear a dress (or a smile) and walk like we don't care to have our own crown (even if it's invisible). It tells us that we don't need other people to judge us first to become confident in ourselves. I know it's easier said than done given all the eyes and opinions and whatever shit around us but trust me, the only way to really be yourself is to embrace it. Your body is a part of you, it is you, but it's not everything. So they can judge a person base on his/her body size but it's up to that person to prove them wrong.

Another thing I loved about the book were the characters. Of course I loved Willowdean because she was the kind of bestfriend I wanted to have. I know it sucks when you can't talk to your bestfriend and then you have a cabinet full of stories to tell her. Argh! So it frustrated me when Ellen wasn't talking to Will when Will had so many things to share to her. Her attitude was kind of an inspiration too. She was not ashamed of her body but it didn't mean that it didn't make her conscious sometimes. But then she can't do anything about it, even if she tried, so she just tried to ignore what other people say. Lee and Dale were also my favorites. They were those people in your life you instantly love because you feel like they understand you. It was so kind of them to help Will and her friends when they needed one. I also wanted to like Will's mother but I think Lucy was better. Anyway, let's go to Bo. He was the perfect boyfriend. Okay, Almost-Boyfriend? Fine! Bo-the-perfect-almost-boyfriend! At first I was skeptical about him but then I thought what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-a-cute-guy-liking-a-fat-girl? It's not like Willowdean was rude or a bully or a murderer for him not to like her. What I think now is that Willowdean deserved him. Then there was Mitch. Gosh, Willowdean was so lucky to have Mitch and Bo! Tsk. I think Mitch was okay too but it wasn't cool for him to just leave Will after everything. But then I guess that's how it works with guys. When a girl tells them that they can only be friends then they will just disappear like nothing happened. Too bad I really liked him. Other characters like Millie, Amanda and Hannah were the kind of friends who understand you because they can feel what you feel. Maybe in different extent or ways but they were the ones who wanted to prove everyone that they can be more than what their flaws were. I don't really know how to describe Ellen but I think she was a 50-50. I liked that she was Will's bestfriend but I didn't like that she ignored her for two months. *frowns* And Callie? Well, I didn't like her at all. 

“I guess sometimes the perfection we perceive in others is made up of a whole bunch of tiny imperfections, because some days the damn dress just won't zip.”

October Reading List #2

Tonight The Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales

 Recklessly loyal.
That’s how seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley has always thought of herself. Caring for her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But lately she’s grown resentful of everyone—including her needy best friend and her absent mom—taking her loyalty for granted.

Then Arden stumbles upon a website called Tonight the Streets Are Ours, the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter, who gives voice to feelings that Arden has never known how to express. He seems to get her in a way that no one else does, and he hasn’t even met her.

Until Arden sets out on a road trip to find him.

During one crazy night out in New York City filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn’t exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn’t exactly who she thought she was, either.

(Goodreads)

The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward

In this heartrending and poignant novel, award-winning author Amanda Eyre Ward tells the story of Alice Conroe, a forty year old Texas barbecue owner who has the perfect life, except she and her husband long for a child. Unable to conceive, she’s trying desperately to adopt but her destiny is quickly altered by a young woman she’s never met.

Fearless thirteen-year-old Carla Trujilio is being raised by her grandmother in Honduras along with her four year old twin brothers. Her mother is sending money home from Texas where she’s trying to make a better life for her family, but she only has enough to bring one son to her. When Carla’s grandmother dies, Carla decides to take her fate into her own hands and embarks on a dangerous journey across the border with Junior, the twin left behind.

Two powerful journeys intersecting at a pivotal moment in time: Alice and Carla’s lives will be forever and profoundly changed. Heartbreaking, emotional, and arresting, this novel is about finding the courage to trail blaze your own path in life with faith, hope and love, no matter the struggle or the tragedy.

(Goodreads)

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

(Goodreads)

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

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.

(Goodreads)

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler 

 Kate Weston can piece together most of the bash at John Doone’s house: shots with Stacey Stallard, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early—the feeling that maybe he’s becoming more than just the guy she’s known since they were kids.

But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills’s shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn’t have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate’s classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can’t be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same question: Where was Ben when a terrible crime was committed?

(Goodreads)