Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

Here is the summary 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.”

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*** Spoilers to Follow ***

I first heard about Dumplin’ on the Book Riot Podcast and again on the Get Booked podcast and filed it away as a possible read for a friend’s daughter. I finally got around to listening to the audiobook and I love this story. I didn’t think I really would because of the whole Texas location and Dolly Parton thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Let’s just put it out there that I like reading about overweight girls getting passed their insecurities enough to enjoy life.