Dumplin' by Julie Murphy Reviewed by Haven Miller

 For the first week of spring break, I have indulged in the remarkable book “Dumplin’” written by Julie Murphy. This specific book I found brought insight into the insecurities of modern teenage children and the stigmas surrounding beauty pageant contestants. This story resembles the battles which young 16-year-old Willowdean (dumplin’) is accompanied with. Such as the death of her aunt,  as she was near a mother figure to dumplin’. In addition to her insecurities with her above average weight, and the differences that aroused with her best friend Ellen (as she had recently lost her virginity.) As well as the conflict between her friends, such as Bo Larson (her co-worker and partial boyfriend), Mitch (who was also her partial boyfriend), and Ellen (who was disapproved of by Willowdean.) Nevertheless, with a group of “not pageant worthy” (which counted as Millie, Hannah, and Amanda) people, she enrolled herself in a beauty pageant, even though she had to withstand the self-proclaimed criteria. Though I thought the story brought insight into the differences of people, and the prejudice that arises, I found the ending to be minimal and quite frankly bad. The ending seemed to end abruptly, in the case of Willowdean, and the author seemed to give up. As the fictional character, Millie was awarded the first runner up in the pageant,  which was unacknowledged.