Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Pages: 371
Intended Audience: Teens, Mature Tweens
Genre: Real Life
Notes for Parents: There is some coarse language and a few mature scenes.

The Inside Cover

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 things she can imagine: entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet 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.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

Rumor has it that a sequel is in the works. Also, Disney has apparently optioned the film rights.

What’s good?

A heart-felt, provocative and poignant story of an overweight girl trying to find her place in the world. Willowdean Dickson is a sassy, relatable main character whose confidence shifts when she gets some unexpected attention. While that shift is the focus of the central plot, the story is told through the complex relationships that Will must contend with—her mom, her best friend Ellen, her new friends, and her co-worker Bo. The writing is solid, with short chapters that make it easy to read.
Best Part: “…I don’t want it to be brave. I want it to be normal.” (pg. 294)

What isn’t good?

The story moves a little slow. There’s not a lot of action, and nothing happens that’s unexpected, except, perhaps, at the end. While Willowdean is a well-drawn and relatable character, she’s not always likeable, judging the appearance of other characters and sometimes lacking the compassion for others she wants for herself.
Worst part: The love triangle!

Recommendation þþþoo

I feel like this book deserves more than three checkmarks, but the slow pace and lack of action keeps it from being a four. The author clearly understands the challenges of being overweight and creates a realistic main character. This is definitely a feel-good book and I recommend it.

Murphy, Julie. Dumplin’. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2015.

Audacious by Gabrielle Prendergast

Pages: 327
Intended Audience: Mature Teens
Genre: Book in Verse / Social Issues
Notes for Parents: Contains coarse language and mature content.

The Back Cover

Wrong hair.
Wrong body.
Wrong clothes.
Wrong attitude.
Nothing is simple for Ella. Not family. Not friends. Not school. And especially not romance. Ella can’t do anything right, except draw. But even her art is wrong—and more dangerous than she could have imagined.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This novel is written in verse. There’s a sequel called Capricious.

What’s good?

This novel, written in verse, in an engaging story about a girl who tries to reinvent herself when she starts at a new school. Beautifully written, the lyrical prose wends the story around a multitude of themes, including love, religion, self-esteem, artistic expression, censorship, eating disorders, and prejudice. The verse style makes this a fast read, but it never feels rushed. Ella is a provocative main character who searches for her identity by pushing limits and challenging norms.
Best Part: The ink of night fades into pink lemonade / A line of orange slices the horizon (p.21). The writing is absolutely stunning.

What isn’t good?

Like graphic novels, the verse format doesn’t allow for a lot of depth or backstory. I’m not sure how much it matters with this story, but I did find many supporting characters bled together, especially the school friends, and many heavy topics in the background are only touched on lightly in favor of Ella’s storyline.
Worst part: The end was a bit…odd, but I suppose that leads us into book two.

Recommendation þþþþo

I can almost give this one five checkmarks. I may not agree with several of the decisions the main character makes, but her search for self is engagingly raw and dark. Her behavior is not gratuitous, but rather the cost of getting to know herself and what she’s willing to do to be genuine. Definitely recommended.  

Prendergast, Gabrielle. Audacious. Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2013.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Pages: 419
Intended Audience: Teens
Genre: Paranormal / Romance / Thriller
Notes for Parents: Has graphic violence, and some drinking, drug use, and coarse language. Also, dying and becoming a vampire is strongly romanticized.

The Back Cover

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. And once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicket, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This was an Amazon Best Teen Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and included in Kirkus Best YA Books and YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults, and was one of the YALSA Top Ten Amazing Audio Books.

What’s good?

While this tale has plenty of the traits of a classic vampire story, there are also many new and imaginative ideas of vampirism. The plot is straight forward but the mythology is complex as the main character tries to avoid giving in to the bloodlust while falling for an ancient vampire. There are several great characters, especially supporting ones. The writing is strong and expressive, the pace is fast, and the action is intense and quite bloody.
Best Part: “If you’re proposing a duel, I believe she gets to pick the weapon. I hope she picks me.”

What isn’t good?

The idea that the world would accept and glorify vampires is inconceivable to me. I understand the appeal of “a bad boy,” but romanticizing vampires—creatures who kill violently and with little conscience—to the point where the average person is dying to be one, didn’t sit well with me at all. Likewise, the romance part of the story fell flat because I couldn’t relate to the character’s attraction.
Worst part: The romance.

Recommendation þþþoo

This was definitely more “True Blood” than “Twilight,” with lots of blood and violence. This story will appeal to readers who like their vampires broody and their stories dark.

Black, Holly. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. New York: Little, Brown, & Co., 2013.