Back in 2016, the CBR hivemind recommended Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. I tore through it and adored it, and thought that Julie Murphy had the potential to be a great voice in modern, southern YA. She wrote about rural southern life so vividly, and made even the most uncomfortable topics easy to digest. Ramona Blue is her follow up novel, and I’m happy to report that it’s just as good as Dumplin’. Ramona (who has blue hair, but is called Ramona Blue because of her […]
“My sport- the special skill I’ve developed my whole life- is surviving, and that doesn’t leave much room for following Cinderella dreams…”
This one makes me a little nervous because I know there was some controversy before the book came out. It seems as though it was over a bad summary that has since been changed. Some people also took offense at how a lesbian character ends up having feelings for a boy, which is understandable. However, the book also details the journey of a character realizing that she might not be just one thing, that things can change. She doesn’t really use the term bisexual, but […]
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jo-leeene
I had a really shit week, and Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’ got me through it. Strong but vulnerable teenage girls, daring adventures, Dolly Parton, good looking boys, and really good writing took me away from most of my woes. The stinky farts after my dog got into some garbage were inescapable. Willowdean, known as Will to most, and Dumplin’ to her mother is growing up in a small town in west Texas. Will is fat. It bothers her mother, a former beauty queen who runs […]
Find out who you are and do it on purpose
3.5 stars Willowdean “Will” Dickson is a teenager in a small town in Texas, with nothing much to recommend it, except being home of the oldest beauty pageant in the state (possibly the country, I don’t remember). The Miss Teen Bluebonnet is a big deal and Will’s mother’s biggest claim to fame is that she won it when she was young, and still fits into the evening dress she wore. She now wears it every year, as she presents the pageant. Will is not skinny […]