11 Books To Read After Watching Dumplin’ on Netflix

For those who haven’t read it or seen the movie yet, Willowdean, called Dumplin’ by her mother, is a self-proclaimed fat girl. Despite having a former Miss Teen Blue Bonnet mom obsessed with her diet and tradition, Willowdean mirrors the confidence of her beloved aunt Lucy. But when she starts dating hot private school jock Bo, insecurities pop up. Thankfully, she does something wild to get her swagger back: along with some unexpected partners in crime, Willowdean signs up for the Miss Blue Bonnet pageant. Throw in some Dolly Parton and drag queens and let the shenanigans begin—minus the montage in which our heroine removes her glasses, works out, or otherwise “magically” transform into someone she isn’t. (Well, montages do occur, but they’re fabulously fun, and Willowdean remains her uncompromised self.)
If you’re looking to read more books with messages of body positivity and complex mother-daughter relationships, or are just looking for more Julie Murphy, we’ve got the reading list for you.

Puddin’, by Julie Murphy
If, while watching Dumplin’, you fell for Millie Michalchuk (and who didn’t?), you need to pick up irresistible companion novel Puddin’ ASAP. Instead of going to fat camp like she has every year since she was a kid, Millie decides to spend a summer going after her dreams. No spoilers, but teaming up with Willowdean was one of the best things she could have done. She also gives people the benefit of the doubt, even when they’re mean girls like Callie Reyes. Callie is an aspiring dance team captain who has more frenemies than friends. But when the girls are forced to interact, they discover they might have more in common than they thought. This is Murphy’s love song to friendship, and it is delightful.

Side Effects May Vary, by Julie Murphy
Murphy writes complex girls who make bold choices. In her debut, Alice is a sixteen-year-old girl diagnosed with leukemia. Not expecting to live till graduation, she creates and carries out a vengeful bucket list. But when she goes into remission, she’s forced to face the consequences of her choices. You can’t take back the things you’ve said and done, but you can make amends.

Ramona Blue, by Julie Murphy
Ramona and her family live in a trailer in Elegy, Mississippi. Well over six feet tall, with bright blue hair, Ramona is devoted to her family, working multiple jobs, and the surviving as the most responsible member of her family. With her sister pregnant, Ramona has taken on even more responsibility. Then, her childhood friend Freddie returns, and they pick up right where they left off. The only time she can catch a break from her life is when they’re swimming. And the more time they spend together, the more her feelings for Freddie shift, leaving her to question her sexual identity as a lesbian. Maybe love and attraction are more fluid than Ramona realized.

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles), by Amy Spalding
For a protagonist who embodies the spirit of Willowdean, try Spalding’s latest. Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been the, albeit fashionable, sidekick in her friend’s lives—and she’s fine with that. She’s busy helping her bro-type friend Jax find the best burger in Los Angeles, while her celebrity health nut mother and her friends and sister are busy with their romantic lives. But Abby has big dreams of her plus-size style blog taking off and giving her an in to the fashion industry. That dream gets a bit closer when she starts interning at her favorite boutique. The hitch? She falls hard for the other intern, Jordi Perez, who also happens to be her direct competition for a full-time job. But when Jordi does something that puts Abby in the spotlight, Abby feels betrayed, and bereft of her control over how people see her. One thing’s for sure: she’s no longer the sidekick in her own life, and she has to search deep down to regain that control.

Leah on the Offbeat, by Becky Albertalli
Last March, the book gods gave us Love, Simon, the big screen adaption of Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The book and movie introduced us to Simon’s best friend, cynical cinnamon roll Leah Burke. And in Leah on the Offbeat, Leah takes center stage. Leah is confident about two things: drumming and her unapologetically fat body. Everything else comes with more difficulty. She can’t even show her friends her love of art, let alone tell them she’s bi. As her rock-solid group of friends starts to break apart instead of coming together for the end of senior year, Leah is faced with a super tense prom night. But one thing is for sure: if she strikes the right notes, high school will end with a bang.

The Midnights, by Sarah Nicole Smetana
For more of the way Dumplin’ tackles grief through music, try The Midnights. Susannah Hayes has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps and playing music onstage. When he unexpectedly dies, her world shatters. Her mother uproots her to a new city, where Susannah can reinvent herself into the confident singer-songwriter she always wanted to be. But can she be this new shining star when she hasn’t truly dealt with her father’s death? Can Susannah find her voice and follow her dreams?

Undead Girl Gang, by Lily Anderson
Mila Flores is a fat Latina Wiccan who can raise the dead. Rosie Dickson would probably not approve of Mila’s wardrobe, but we’d like to think she and Willowdean could hang. Especially because Mila would do anything for her best friend. After an alleged suicide pact involving her best friend leaves the teen witch grieving and unwilling to believe her BFF would really kill herself—especially as part of a pact with the two mean popular girls who died before her—Mila dusts off an ancient grimoire and gives necromancy a try. When the trio of girls rises from the dead, they can’t remember who killed them, but they’re positive it wasn’t themselves. Mila has seven days to find the real killer before her undead girl gang returns to the grave.

Odd One Out, by Nic Stone
Complicated friendship, love, and idolizing a celebrity? Yes, yes, and yes. From the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin comes Odd One Out. At its heart, it’s the story of friends discovering old friendships, first loves, and an obsession with Freddie Mercury. Courtney Cooper and Jupiter Sanchez have been next-door neighbors and best friends since they were seven years old: they’re partners in crime and each other’s other half. But lately, Cooper can’t ignore the feeling that he wants something more than friendship from Jupiter. That proves difficult when their duo becomes a trio after Rae Chin moves to town, instantly becoming friends with the pair and starting to date Cooper. One story. Three sides. No easy answers.

Done Dirt Cheap, by Sarah Nicole Lemon
Come for the girls facing down the patriarchy, stay for Lemon’s gorgeous prose. (Dumplin‘s Hannah would definitely approve.) This debut can be summarized in a single sentence from the book: “When girls stick together, they’re harder to pick off.” Two eighteen-year-olds from Virginia who are thrust together by unusual circumstances, Tourmaline and Virginia have nothing in common except the will to be themselves in a world not built for them. Picture Thelma & Louise but with motorcycles in this novel of girls against the world. Ride or die.

The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo
Winner of the National Book Award for Children’s Literature, this debut novel in verse packs a punch. Xiomara lives in Harlem, with a religious mami and a crush she can never talk about. She has so much anger, and thankfully she has a friend like Caridad who helps keep the peace, and who also supports Xiomara’s love of poetry. All of her frustrations and feelings go into her writing, and she has a lot of them. Knowing her mother would disapprove, Xiomara joins her school’s slam poetry club anyway, because she’s done being silent.

There’s Something About Sweetie, by Sandhya Menon
Here’s a title to be on the lookout for in 2019. This companion to When Dimple Met Rishi follows Rishi’s brother, Ashish, and his love story. Freshly dumped, Ashish challenges his parents to set him up. The Patels work up a contract with a nice Indian American girl from a good family, the Nairs: enter brilliant, beautiful, fat, athletic Sweetie. Both teens feel they have something to prove to their parents, but with each date, they realize there’s something growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?