Dumplin' Book Club Kit

Book Club Kit for Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy includes book club discussion guide and party menu.

A copy of the book Dumplin sits on a table.

I remember the first time my in-person book club chose a YA novel for our book of the month, I was both surprised and giddy excited.

When did adults stop reading young adult novels?? They are still some of my favorite reads of the year.

As a mom of teen girls, I find reading a good YA book helps me to remember the challenges of being a teen in a way that can be easy to forget when you’re the parent.

Reading a modern YA title is even more helpful since our kids are facing challenges we never had to deal with ourselves.

This month’s pick features an intriguing mother-daughter relationship and will be a perfect conversation starter for your next book club get together.

Peanut Blossom Book Club

This book was our official April 2019 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club.

Want to see what we’re reading today? Check out our book club book list here.

Want Free Reminders for Each Book?

This book club pick is one of the awesome books from our fifth year of book club.

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What is Dumplin’ About?

Here’s what Amazon had to say about the book:

“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 girl does.

Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.”

Get a copy of Dumplin’ here.

Dumplin’ Book Club Questions

I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.

You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!

Question 1:

Were you ever in a beauty pageant? What were your thoughts about them before starting this book?

Question 2:

Which character did you identify with the most? Why?

Question 3:

How do you feel about the attraction between Bo and Willowdean? Did you find it believable or relatable?

Question 4:

Dumplin’ is told completely through Willowdean’s point of view, how do you think her mother perceived the events of the story?

Question 5:

Why do you think Willowdean chose the song “Jolene” for her talent competition at the pageant? What song would you choose if you had to sing in the competition?

Question 6:

At the time the book was first published in 2015, it was cutting-edge to have a plus sized heroine of a YA novel. How much do you think times have changed in the media since then? Would this story still be unique if published today?

Question 7:

Have you seen the Netflix adaptation of Dumplin’? How do you feel about the casting choices, who would you have placed in the main roles if you were casting director now?