Pumpkin audiobook

julie murphy is releasing another book in the dumplin' universe and the protagonist is a fat queer boy. god is real.

giving this a pre-release 5 stars because someone gave it 1 star for no reason whatsoever and because of that the average rating is a 1 star and we absolutely hate to see it. will delete the rating as soon as actual ratings and reviews of the book come in 💜

4.5 stars! Waylon is a fat openly gay teen living in a small town in Texas. After getting some shocking news about his sister, Waylon makes an audition video for his favorite drag tv show. Except somehow the entire school sees the video and Waylon is nominated as a joke for Prom Queen as well as his sister’s girlfriend, Hannah who is nominated for Prom King. Waylon and Hannah decide to run with it and leave high school with a bang.Julie Murphy is one of my favorite young adult writers of this time. Her books never fail to be relatable and clever with some feels mixed in too. I love that she writes characters who don’t look like Riverdale actors, they’re normal people. Murphy perpetuates the idea that not being typical doesn’t make you less worthy and I love that she’s writing books for young readers like this. I think there’s a lot of people who can relate to Waylon and what he’s going through in this book. And honestly this book had such a light and fluffy feel to it, I wanted to stay in this book even after I had finished reading.

4 starsPumpkin' is the third book in Julie Murphy's 'Dumplin' series and I enjoyed it so much! It was such a fun read. Pumpkin', also known as high school senior Waylon is nominated for Prom Queen, along with his sister's girlfriend Hannah who is up for King. These two are told they can drop out, but they decide to go along with it and campaign. I loved the journey Waylon went on while doing this. He learned so much about himself and let people in, which is something he rarely did before this. The romance was adorable, I only wish there was more of it. Julie Murphy writes amazing YA books and this world is such a fun place to be in. This was fantastic and I hope she continues with these books! Audio book source: Libby Story Rating: 4 starsNarrators: Chad Burris Narration Rating: 4 starsGenre: Contemporary YA Length: 7h 20m

Omg so good! Loved it!

Do you ever get the urge to hug a book when you finish reading it because you loved it so much? This one is such a terrific coming of age story and my favorite book in the Dumplin' book series. The main character, Waylon Brewer, aka Pumpkin, just captured my heart. Waylon is a high school senior and lives in small town in West Texas. He's overweight and openly gay and he is no stranger to getting picked on. Waylon is looking forward to moving to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, after they graduate in a few months. But then Waylon gets dumped and he also finds out his sister has other plans. Feeling pretty down, on a whim he decides to make an audition tape for a popular tv drag competition show. Somehow the whole school ends up seeing the tape and that leads to Waylon being nominated for prom queen as a joke. But rather than decline the nomination, Waylon is going to shake things up and try to win. He'll be teaming up with prom king nominee Tucker Watson for a few prom court service projects.Maybe it's because I'm old enough to be the character's mother, but I felt a sense of pride with Waylon. I loved his ability to just go out there and live his best life, on his own terms. Waylon was an inspiring character and I can't help but feel sad that this type of book wasn't around when I was growing up. No matter what your age, it's always good to be reminded that we are all worthy. This story has humor, and a lot of heart. There's some romance but to me that was more of a secondary plot. Waylon is a character worth knowing and I can't recommend this book enough. It's the third book in this YA series but can be read as a standalone novel.

yess I was stoked to get an ARC of this! I love Julie Murphy's funny, warmhearted, fat-positive books. I love that this opens with Waylon's love of a clear analogue of RuPaul's Drag Race and a clear call-out of RuPaul's ongoing fatphobia (among other issues). That show is popular with a lot of teens (LGBTQ+ and otherwise) who I think will love reading about it and relate to Waylon's feelings about it. I also love that it shows teen ambivalence toward college and acknowledges that that doesn't need to be the path for everyone. It just rang true to a lot of Big Feelings that high school seniors particularly face, but plus also cute prom romance and elder drag queens mentoring queer youth. Just an overall delightful spot of joy in my reading week!

Five big, fat, fabulous stars for the YA novel with the hero of my dreams.Julie Murphy, author of the bestseller Dumplin’ (yes, the basis of THAT Netflix film) brings us back to Clover City, Texas for one last hurrah in PUMPKIN. It’s the story of Waylon Brewer: a fat, openly gay boy who is ready to live his truth. He’s a senior in high school, and he’s ready to leave this town behind and ride away with his twin sister. But when his plans go awry, a late-night decision inspires him to instead audition for his favorite drag TV program. And when Waylon’s audition tape ends up in the wrong hands, it results in a round of mockery punctuated by a joke nomination for Prom Queen. Only, what the bullies could never see coming is that Waylon is going to run – and he’s going to run his way. Even if it irks the frontrunner for Prom King – the infuriatingly handsome Tucker Watson.Y’all. Get ready to fall head over glittery reinforced heels for Waylon, his friends, his kickass grandma, and his plans to rule the world. PUMPKIN had me cheering from my bed, holding back tears, and hollering along as we watch this resilient young man take on his high school bullies. It’s a Young Adult novel for the youth in all of us – and it’s told with Murphy’s signature wit and charm. Pumpkin can serve as a standalone story, but fans of the Dumplin’ series will be super grateful for this final installment (oh, hi, Willowdean!) And, with drag culture the most popular its ever been, even the most casual fans of RuPaul will enjoy what’s being served here.Above all else, this book reminds me of the importance of representation in literature – especially at the YA level. 30-year old me would've traded many things away for the chance to read this book at a time when he was ready to shed who he was and become who he now is. Waylon is fighting back against criticism of his queerness and his fatness, and this book expertly illustrates the struggles that those two things can have when they collide together.I absolutely goshdarn loved this one. And I really think you will too. Read books like Pumpkin. Trust me. The biggest thank you to Balzer + Bray for my advance copy!

I'm about to be petty in this damn review because I just read through some reviews and the audacity that people have It's making me angry.Someone else in the review literally said that there was too much diversity here. That there was too many queer identities and it was unrealistic. You know what? Fuck that bullshit. I am so exhausted of cis gay older men complaining about different labels and gender identity and having to confront racism and transphobia in aphobia within the queer community. Having fat diverse queer rep is not an injustice to you. Get off your freaking high horse and let someone else have the goddamn spotlight.Now that I have had a moment to bitch, we can take a moment to appreciate how glorious this book is. There is not enough fat queer rep in the world. And when I say fat I mean fat. Not someone who is straight-sized or someone who can put on some shapewear and look thin. I mean someone who is fat and will always look fat no matter what they're wearing. While we are getting more fat girl rep, fat gay boy rep is less common but deserves just as much attention. Fat queer people are beautiful and wonderful and I love them all. We are magnificent. Being fat and queer is an intersection of identities that is entirely unique. I think it was handled super well in this book and I loved Waylon so much.I also really appreciated that this is the first book in this series where the title is not based on a derogatory term. Both Dumplin and Puddin were terms that were given to the MC's that they didn't really like. Will eventually kind of embraces Dumplin but it is used as a derogatory term towards her at points in that book. As for Puddin, Millie is giving the name at fat camp of all places and that's just a lot to expect from someone. But finally in Pumpkin, we get a term that is an endearment that the MC actually likes and enjoys and embraces. Waylon is not offended by the term Pumpkin and he embraces it for his drag persona. The term Pumpkin was given to him by his grandma which is adorable and is mostly because of his hair. I didn't have anything to do with body size or food or anything fat phobic.As much as I loved Waylon, I also loved Clementine and was so thrilled to see Hannah get a little bit more of the spotlight and a character arc versus just being a secondary POC lesbian character. This is my favorite of the series probably for the reason that it's so much more than just a romantic subplot. This book is about relationships and love but a variety of those things. It's about sibling and parental relationships, about both platonic and self-love in addition to romantic love. It's about embracing who you are in the body that you have and knowing that you deserve to take up space. But also didn't hurt that we finally see Patrick get his ass handed to him in this book. We do not stan a bully and he deserves so much worse for all of the habit that he reached throughout these books.Anyway, it was super precious seeing Waylon try and experiment drag for the first time and especially his little impromptu drag lesson from a fellow drag queen. I thought that the way that prom was handled in this was engaging without being over the top and we'd love to see queer kids challenging stupid heteronormative gender binary expectations of high school prom.I do wish there was a little bit more development between Waylon and Tucker, but they have their own little moments and I liked that it was not the main premise of this book. The romance was a side plot.Truthfully I am super tired and have reached a point where I am just talking into my phone hoping that my voice to text picks up everything and all of my rambling about these last couple books I read. I probably should apologize for how long and messy these reviews are, but I'm not going to because this is what my brain is like. Deal with it. Maybe one day I will make detailed structured reviews, but today is not that day.Rep: fat gay white MC, white lesbian secondary, afro-dominican lesbian secondary, secondary fat characters, secondary queer characters

WAYLON BREWER NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS - HE IS THE CINNAMONEST OF CINNAMON ROLLS

I have a big fondness for Dumplin', mostly because of the Netflix movie though I also remember really liking the book. I don't really remember much of the companion book Puddin', but I also remember liking that. This book fits right in, it was a fun feel-good story with a good message. I really liked Waylon as the main character. I liked the side characters too and enjoyed it whenever characters from the previous books showed up.The story was sweet and optimistic. I enjoyed it a lot. I really think these are good books for teens to read, as Julie Murphy tells important stories in a fun way.

This is the third book set in this universe and so far I’ve loved them all. This one was a little bit of a slower start for me, but it made up for that in the second half when I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I love this optimistic fictional town of Clover city where those who are weird find more acceptance and success than hate. This volume centers around a fabulous senior named Waylon who is a fat, gay, teen with aspirations of getting into drag. When Waylon and his twin sister’s girlfriend Hannah are nominated for prom queen and king respectively he surprises everyone including himself when he accepts the challenge and truly campaigns.

even though i’ve never lived in the south, there is something about julie murphy’s clover city books that feel like home. as soon as you open the cover and read a few pages, you feel as if you already know the main characters, have known them your whole life instead of merely just having been introduced to them. and with the protagonist being a fat, gay kid who dabbles in drag? what more could a reader possibly ask for? each of the characters are bursting with life and personality. even when their desires diverge, you just want them to do what will make them happy and fulfilled. even the side characters have spark, especially because pumpkin featured cameos from some well-loved characters in the dumplin universe, including millie, willowdean (and bo!) and hannah. i also want to point out my appreciation that our lgbtq+ representation was balanced - in addition to our gay lead, we also had his sister and her lesbian relationship (!!) as well as a nonbinary character in the school’s prism club. (casually nonbinary characters are becoming a more common find in the books that i’m reading, and that sends happy thrills up my spine.) waylon and the people he interacts with also find such opportunities to learn, grow, and flourish, in a way that is natural and lasting throughout the book. how can you not leave it loving them?a main part of the plot is waylon dipping his toe into the world of drag after his favorite contestant on fairest of them all doesn’t win the crown - because, he’s guessing, she’s fat. i have heard of drag before, both in my life experiences and in books, but never through a main character who was trying it. i left this book understanding and appreciating the art form much more than i did before. i have a feeling that, no matter what waylon does with his life, he just might end up becoming the fairest of them all himself (or should i say, miss pumpkin patch will?)julie murphy’s books are always a joy. if you’re looking for a novel that will make you squeal with happiness, then i definitely recommend this one.

Third time's the charm! This book is Dumplin' #3 and is the best one of all. Our story follows Waylon, a tall, bigger boy who is red-headed. And gay. He laments that it's hard enough to be the tall fat kid, but to be gay and feminine in a small Texas town is the icing on the cake, Oh, and then there's his twin sister, Clementine. Waylon's grandma calls him Pumpkin and being a big guy with orange hair just kind of fits with that nickname. When the story opens, we see Waylon getting excited for the season finale of a reality show about drag queens, Fiercest of Them All. Adorable story, and like I said, I'm pretty sure this is the best of the three books in this series (and it's a plus that we get to see Willowdean and Millie again).