It's wonderful to revisit Clover City with a new perspective. I really enjoyed watching Waylon break out of his shell and go full Waylon. I also loved the inclusion of the characters from the other books.

This is a pretty easy read, but it's fun. I found the conversations about how one speaks about being fat can affect other people to be poignant.

Also, if they chose to make this into a movie as well, I would love to see Miss Pumpkin Patch's performances. ( )

Waylon just wants to finish high school and then go to college with his twin sister far way from the straight laced Texas town that won't accept him as the cross-dressing gay boy he is. He makes a video for a TV drag show and it accidentally "on purpose" is uploaded to the school feeds and so he is nominated as Prom Queen as a joke but the less sensitive members of the school community. To make matters worse, Hannah, who is the girlfriend of Waylon's sister is nominated as Prom King. What do they do? Accept and face ridicule? Not accept and somehow let the bullies win? In the end they decide to do out with a bang!
A feel good book for those teens who feel different and want a nice story and diversity with a happy ending. ( )

Pumpkin is a novel by Julie Murphy. It’s a companion to Dumplin’ and Puddin'.

Plot:
Waylon Brewer is a gay, fat boy stuck in a small town. He is desperately waiting for High School to be over, so he and his twin sister Clementine can get out of there and he can actually start to be as flamboyant as he wants to be. Not that he is able to hide that he is gay, even if he wanted to. But there is "being femme" and then there is "being a sparkling queen", and Waylon isn't ready to be the latter in Clover City. That doesn't keep him from creating Miss Pumpkin Patch and making an audition video for his favorite drag reality TV show though. When that video gets out and is circulated in school, it leads to him being nominated for prom queen, and Clem's girlfriend Hannah is nominated for prom king. Waylon has a choice to make: turn himself down as much as he can, or finally go full Waylon, even if that means spending a lot of time with gorgeous, but infuriating prom king nominee Tucker.

Pumpkin is a wonderfully sweet, funny read that gives you just the right amount of fluff and romance, with a nice dose of life advice we can all take to heart a little more.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2022/01/03/pumpkin-julie-murphy/ ( )

“When the world isn’t selling what you’re looking to buy, you just have to take it upon yourself to cut your own pattern.”

In Julie Murphy’s PUMPKIN, a standalone contemporary YA novel set in the world of her award-winning DUMPLIN’ series, we meet Waylon Russell Brewer — a fat, openly gay boy feeling very stuck in his small West Texas town. Waylon’s plan to survive his senior year is simple: blend in, don’t make waves, and just make it to graduation. Then he’ll move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and ascend to Waylon Stage Three — the version of himself when he’s finally and proudly living his full femme truth.

But when Waylon gets dumped by his not-quite-boyfriend on the same night he discovers Clementine is rewriting all of their plans, a late-night moment of panic takes over and he creates an audition tape for his favorite TV drag show, Fiercest of Them All. The video was meant to just be for him, but when it ends up in the wrong hands and gets shared with the whole school, Waylon is mockingly nominated for prom queen alongside Clementine’s girlfriend Hannah. And just like that, Waylon’s plan to survive senior year without making any waves is totally ruined.

Waylon and Hannah decide that the only thing to do is to take the nominations seriously and run. But there’s just one more problem: Waylon is paired for prom court with the very cute Tucker Watson, who he is supposed to be holding a grudge against but is having a hard time remembering for what….

Fans of Murphy’s first two DUMPLIN’ trilogy books will delight in their return to Clover City and recognize plenty of the characters they’ve come to love (helloooo, Willowdean!), but new readers can just as easily immerse themselves in this colorful and uplifting story. PUMPKIN was truly such a joy to read, and will have you jumping out of your seat cheering for Waylon as you watch him grow into the fullest version of himself.

CW: bullying, homophobia, fatphobia, parental alcoholism ( )

This is the third book in Julie Murphy’s series featuring larger than life characters in a small town. Characters from the other two books pop up in this one, but never tear the spotlight away from our hero, Waylon.

Overweight and ginger-haired, Waylon is one of the only out and proud gay boys in his small Texas town. He’s just waiting for high school to be over so he and his twin sister can leave town for college and he can finally become the person he knows he’s meant to be.

But then he discovers his sister’s plans have changed right after he gets dumped by the guy he’s been having an elicit affair with and he starts spiralling out of control. On a whim he creates an audition video for his favourite television drag reality show, never expecting it to get into the hands of the entire student body.

But it does, and as a result, Waylon finds himself nominated as prom queen.

Rather than back away from the humiliation, Waylon and his sister’s girlfriend who has been nominated as prom king, decide to go through with it. Waylon knows he’s the biggest queen in school, so why not?

But who knew there was so much involved in becoming prom royalty? And when Waylon is paired up with the very cute and very masculine king nominee, Tucker, things might just go a little differently than planned…

This is a fun, frothy book very much like Murphy’s previous ones, Dumpling and Pudding. There are serious undertones, but for the most part, Waylon’s outrageous adventures will keep a smile on your face throughout. And how nice it is to see plus-sized characters who take charge of their lives and find their happiness without losing weight?

If you've enjoyed Murphy's other books, I can pretty much guarantee you'll enjoy this one. ( )