Author: seanderson

Not If I See You First

seandersonLeave a comment

by Eric Lindstrom

Reviewed by SA

There’s something fantastic in reading a book that opens your eyes (no pun intended). It’s something different from your everyday reading, and for me, the reason I read books in the first place. Not If I See You First is a fascinating novel, that relies more on character growth than plot to tell a story. It was a story with true depth and dimension which I was glad to have a chance to read.

Summary22701879

Everyone has secrets. Everyone is a secret.
Parker Grant is a junior in high school who loves to run, has great friends, and isn’t afraid to speak her mind–especially when it comes to how stupid some people can be around a blind person like her. The only topic to avoid is how Parker feels about the boy who broke her heart in eighth grade… who has just transferred to her school. And as long as she can keep giving herself gold stars for every day she hasn’t cried since her dad’s death three months ago, she’ll be just fine. Right?

Parker Grant has a few rules you must never break around her: Don’t help me unless I ask. Otherwise you’re just getting in my way or bothering me; Don’t be weird. Seriously, other than having my eyes closed all the time, I’m just like you only smarter; and the most important one of all, Don’t deceive me. Ever. Especially using my blindness. Especially in public. Break the rules, and you will never regain her trust.

Now Scott, the only boy to ever deceive her, is back in her life after their two high schools have merged. As if Parker’s life isn’t difficult enough to begin with, what with her family moving into her home after her father’s death, and the fact that wants to join the track team, which means she’s going to need to find a running partner. And what if she wants to start dating, too?

The great thing I love about Parker is that she’s flawed. She can be a complete a**hole sometimes, if you pardon my language. The fact she can’t see people flinch means she’s usually more direct with what she says, and never sugarcoats anything, with means she can come off as being incredibly bitchy. But she’s also smart, insightful, and cares deeply about her friends.

The weird thing about this novel was I felt like it had no real plot or direction until I reached the end. Everything revolved around her character growth,  around her realizing that just because she hears everything doesn’t mean she actually listens. And that’s key: because when she learns to actually listen to the people around her, she discovers she can be really blind about somethings, that have nothing to do with the loss of her sight.

It was cool to be int he head of a blind person for a while. To have description of all the senses except sight. To know how things feel and how people sound. What it’s like to run when you can’t see where you’re going. I was wondering why I still made a physical image in my head of how everything looked, when no description was given. Heck, Parker doesn’t know her friends skin color, what they wear, or anything else physical about them:  so why did I fill in the blanks?

What hit me was just how relatable Parker was even under the layers of harsh exterior. She’s the kind of person you don’t see often in modern YA: she’s not afraid to admit she loves her friends, she’s intense and flawed and has difficulty relating to others.She’s too quick to jump to conclusions and that gets her in trouble. She’s no special snowflake, she’s a girl like us going through high school.

This unique and hard hitting novel is something that has me still thinking about it well after the last page was turned. I want to know what happens next, and yet, I’m happy with where the author left us, the small window he’s letting us see into Parker’s life. Well worth the read.

Not If I See You First comes out today, December 1st, from Little Brown Books.

 

Thank you.

seandersonLeave a comment

Today is Thanksgiving; Tomorrow, our first anniversary.

We’ve written a hundred reviews. We’re hosting our first every giveaway. I spent more on books this year than I have in years. Thanks to this blog, I managed to meet great people, even talk to my favorite childhood author, and discover a community of amazing people who love books as much as I do.

I am thankful for you all.

Have a very happy day!

Sarah

The Casquette Girls

seandersonLeave a comment

by Alys Arden

Reviewed by SA

Having read nothing but fast books these days, I wanted a novel I could really ‘sink my teeth into’ (as my grandmother says). I didn’t know what to expect from The Casquette Girls, as I was first drawn in by the gorgeous cover rather than the blurb, but I was amazingly surprised. This novel is a simmering pot of mystery and magic in a setting that will blow you away.

25917801Summary

Seven girls tied by time.
Five powers that bind.
One curse to lock the horror away.
One attic to keep the monsters at bay.

After the storm of the century rips apart New Orleans, sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne wants nothing more than her now silent city to return to normal. But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition.

As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless . . . you’re immortal.

Adele returns to New Orleans after its quasi-total destruction by a hurricane without equal. Nothing is the same: her city looks like something out of an apocalypse film, the people are almost all gone, her best friend moved away and seems to have no plans to ever return, and strange things are happening all around her. Is it possible that she can do… things?

This novel started slow, and yet I was captured all the same. The writing is beautiful and unique: the destroyed New Orleans setting gives it all an eerie, isolated feeling, and I was blown away by its depth. It’s a place of mystery and magic, but also of growing romance, which blossoms from its destruction. That juxtaposition really worked for me.

Adele herself isn’t just kind of sticker character: she’s got a depth that I rarely see in YA novels. She loves her father, her city; she’s smart and sophisticated in many ways, but also still learning, still trying, in others. She’s always caught between two worlds, the sophisticated french side of her mother, and of her new school,  and the down to earth, honest side of her, with comes from her father, and the city where she was raised. And that side is pretty badass.

The other characters are just as interesting. Admittedly, though, at first I had a bit of trouble keeping all their names straight. There definitely are  a whole slew of possible love interest characters.

When I first saw the word Vampires, though, I groaned and almost put the book down. I am not a fan. But I am more than glad I hung in there. The story that arrises is spooky, and takes you back in time to when the city was only just beginning, to the 18th century, and to ancestors with dark secrets.

Magic, mystery, and a twist on an amazing city. What else could you possibly want from a novel? I highly recommend picking it up!

5 Tips for Finishing NaNoWriMo With a Bang

seandersonLeave a comment

I don’t know about you, but NaNoWriMo is one of my favorite events of the year, right after Halloween, of course (both literally and figuratively!). It’s an amazing opportunity, not only to put pen to paper and pour your novel from your mind, but also to meet great people, accomplish great feats, and learn some things you probably never wanted to know (it’s novel research, I’m not actually trying to hide a body…)

But for some, the energy fizzles out. You lose steam, and the finish line seems further and further away. Whether you have five thousand words to go, or thirty thousand, there’s still a way to reach that coveted 50K! Here’s some advise I wish I had my first year of NaNo.

  1. Make time. When you feel like there’s too much in your life to write right now, it’s time to carve out a little writing nook anyways. It’ll help you release some stress, and help you focus on something other than the rush of the world. Personally, I find it therapeutic, and making time for Nano is well worth it.
  2. Are you losing steam because you’ve stopped believing in your novel? Trust me, you’re probably thinking that because you’re too close! Too predictable of a plot? Of course you can predict it, you’re writing it! Are the characters feeling too cliché? It’s possible it’s because you know them too well. Don’t stop because you don’t think your novel is worth it: get it out there, and worry about that stuff later.
  3. Are you worrying about writer’s butt? Here’s a fun solution: ODS (obligatory dance songs!). Pick ten songs that make you want to dance, and put them in your writing mix. The second one comes on, you have to drop everything and dance your heart out. Not only will you have a good workout, and time away from the screen, but the blood flowing will help you have fresher ideas.
  4.  Are you stuck trying to get a character from one story point to another? Then, skip it, and worry about that in December. Right now, you want to get your story out. Don’t get held back by the small things.
  5. Do you have serious writer’s block? Then take a walk. Drink some tea. Talk to some friends. Play with the family pet. Do something to get you out of that ‘writer’ hat… BUT you have to promise to yourself that you’re coming back. Assign a time. When you get back, write what comes to you first. Try the prompts on the NaNoWriMo twitter.

You can do it! So long as you make sure to try, then you can reach that 50K. Even if half of it isn’t perfect, who cares? It’s the first draft. Editing comes next, and that will give you so much more to do anyways!

You can do it!

You can reach that 50K!

Write!

 

Django/Zorro

seandersonLeave a comment

By Quentin Tarantino and Matt Wegner
Reviewed by SA

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a graphic novel, so I thought it should be time to share a good one with you all. Especially those of you who are fans of Tarantino’s Django, a brilliant, violent movie set in the deep south in the 1860s. Because, if you ever wanted to know what happens next,  now you can; presenting Django/Zorro, the official sequel to the story.

Summary25717121

Oscar Award-winning writer/director and Django creator Quentin Tarantino teams with Eisner Award-winning comic book creator Matt Wagner to write the official Django Unchained sequel, uniting the gun-blazing Western hero with the legendary swordsman of literature, film, and comics: Zorro! Set several years after the events of Django Unchained, Django again pursues evil men in his role as a bounty hunter. Taking to the roads of the American Southwest, he encounters the aged and sophisticated Diego de la Vega by sheer chance. Django is fascinated by this unusual character, the first wealthy white man he’s met who seems totally unconcerned with the color of his skin… and who can hold his own in a fight. Django hires on as Diego’s bodyguard, and is soon drawn into a fight to free the local indigenous people from brutal servitude. Learning much from the older man (as he did from King Schultz), he discovers that slavery isn’t exclusive to his people, as he even dons the mask of Zorro in their mission of mercy!

The plot takes place in the south, where Django is still hunting bounties, but a chance meeting with Diego de la Vega, an old man with many secrets, will take them all the way to Arizona, which is not part of the United States yet. There, the Archduke of Arizona is attempting to build the first railroad across the state, but the construction comes with a terrible cost: he’s enslaving the local people and working them literally to death. His abuse towards the people does not go unnoticed, and Diego, alias Zorro, must step in to prove that the Archduke is a fraud, and free the people he is destroying. But he’s going to need help, and Django seems like the perfect man for the job.

This graphic novel was fun and fast to read. It was a fantastic sequel to the film, and a crossover I never knew I wanted, but was so glad had happened. Who knew it could go so well? Not knowing the character of Zorro very well, or that of Diego de la Vega, I was pleasantly surprised to find such a bold and strong person, a perfect partner for Django.

The one thing I found a little off was the pacing – there was a lot of exposition in the beginning, which gave a very compelling story, there’s no denying that, but the ending flew a little too quickly in comparison. It happened way too fast. This story renders fantastically in graphic novel form, but for those of you wanting another movie, you may have to wait a little bit, because I don’t think it will render very well on the big screen.

All in all, though, I absolutely loved the fact that we finally know what happens next to our friend Django. And Hildy too! She gets a mention, though no ‘screen time’. I was not familiar with Wagner’s work bringing Zorro back to life, but I am curious now, and would love to read his new comics. Diego de la Vega is a pretty badass character, defying all appearances. As I said before, he makes a great partner for Django, though it can be argued that Django makes a good partner for Diego.

Bonus content: like most comic compilations, there’s a bit of bonus content in the end, a good 40 pages of it. This wouldn’t be a complete review if I didn’t tell you a little bit about it! We have the script for the graphic novel, written by Wagner and Tarantino, as well are some very cool concept art/alternative covers. The artwork is gorgeous, though admittedly, having just read the comic, I found the script a little redundant. However, for anyone wanting to imagine the comic as a movie, the script is a definite help.

Definitely a violent comic, just like Tarantino’s film: not for those who would like a peaceful read. It was a fun, fast thrill ride with excitement around every corner. If you’re a fan of Django, you definitely don’t want to miss it.

The official pub date is the 24th of November, by Dynamite comics. Happy reading!

Now I’m just going to try and get the Django theme song out of my head.

Only 2 Weeks Left on the Giveaway!

seandersonLeave a comment

Hiya readers,

In case you didn’t know, We’re hosting a giveaway to celebrate our one year anniversary. But it closes on November 27th, so you’ve only got two weeks left to enter!

Here is our original post detailing the giveaway. Basically, to gain more entries, we’re asking you to recommend books to us: either here, or on our tumblr, here.

The greatest news is that we have TWO giveaways running, so we can have people in the US and across the world winning bookish prizes. Yay!

So many links! Check out this post to get the word spreading about our little giveaway. We’re still a relatively small blog so we’d love to get our readers involved.

Our ask box is always open. Feel free to stop by and chat!

Love, Sarah

The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever

seandersonLeave a comment

By Jeff Strand

Reviewed by SA

Halloween may have come and gone, but it’s never not time to be talking about Zombies. Though, as the author will warn you before you start reading, this isn’t exactly a book about Zombies: it’s a book about a zombie movie, and the making of one of the worst movies of the genre. And it’s incredibly fun.

Summary

After producing three horror films that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it’s time to make something epic. In fact, they’re going to make The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz as the lead.

Hemmed in by a one-month timeline and a cast of uncooperative extras, but aching to fulfill Alicia’s dreams, Justin must face the sad, sad truth: he may, in actuality, be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever.

This may be The Greatest – book about the worst attempt to make a – Zombie Movie Ever. Anything that could go wrong does go wrong in this wholly hilarious book. From odd pastel clowns to shady grandmothers, along with a hoard of zombie problems, Justin’s plan to make the greatest zombie movie ever – not just a good movie, the greatest movie – seems like an uphill battle, an impossible feat. It’s enough to give up home, but he is determined to make it all work, no matter what obstacles come in his way.  Which means he’s in for the worst weeks of his life.

While the characters read a little younger than fifteen year olds, and some plot points were a little predictable, this novel still managed to make me laugh out loud and hold on for more. It was a fast read, and I devoured it in a mere two hours, but it was a fantastic two hours that were very well spent, and in good company, too.

Because for all their faults, these characters are so darn lovable. Justin with his dogged determination to get this movie done. Alicia’s wavering emotions about her hair. Spork’s obsession with filming every behind the scene detail. Weird Uncle Clyde’s problems with money, and vaping. Bobby and Gabe, the kind of friends you want by your side when the zombie apocalypse comes knocking, even if it is an apocalypse you put together yourself in an attempt to create a fantastic movie. And I’m still quite worried about Justin’s Grandma.

It hit me right in the nostalgia-gut: I was obsessed with film making when I was fifteen, and thought I could do anything on a budget of twenty bucks, so long as I had good friends and a reliable camera. Though I never faced the kinds of problems that Justin had to deal with! There was a moment – and I’m going to remain vague, so I won’t spoil anything here – when he has to face the absolute worst nightmare an amateur director can face, and it made me actually cringe in my seat. I related way too much with this character, and not only felt for him, but was really rooting for him to succeed.

While the ending is a little predictable, it’s the fun finish this novel deserves. I came out of this read feeling excited and content, wishing that this could get made into a movie itself. A fantastic, hilarious novel well worth the read.

Release Date: March 1, 2016 by SourceBooks Fire 

Pre-Order The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:

Amazon

Apple

Barnes & Noble

About Jeff Strand:

Jeff Strand has written more than twenty books, and is a four-time nominee (and four-time non-winner) of the Bram Stoker Award. Two of his young adult novels, A Bad Day For Voodoo and I Have A Bad Feeling About This, were Junior Library Guild picks. Publishers Weekly called his work “wickedly funny.” He lives in Tampa, Florida.

Website

@JeffStrand

Excerpt from The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:

The vampire, whose fangs were too big for his mouth, turned to the camera and hissed.

“Don’t look at the camera,” said Justin Hollow, the director.

“I keep poking my lip on these things,” said Harold, spitting the plastic fangs out onto the ground. He hadn’t been a very frightening example of the undead before, and he was even less scary with no fangs and a thick line of drool running down his chin.

“Cut!” shouted Justin, loud enough to be sure that the command was heard by his production crew of two. “C’mon, Harold. Stay in character. We’re three hours behind schedule.”

“I don’t care. I hate this. You promised that I’d get all the girls I wanted. So where are all of the girls I want?”

Justin let out his thirty-ninth exasperated sigh of the night. “The movie has to come out first.”

“It’s not even a real movie.”

Justin bristled. It was a full body bristle, head to toe, which he hadn’t even realized was physically possible. Bobby, who handled sound recording, and Gabe, who handled everything else, both stepped back a couple of feet. Neither of them truly believed that they were about to witness a murder, but they wanted to get out of the splash zone, just in case.

Had this been one of Justin’s movies, he would have very slowly lowered his camera, stared directly into Harold’s eyes with a steel gaze, and then after an extremely dramatic pause asked “What…did…you…just…say?”

His actual response, delivered in a squeakier voice than he would have allowed from his actors, was: “Huh?”

“I said it’s not a real movie.” Harold started to wipe the fake blood off his mouth. It didn’t come off, and probably wouldn’t for several days. Justin had planned to feel guilty about this later, but now he wouldn’t bother. “Nobody’s ever going to see it. You probably won’t even finish it.”

“I finished my last three movies!” Justin insisted. “I got hundreds of hits on YouTube!”

That statement was technically accurate, though it was the lowest possible number of hits you could get and still use “hundred” in its plural form. The only comment anybody posted about his latest film had been “This twelve year-old filmmaker sort of shows promise,” which really frustrated Justin since he was fifteen.

Harold shrugged. “This is a waste of time. I’ve got better things to do on a Friday night.”

“Nobody ever said this was going to be easy,” said Justin, who had indeed said that it was going to be easy when luring Harold into the role. “You can quit now, but what are you going to think about your decision ten years from now?”

“I’m going to think, wow, it sure is nice to be such a well-paid dentist.”

Harold walked off the set. It wasn’t an actual set, but rather a small park near Justin’s home, where they were filming without a permit. Justin knew he should shout something after his ex-actor. Something vicious. Something devastating. He thought about shouting “You’ll never work in this town again!” but, no, it had to be something that Harold would consider a bad thing.

“Fine!” Justin shouted. “But when we record the audio commentary track for the Blu-Ray, I’m going to talk about how you abandoned us, and how much happier everybody was with the new actor who took your role, and how we all agreed that he should have been cast in the first place, and how he had so many girlfriends that he couldn’t even keep track of them, and how they all found out about each other and had a great big awesome catfight in his front yard! And I’ll pronounce your name wrong!”

Harold continued walking, apparently not heartbroken.

Enter to Win an Advance Copy of The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7228/

Grave Beginnings

seanderson2 Comments

By R.R. Virdi

Reviewed by SA

This week has been crazy! I’ve had my wisdom teeth out, which has made me less productive, which is weird because I thought it would give me more time to read. Thankfully, though, I have JUST the book to recommend to you all: the first book I ever reviewed, or at least, seriously reviewed; a fantastic, self published novel which deserves the spotlight. I’m talking, of course, about the amazing first novel of R.R. Virdi, “Grave Beginnings,” a unique urban fantasy story which grips you and won’t let you go.

Summary

Thirteen…
As far as numbers go, it isn’t a great one. Hell, it’s not even a good one and Vincent Graves is going to find out just how unlucky of a number it can be.
Because someone, or something, is killing people in the Empire state, and whatever it is, it gives people everything they ever desired and more. And it’s the more that’s the problem!
Well…it’s one of the problems.
Vincent’s investigation also seems to have drawn the attention of a relentless FBI agent and then there’s the little bit where he has only thirteen hours to solve the case, or he dies.
Talk about your literal deadlines…
…No pressure.
By the end of this case Vincent will come to understand the meaning of an age old proverb: Be careful what you wish for – because you just might get it!

Full disclosure, I love supernatural detective novels, but I have a hard time finding ones that are actually intelligent books. A lot pander to the reader, and have no true essence, no meat. They start to blend together, becoming boring, repetitive, copies of one another.

Not so for Grave Beginnings. Right from the the beginning, the reader is dragged into the story and clings on tight for the thrill ride. It’s almost impossible to put down – as a matter of fact, I read almost the entire book in one sitting. it’s addicting, catchy, and it’s one of those books you want to shove into your friends hands as soon as you can.

The story centers around a soul who wakes up in the body of a dead man. This soul, Vincent Graves, is somehow caught between this world and the next, and to move on, must solve supernatural murders by inhabiting the recently deceased. The man he is now walking around as – Norman – recently came about an extreme bout of luck, which left him looking younger, thinner, and with a lot more money in his pocket. But it didn’t last long, because something put him in the ground quite soon after. Our hero has thirteen hours to solve his murder, before he must move on again.

Virdi masterfully plays with the myths of the supernatural, introducing us to a whole new host of characters, drawn from the most unlikely of folklore. It’s always great to see a fresh take on the supernatural: too often these days authors limit themselves to taking old myths and making them sexy for a general audience. You won’t find that here – no sexy vampires or werewolves, thankfully! Instead, some intriguing myths that I don’t want to spoil for anyone. Also, gnomes. There are gnomes, and not in the way that you might think.

Graves is a character with a lot of spunk and sass. He’s witty, and sometimes uses pop culture references to help deal with an impossible situation. It makes it a whole lot of fun to read his point of view: as serious and deadly his situation may be, he always has time for a funny remark. It adds so much depth to his character: as weird as it might be for him to be trapped in between bodies like this, he’s still a fascinating person in and of himself.

Seriously, this book should be a TV show. Or a movie. The plot is just so fun, so compelling! Ask anyone who’s read this novel, they’ll all tell you just how much they adored it, or how they devoured it. It’s pure , intelligent, fun. If you like the Dresden files, Supernatural, or Castle, then you’ll adore this novel.

Now here’s the awesome news: it comes out in print TOMORROW. As in, starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to buy this fantastic novel and hold it in your hands; you’ll be able to put it on your bookshelf, sure, but more importantly, you’ll be able to shove it into all of your friends hands. because you know that’s what I’ll be doing.

The 10 covers, 10 hours challenge (that sort of evolved)

seanderson1 Comment

I’ve always wanted to do my own take on the “30 days, 30 covers” awesomeness from the Office of Letters and Light. Though during NaNoWriMo, I barely have enough time for writing, let alone designing!

Just having had my wisdom teeth pulled out, I can’t really go anywhere or do anything. I just wanted to get started on my NaNo novel soooooo baaaad. I needed a distraction! So today I offered to make 10 covers for those who asked politely. They were all made in the thumbnail size that Nano’s website requires, so they are not large enough to print. Only big enough to enjoy.

I had so much fun, I ended up doing 15.

I had so much fun doing them all! I want to do more! If I get the chance, I would love to do the full res of each of these.

Overall, I’m happy with the challenge. Now that it’s over, I have many more ideas for how I could improve almost every cover. But it was just a fun way to spend the day stuck in bed.

Good luck for NaNoWrimo, everyone!

CoversChallenge

Sarah

Update – I kept going. Here’s day two!

CoversDay2

Thanks to everyone who gave me a chance to do this. I’m super happy.

Dumplin’

seandersonLeave a comment

by Julie Murphy

Reviewed by SA

Dumplin‘ has been a book I’ve been wanting to read for ages. Friends have been recommending it to me since before it even came out. I finally caved and bought myself a copy – taking a risk (if you can call it that!) and getting a nice, lovely hardcover copy. I think I kind of had a designer crush on the cover. After finishing the book, there are a few things I can be certain of:

  1. This was not at all what I expected;
  2. It was way better, amazing, and unforgettable;
  3. I am so glad I have a gorgeous hardcover!

Summary

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 twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

I’m always slightly wary of books that deal with body image: they can sway one way, and end up telling you that as soon as you start feeling better for yourself, you’ll start loosing weight and turning ‘hot’, or they can swing to the other side of the spectrum, and bring on a landslide of skinny shaming. Dumplin’ does none of those things. While at first, Willowdean points out the imperfections in those around her, she grows over the course of the novel.  Will stops herself from skinny shaming others, loves her body even if she is insecure in it sometimes. I found it to be the perfect book dealing with teenagers and body image issues.

What really impressed me was how secondary the pageant seemed. What took center stage was Willowdean’s own life, her own crushes and friendships, her worries and loves, her own life. And her life is so much more than the pageant, even if we only get this small glimpse into it. Yes, there is a love triangle, and yes, there is some friendship drama: but all of these seem to be part of the fabric which makes up her life, instead of being barriers. They give depth and dimension to the story, and to her character, which made me really get pulled into the book.

Will is a fantastic protagonist. And I mean fantastic. She’s flawed, she’s self conscious, but she’s also brave and outspoken and incredibly insightful. There were some quotes of hers that I want to write on my wall so I can never stop thinking about them. She’s someone you can really relate to, that you can really understand.

But my favorite aspect of this novel was the relationships. The friendship between Will and Ellen is the real story, in my opinion. The pageant just offers framework. It’s a love story, in a way. The more I think about it, the more I’m sure of it. It’s the love between two best friends who hit a rough patch and have to deal with growing up and growing apart. It’s so rare to see friends actually tell each other that they do love each other, and really mean it. I loved their story.

If you haven’t read Dumplin’ yet, then I strongly suggest you do. It’s a book I 100% recommend with all my heart. It’s got everything you want in a book – including some Dolly Parton adoration – and I want to lend it to everyone I know.

Fair warning – I’ve had Jolene stuck in my head for days now!