Puddin’

It is a companion novel to Dumplin', which follows supporting characters from the first book in the months after Willowdean's star turn in the Clover City pageant.

Millie Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a girl. Not this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream—and to kiss her crush. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring the girls together over the course of a semester, they will surprise everyone (especially themselves) by realizing they might have more in common than they ever imagined.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

YA Contemporary isn’t usually my jam but if more of them were like this, I’m reading it more often. Fans of Becky Albertalli and Angie Thomas will enjoy Puddin’ for its humour, heart, and unapologetic quality. It’s a book I wish I had as a teen because it touches on identity, body positivity, representation, family relationships, and friendship over competition.

I’m quite picky when it comes to reading about YA romance but I was glad that even though it was part of the story, it wasn’t central to the characters’ lives. I loved that it was more about two girls learning and growing through their actions and experiences and struggling with the unknowns in their future, all while discovering what true friendship looked like.

Like other books, Puddin’ wasn’t perfect but it became such a comforting feel-good book to me that it didn’t even really change how much I liked it. I even appreciated how some characters had slow development because it made it more realistic.

Puddin’is a companion novel to Dumplin’but you don’t need to read them in order. I actually haven’t read Dumplin’ myself but I’m definitely interested in picking it up and checking out other books Murphy puts out in the future.