This was SO MUCH FUN. I loved this more than DUMPLIN'. I loved the characters, I loved their interactions, I loved the high-stakes environments, I enjoyed the blooming relationships but LOVED that POSITIVE FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS were more important, I loved the ASEXUAL REP (very brief, very to the point, JUST WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO AT LEAST 1% OF CHARACTERS IN BOOKS), I loved the plot, I loved it all.

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ASEXUAL REP ASEXUAL REP ASEXUAL REP BEST ASEXUAL REP I'VE SEEN WOOOOOOOHOOOO ( )

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get to this series! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Amazing characters, believable angst and pages you just can’t stop turning. I loved Millie to death, and adore Julie Murphy for her skill in crafting characters who are diverse in so many ways and have quirky personalities all their own.

Callie, I’ll be honest, took a while to grow on me, and I thought the author did a fantastic job of writing the entitled, spoiled facets of her character authentically. The way she couldn’t see past me, me, me after vandalizing Millie’s family’s gym when they were already struggling and made it all about her all the time and how she needed her precious phone and to see her boyfriend and wasn’t even the least bit sorry for what she did because she felt the dance team was so entitled to be sponsored… let’s just say she was a great contrast for Millie and her kindness. I like the way Julie Murphy explored all the different ways you can feel isolated and “othered” in subtle ways. This had a lot of really powerful, positive messages and just fun writing. It was absolutely a page-turner and I ate up every bit!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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I LOVED this book. [b:Dumplin'|18304322|Dumplin' (Dumplin' #1)|Julie Murphy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1424189465s/18304322.jpg|25795642] was terrific. This was better. Millie is the teenager that I wish I had been. ( )

Totally unrealistic but delightfully sweet. I wish I had friends like these girls when I was a teen. ( )

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

Plot:
Millie Michalchuk has spent every summer at fat camp, not that it had much effect on her being fat. And really, she is quite alright with being fat, but her mom isn't, and so the threat of fat camp hangs over her head yet again. But this year, Millie has other plans. She just doesn't know yet how to tell her mom about it. That entire thing takes a backseat though when the gym that Millie works at and that belongs to her uncle is vandalized. Millie realizes that one of the perpetrators is Callie Reyes. Popular, beautiful and mean, and now, apparently a criminal, Callie is everything that Millie is not. When Millie's uncle decides that Callie can work off the damages at the gym, neither Millie nor Callie are thrilled to be working with the other. But Millie is determined to make a friend out of Callie yet, despite everything. And somehow, things start moving.

Puddin' is a super cute and sweet read that I enjoyed a lot, even though I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for this turn into a romance between Millie and Callie. It does not. But it does tell a very nice story about platonic friendship and that is great, too.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2021/11/28/puddin-julie-murphy/ ( )