Julie Murphy does not fail with Pumpkin from the first paragraph you are taken right into the story! This book is all about self-confidence and respect! Small town drama and just what it's like to be in any high school! Top rated author and book for me!

Sweet. Funny. Perfect.
I loved this latest book in the DUMPLIN’ universe. Waylon and Clementine are such a sweet pair of queer twins and seeing the characters from this universe in this new story was great. Heartwarming.

I LOVED this book! Once again, Murphy captures the struggles of being different in a small town perfectly. It is on my list for a diversity club read!

This. Book. Was. Amazing. Julie Murphy's third book in the Dumplin' series is perfection. This book follows Waylon Brewer, an openly gay teenager in a West Texas town. Waylon and his secret obsession with dressing up in drag struggle gets him a nomination for prom queen. He and his friends make it their mission to go all out and win the title. Waylon's fearless, true-to-himself character will stay with me for a long time.

After reading Dumplin’ I was so excited to have the opportunity to do an early reading of Pumpkin. This YA book is a light yet powerful read that is packed with both laugh-out-loud and raw, emotional moments. Waylon (or should I say Miss Pumpkin Patch?) is such an amazing character with a big and beautiful personality.

Beautiful! Wonderful! A shining beacon of fluff and heart! Somehow more satisfying and endearing than the first two books and I dearly loved them both!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Body positivity, queer representation, family relationships, what’s not to love! An excellent read for all teens.

Another great book from Julie Murphy! I loved the characters and the story, like usual. It's so nice to read a queer story about teens and Murphy is the best.

It is hard to find a queer YA book with a protagonist who is not extremely attractive and gender conforming. It is hard to find a book about preparing for college in which everybody does not attend a prestigious university. That is what kept me in this book the whole way through—it might be the realest queer underdog story I have read in a long time. Waylon is unlikeable at times, but I am continually compelled to follow him in his self-actualization because he is, to a very large extent, a real and understandable character. Occasionally the dialogue read as unrealistic and I would have liked the romance to be more developed as it relates to the protagonist. This did not particularly drag the book down, for what it's worth. This was a great book. In a genre full of gay men written solely as an object of the female gaze, "Pumpkin" was a breath of fresh air.

I loved this book! It was the perfect mix of light heartness and the difficulty of finding yourself. I do wish that Tucker’s character had a little more depth though. I can’t wait for it come out so I can recommend it to my students!

If you happened to read Puddin, you will equally enjoy Pumpkin. The reader returns to Clover City and this time we meet Waylon Brewer, a fat gay teen (her description, not mine) who begins to dabble in drag. When a video of him experimenting in drag goes semi-viral at his high school, he is nominated to run for Prom Queen. What he first believes might be a cruel joke just might turn into a life changing and life making journey for Waylon as he begins to discover his true self.

Murphy writes with humor and heart. The message of each of her books is to love yourself for who you truly are and in this day and age, our students can use more of that. No matter how you live, Pumpkin can serve as a reminder to treat everyone with love and respect!

The story line was slightly predictable, but I loved the sweetness and the tie in with the other books in the series. The last few pages use the term TBD a few times and the language could be stronger in this every significant part of the book. I loved the body positivity and supportive family. Tucker was a such a sweet and complex character.

This book was AMAZING. I rooted for Waylon and his sweet self the whole time. A fat kid who doesn’t apologize for his body, a gay kid who is out and accepted, and just maybe discovering drag?! Murphy knows how to create a world that is both realistic and inspiring.

4 stars

I have read all of Julie Murphy's books thus far (except for _If the Shoe Fits_, which I have the arc for and will be reading soon), and this is my current favorite of the series and of the whole collection.

The m.c., Waylon, is queer in a small town, and he is a HIGHLY likeable character. When he gets nominated for prom queen, he is at first offended (he assumes he's the butt of a joke) and then excited. This situation gives him the opportunity to further explore his burgeoning interest in drag and his various romantic prospects.

Fans of the series and of Murphy's work in general will love the characteristic style, LGBTQ+ rep, and regionalism. Waylon, Tucker, and Grammy are special standouts in a sea of fun characters.

Overall, this is a lighthearted read with some meaningful messaging and high entertainment value. Recommended!

I love Julie Murphy's books, and Pumpkin did not disappoint. I can definitely relate to Waylon's struggles to fit in in high school, and navigate what comes after. This book also had a special place in my heart, because I am a twin. The relationship between Waylon and Clem was so real. I appreciated the closeness of the siblings, but also the difficulty they had communicating their personal, singular needs.

I enjoyed meeting the new characters, but I also enjoyed catching up with familiar faces as well. With Willowdean and Bo we got to see that their relationship was more than just a "happily ever after." They still had a lot of work to do in their relationship.

This book was warm, funny, heartbreaking, and deeply moving. I loved Waylon's foray into drag, and the level of confidence he attained through the encouragement of his friends and family, especially his Grammy. I can only aspire to be as fabulous as Grammy when I am older.

Every Julie Murphy book is a hug. An arrow to the heart, funny, relatable. I’ll miss these characters.

"There are times when I feel like I can’t be me. I can’t simply exist. I have to offer something in exchange. Something that absolves me of being fat and gay and even worse— both of those things at once. I know it sounds dramatic. Especially since my family seems very okay with me and Clem. But I can’t help but think it’d be easier to love me if I was at least thin like my sister or ripped like Tucker. That might make up the deficit somehow.” 

Make way for the one true queen, Waylon Brewer.

You know a book is marvellous when you can’t choose a favourite passage from it, right? I basically highlighted the entirety of Pumpkin, so you can imagine how much I loved this book. Let me introduce you to Waylon Brewer: Waylon is a fat, femme, gay guy who’s starting to dabble in drag and he’s not here to take your sh*t.

There are few novels where I say that the reading experience was a delight, but there simply isn’t another word for Pumpkin, because reading this book was nothing short of delightful. I couldn’t put Waylon’s story down for a moment because I needed to know how it ended. You’d think there’s a big mystery or something that warrants this need to know, but there isn’t. The narration and overall vibe of the book just made it unputdownable. Waylon is an incredibly relatable character and so open and vulnerable in his narration even if he shows a tough exterior to bullies who, after years, still think fat jokes are funny, or when he’s faced with a truth about his twin sister that will change the trajectory of their future.

I honestly could gush about every single page of this book but let’s limit this review to three points:

One, the implementation of drag. Oh my god. I mean, we have Waylon who doesn’t really have any aspirations but then low-key becomes a drag queen. Waylon is someone who’s always been watching the show, watching his favourite drag queens lose out on the crown because they’re fat or don’t fit the image of what a drag queen should be, suddenly taking things into his own hands and going out onstage and shining bright like the star we all know he is born to be? Sign me UP. I was enamoured with Waylon’s transformation, seeing him become more confident and more willing to take risks and doing what he loves melted my heart. Whether you’re a fan of drag or not, you will absolutely devour Waylon’s story.

Two, the realities of high school. Waylon doesn’t shy away from telling the reader outright that he wants to fit in but also stand out. it’s a conundrum I remember facing when I was in school—flying under the radar so no one would attack me for being or looking different, yet also not wanting to give the bullies exactly what they want and cowering in fear. It’s a fine line to walk and Murphy dives deep into what it means to be unique when the hierarchy of high school values falling in line. I loved how we got to see Waylon understanding that this will not be the best time of his life, but that he still tried to make it a great time, especially after having been nominated as prom queen contender instead of king. Even with Waylon’s romantic dalliances in this book, we get to see him grow and believe in himself and realise that he is worth someone wanting to stand out with him instead of hiding in back rooms and standing idly instead of speaking up.

I also want to highlight that this book expertly deals with the topic of fatshaming. There’s this really hard-hitting passage in the book that is reminiscent of what Murphy writes in her Author’s Note at the beginning of Pumpkin (check beginning of this review). Honestly, after reading that I had to put the book down to wipe away a stray tear or toe because god knows I never related so much to a character as in that moment. Beyond that, Waylon also deals with indirect fatshaming in his friend circle. Waylon and Kyle used to be great friends but ever since Kyle lost a lot of weight, he’s been pretending like being fat is the worst thing in the entire world—counting his calories, working out more if he even dares to eat a cookie, not to mention all the times he talks about before he lost the weight and how he’s ashamed for how he looked. Though these lamentations might not be directed at Waylon, it often feels that way, like he’s denouncing Waylon and his being okay with his weight and I think the way Murphy handles Waylon dealing and eventually calling Kyle out for this was fantastic.

With a fabulous, fat, gay, femme aspiring drag queen and a wholesome cast of characters, Pumpkin is a satisfying final novel in the Dumplin’ universe and will draw in long-time lovers of Murphy as well as newcomers to her magnificent writing!

I love Julie Murphy. I absolutely loved Dumplin and now I absolutely love Pumpkin.

Teaching in a small Catholic school, too, I feel like some of the issues that her characters experience with life in a small town are applicable to my students. This book will definitely make it onto the reading list for summer as I think it's so fun and cute with such meaningful themes.

I think this was a great way for Murphy to end a beloved series. Readers will enjoy getting to know new characters as well as finding out what some old friends have been up to. While I have read both Dumplin' and Puddin', I don't think either is required reading in order to thoroughly enjoy this book as a stand alone novel as well. I will recommend this book to customers who liked the first two novels as well as any reader who likes coming of age stories.

This was such a sweet story that made me smile all the way through. I loved that Waylon’s was a story about found family and learning to let down your guard and trust others. The representation of various parts of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum felt natural rather than forced, and the side characters were fully realized. I would definitely read this again and recommend it to others!