Review: Puddin' by Julie Murphy

Dumplin' was just so brilliant that I am thrilled that author Julie Murphy has penned a companion novel. Puddin' tells of the unlikely friendship that builds between two characters, Millie and Callie. Seemingly, these are two very different girls. Millie is kind, studious, struggles with her weight and has a loyal circle of friends, most of whom are misfits at their high school. Callie on the other hand is a stereotypical mean girl--pretty, a part of the most popular crowd in school, a part of the school dance team and, ultimately, has no real friends, only rivals. Circumstance throws the pair together, when Callie takes the fall for her dance team trashing the gym that belongs to Millie's uncle. As the pair begin to work together at the gym, Callie for the first time learns about the importance of having real friends, whilst coming to terms with the fact that she is no longer a part of the popular crowd at school. Millie, meanwhile, learns a valuable lesson in standing up for herself and following her dreams. And both girls learn lessons in the right way to go about making their voices heard. 

This was a fun, feel good read featuring two very different main characters. While Millie was easy to like almost from the beginning, it took me a while to warm to Callie, though she was a lot of fun to read about. (In particular, I love the part where Callie confuses Millie's kindness with bitchiness.) 

As always, author Julie Murphy does a brilliant job of depicting life in a small American town. And, of course, there were some excellent love interests. 

This is a fun read, perfect for lovers of YA fiction and anyone else who cares to join in. 

Highly recommended.

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