Pumpkin - By Julie Murphy - Review

// Writing - 4/5 // Characters 5/5 // Plot 3/5 // Engagement - 3/5 //Overall - 3.5/5 //

---

Pumpkin by Julie Murphy a wonderful book that will make you feel all the feelings. It has a great ratio of sad, heartfelt, funny and romantic moments. This book explores all the struggles teens have to face while growing up. It is super funny and relatable. It explores themes such finding yourself, change, deciding what to do with your life etc. The book follows Waylon Brewer who is a fat, gay teenage boy. He lives in a small town where there aren't many other teens out of the closet. One day he makes the decision to send in an audition tape for his favourite drag show called "Fiercest Of Them All". His entire high school ends up seeing this audition tape, which leads him to be nominated for prom queen as a joke. He decides to run for prom queen and leave his mark on this school! This event will cause him to meet new people and try new things! Romance and friendships will start to form in this adorable novel.

Writing - I like Julie Murphy's writing style a lot! I think she has a great way of describing the characters, and developing them without you even realizing. I love the funny and charming banter she incorporates into the story. It keeps the pace up and I find it extremely engaging. I would say there were some parts where I would have liked a little bit more detail and that is why I give the writing 4/5 stars.

Characters - Julie Murphy has a talent when it comes to creating characters that everyone can feel close to. Waylon is absolutely hilarious as well as relatable. He is a very real character that is going through a lot of very real life challenges. He is funny, and extremely loyal to his friends, especially his twin sister Clementine. Clementine and her girlfriend Hannah are also amazing characters. Clementine is supportive of all of her friends and usually sees the best in everyone. Hannah is a very chill laid back character that adds dynamic to the story. Of course you can't forget Tucker. Tucker is a confusing character from start to finish. He has been through a lot. He isn't sure how to navigate his relationship with Waylon very well and like every human, makes a lot of mistakes. The relationship Waylon and Clementine have with their grandma and her friends is so wholesome.

Plot - The plot of this story was strong, but not that strong. However, I don't think this book was very heavily plot-based. I felt like the focus was more on the characters rather than the plot. The plot was quite hard to follow and didn't really have a steady pace. It felt super slow, and then at the end it was super fast, but not very interesting. I found it confusing and could never really figure out which part of Waylon's life was the main focus. Of course, the plot was still interesting and the characters and writing made up for it.

Engagement - This book was thoroughly engaging, there were parts where I simply couldn't put it down. I thought the banter, characters, and content made the book super engaging.

Overall this book is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone! It is great for a variety of reading levels and perfect if you're in a reading slump. It has a perfect mix of joy and pain. Plus, any book that references Taylor Swift, or Julie Andrews is a book I can get behind!