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OLDER FICTION
Murphy, Julie

Pumpkin

336 pp. | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray | May, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-288045-1 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-288047-5 $11.99
(2) YA Waylon Brewer does not fit in at Clover City High School. He's fat; he's gay; and he loves drag, particularly a drag-competition TV show called Fiercest of Them All. But no one, not even his twin sister, Clementine, knows that he wants to actually perform in drag: that is, until his audition video for the show, starring "Miss Pumpkin Patch," is accidentally posted publicly on Facebook. It goes viral, naturally, earning Waylon immediate mockery at school and a nomination to prom court--as queen. Along with Clementine's girlfriend, a similarly gender-bending candidate for king, Waylon embraces the joke and campaigns to win the crown; it doesn't hurt that his cute classmate Tucker is a fellow nominee (for king). This third story set in Clover City, Texas, features a genuine and unbreakable sibling bond; a strong romantic connection; and a cast of well-developed supporting characters, including guest appearances from Willowdean (­Dumplin', rev. 11/15) and Callie and Millie (Puddin', rev. 5/18). Like those ­protagonists, Waylon learns to love who he is and refuses to settle for anyone who doesn't. Or as he tells Tucker: "I'm done being with people who are embarrassed by me...I'm too good to keep secret." It's easy to cheer for Waylon--who eventually triumphs both as himself and as Pumpkin--in this celebration of individuality and self-expression.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021

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