Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed "Dumplin'" by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked... until Will takes a job at Harpy's, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn't surprised to find herself...

In a small East Texas town, fourteen-year-old Austin sets out to win a ride in the next parade and, in the process, grows in her understanding of friendship, faces down bullies and prejudices, and helps her widowed mother through her mourning.