Willowdean Dixon is the book’s first-person narrator and protagonist. She lives in Clover City, a small Texas town known for being the home of the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant. Will has lived in Clover City all of her life and is the daughter of Rosie Dixon, who won the pageant when she was a teenager and has organized it every year since. Mrs. Dixon calls Willowdean “Dumplin’”—a nickname that makes Will cringe.

Will is a self-aware teenager with strong self-confidence despite her weight: “The word fat makes people uncomfortable. But when you see me, the first thing you notice is my body. And my body is fat” (9). It isn’t until Will starts making out with her fast food restaurant coworker Bo that she starts to chip away at her self-esteem. Will can’t understand why Bo likes her and can’t imagine that he would want to be seen with her in public. Despite Bo’s obvious adoration of Will, Will sabotages their relationship because of her own insecurities.

At the same time, Willowdean ends up in a fight with her forever best friend, Ellen. Will sees Ellen as everything Will is not and is jealous of Ellen’s new friendship with their classmate, Callie.