Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Book:The Duff
Author: Kody Keplinger
Edition: ARC
Pages: Approx 277
Pub. Date: September 7th 2010

Rating: A+



Goodreads
" Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smar...more Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. We have all been hearing about The Duff and about the 18 year old college student behind it. Kody Keplinger has us all waiting for September 10th, when her debut novel will hit stores. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to borrow a copy. Boy, am I glad I didn’t have to wait!

The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend.
When I first heard the definition I knew exactly what it meant. Why? Because I see myself as that friend. When I read the Duff, I knew it. And the fact that I kn...more "

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My Review

We have all been hearing about The Duff and about the 18 year old college student behind it. Kody Keplinger has us all waiting for September 10th, when her debut novel will hit stores. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to borrow a copy. Boy, am I glad I didn’t have to wait!

The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend.
When I first heard the definition I knew exactly what it meant. Why? Because I see myself as that friend. When I read the Duff, I knew it. And the fact that I knew about what it was, made the experience of reading it that much more great. I brought this up to my friends and they said that that is how they feel, also. This is brought up in the book. Everyone feels like a Duff.

The story line is wonderful. Bianca, 17 year old girl, has some hard times in life and it all seems to double when the school hottie and playboy, Wesley Rush, tells her she is The Duff. Then nicknames her Duffy. After that, things snowball into one big mess. And Bianca needs a getaway. She gets it, but definitely in the last place she expects.

The writing is realistic. I could definitely see the plot happening. At least I hope it would.

The characters all had flaws, but that only made them better. Bianca reminded me of myself. I am a very cynical person and so is she. I connected with her, which is always what you want to do while reading. It makes loving the book easier.
Wesley is a notorious playboy. He will get with any girl he can, which is just about everyone. Through the book, you will see subtle changes in him. Good, subtle changes. Which will pan out in the end.
Bianca’s best friends made me happy and pissed me off all at the same time. If you think about, that is exactly how best friends are. They are great friends to Bianca, but they also push her to go partying when she doesn’t want to and one of them is very ditsy.
When it came to Bianca’s parents, you could feel exactly how she felt. Her home life isn’t all that great and you sympathize with her.

I won’t say much about the ending, because I know I will keep gushing and no one will be able to stop me.
I’ll leave it at: Great! Every teen girl should read this. They may see that they are not alone in the world. Everyone thinks they are a Duff, at least once in their life.