Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Duff by Kody Keplinger

The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)
Title: The Duff
Author: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 280
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought (Amazon)
Goodreads | Amazon

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 “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. 

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it.
Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out 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.

My thoughts:
I firstly love the cover, I think it fits perfectly with the story. I don't read contemporary very often, if at all usually during the year, so it would really have to catch my attention, and sound unique for me to read one. This book was so funny, and real to me that months later I'm still thinking about it. Bianca had a sarcastic, negative (funny) personality, without the cliched teenage angst, which I appreciated. One thing I can't stand are whiny characters who can't go a page without complaining, The Duff had no one like that.

Omg, Wesley was such a jackass, but a complete lovable, smoking hot guy! When reading I really craved Bianca, Wesley scenes. Normally in young adult you get a couple glances, a few innocent kisses. This was so much better, and more realistic, they didn't really waste any time if you know what I mean. ;)
Besides the "sex" scenes and witty banter, The Duff deals with real problems everyone can relate to. It's more than just a casual, fun read. Bianca's mother is never home, her dad is a recovering alcoholic, her friends just don't seem to get her, and she's wondering what she has to offer other people. Wesley's family is never around, and he is basically living on his own, taking care of himself. Anyway, I ended up reading this book in just a couple hours, I only put it down once, and that was because I was laughing so hard! Kody Keplinger has such a fun, casual writing style with perfect pacing, and I'm looking forward to getting more novels by her. The Duff is one of a kind. 

This passage totally emulates their relationship:
“Spanish, huh?" he said, glancing down at the scattered papers as he grabbed them. "Can you say anything interesting?"
"El tono de tu voz hace que queria estrangularme." I stood up and waited for him to hand over my papers.
"That sounds sexy," he said, getting to his feet and handing me the stack of Spanish work he'd swept together. "What's it mean?"
"The sound of your voice makes me want to strangle myself."
"Kinky.” 
-Kody Keplinger, The Duff.

-Happy Reading,
Amelia.
starstarstarstarstar


2 comments:

  1. Fantastic review!

    That is also one of my favorite passages from the book. :)

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    1. Thank you so much! It was seriously hard to put into words how much I loved this book. xD

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