Thursday, January 16, 2014

THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger



The DUFF: Designated. Ugly. Fat. Friend.

This book contains foul language, pitch-perfect teen voice, and one very sexy male lead.  You've been warned :).

The hook is right there in the title, and it rocks!  Kody Keplinger wrote this book when she was a teenager, and good God, I am so glad that she did.  The book reads authentically "teen" from page one.  I couldn't stop turning the pages.  In fact, it was so addictive that I read The DUFF in one day.

Cynical, sharp-tounged, Bianca Piper is flat-out told she's the Duff by school man-slut, Wesley. Fucking. Rush. (Bianca's words not mine)  He attempts to chat her up at the local teen club in hopes of getting to her hot friends.

Yes, it's just as awful as it sounds.

"What I'm saying is girls--like your friends--find it sexy when guys show some sensitivity to the Duff.  So by talking to you right now I am doubling my chances of getting laid tonight.  Please assist me here, and just pretend to enjoy the conversation."--pg. 6, The DUFF

But do you think Bianca cooperates?  Heck no.  She throws her drink in his face, tells him off and trucks it out of there.  But the exchange leaves her wondering: Is she the Duff?  And how does she feel about that?

This is one of those books where it's hard for me to explain just how much/why I loved it.  But here we go:

1)  Like I said, there was SO much voice.  Bianca was a real person telling me her story--which I think is something all first person narratives strive for.

2)  The Snark.  I enjoyed every snarky thought, every insult passed between Bianca and Wesley.  Hil-ar-ious!

3)  The Enemies-With-Benifits Romance.  Despite herself, Bianca finds herself falling for the playboy--and he falls for her as well.  Sigh, gotta love it <3

4)  Wesley Rush went from jerk-who-I'd-like-to-punch-in-the-face to the perfect book boyfriend in only 277 pages.

Number 4 is the hardest to pull off imo.  Keplinger worked some kind of magic b/c I should've hated Wesley after some of the things he said--and I did.  But in the end, he turned that corner between love and hate, and I ended up as into him as Bianca was.

In conclusion, Wesley Rush doesn't chase girls...but I would chase a guy like him any day :-).

Great book, great message (NOT at all preachy), so happy I finally read it, definitely recommended!!

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

3 comments:

  1. I've heard a lot about this book. Don't know why I haven't picked it up before. I think not maybe because the reviews seem to suggest people either love or hate it and I'm afraid I'll fall into the hate category as I usually do! I do love an arrogant but loveable hero though!

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  2. Yes, that was me, too. I'd read a few not-so-great reviews, but I decided to finally give it a go. "Arrogant but loveable" is a great description of Wesley ;)

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  3. Ok, I have seen this book so many time and passed it over. I never even had an inkling to attempt to read THE DUFF. After reading your review I am totally going to get this today! This sounds so good!!!

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