The DUFF – Kody Keplinger

  
Synopsis – 

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.

Goodreads rating – 3,89/5 stars 

My review – 

It’s very common for female protagonists to be stubborn and overly girly ( Bella Swan, America Singer, etc), but it isn’t often that they are the pessimistic and poetically sarcastic type which is probably what caused me to find Bianca to be so refreshing. Wesley…was certainly an ass. Yes, further on in the book we see another side of him ( what a surprise), but his bluntness and humour was entertaining. 

The book was relatable in many ways to women of all ages. It teaches us about relationships, and the objectification that many women face in our modern day society and how there are many derogatory terms used to refer to women. Keplinger uses them too, but she uses them as a way of mocking the men that degrade women, and a way of showing women how to stand up for themselves. 

Bianca was such a good main character. She was a realist and I just admired that about her. There is a touch upon some family issues that she has but it isn’t over dramatised, she simply dealt with it. Bianca was the DUFF, the Designated Ugly Fat Friend of her two best friends. At least she believed she was the DUFF when Wesley appointed her the title and explained its significance. You’d think that her gorgeous friends probably treated her badly, her being the DUFF and all ( Mean Girls) . In fact they were good friends and stood by her.

Bianca sought escape and numbness through fooling around with Wesley. But … ( Here comes the cliché)  there was no escaping his charm. Bianca’s image of Wesley, the bad boy who got whatever and whoever he wanted changes as she learns that he can listen and be open to her problems and that he also has some of his own and isn’t the epitome of perfection as everyone seems to believe. 

My only real issue about this book ( and so many other YA books) was it’s predictability. Other than that, I read it in one sitting and loved it. 

My rating – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Goodreads – Katerina Turner 

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