The Duff Book Review!

The Duff

Author: Kody Keplinger

Average Rating: 3.91/5.0
Personal Rating: 3.5/5.0

Page Count: 300 

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: 7 September 2010

According to 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 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.

My Opinion:

I received an e-copy from the publisher via Netgalley, but in no way does that have an impact on my opinions.

I avoided reading The Duff due to all the hype it was receiving while the movie was being filmed and then released. I began reading the book, and I soon thought to myself how I'm surprisingly liking it. BUT. Once I had that thought I immediately thought about all the hype and over the moon amazing comments the book had received, which then resulted in me trying to find the bad aspects in everything I was reading. Thank you Mr. Hype.

Eventually, I was finally able to let myself read freely and that's when I genuinely began to like the book. I loved Wesley's character. Sure, in the beginning he was a complete womanizer, but even after Bianca kissed him the first time he acted different. After that the rest is history. He was respectful, caring, great-listener, and protective. I can see why Bianca was hesitant to trust him considering his past, but this book will teach that the past cannot define who the person is in the present nor in the future. I loved the friendship trio Bianca was a part of. We got a great understanding on how each of them are completely different, but will be there for one another no matter the issue. There were times though that I felt the whole friendship was hypocritical. Bianca, for example, wouldn't share big events that happened that caused her to shut off and not interact with Casey or Jessica. I don't know. Maybe I'm just different. I always feel better when I tell a close friend when something has happened. Casey I felt was too overbearing and protective of Bianca. I'm glad she wanted to look out for Bianca, but I mean give the girl some space. Jessica was just an adorable character who had a big heart and gave some great input/advice when the time presented itself. 

One more thing I liked about the book was how all the teenagers had a hangout called the Nest. It used to be a bar, but was converted into a dance hall/soda bar for all the teenagers to come and dance the night away. How cool is that? I would love to have something like that where I live, but alas. 

There was a certain twist of events during the last 1/3 of the book that caused a great deal of anger and annoyance. I understood why the character was added into the equation, but I just felt his purpose was dragged out and dragged out and dragged out. I would also have liked to have more interaction with some characters and less with others. 

I'm definitely going to watch the movie version now. Has anyone seen it? I recommend the Duff to those who enjoyed the movie and enjoy novels that involve two people learning to trust each other as they explore unfamiliar territory in the world of love. 

Purchase Links:

Book Depository / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Audible

Food for Thought: I previously mentioned how someone's past shouldn't define who they are in the present. What are your opinions about how the past shouldn't definie who you/someone is now?