The Duff Review

The Duff by Kody Keplinger
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. Wore, 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.

I'm just going to start off saying that I LOVE this book. It's one of those books where I pause after every chapter to savor the book and think it over. I don't stop because I'm bored or because I want to do something else; I stop because I want a chance to think it over before I move on. Every time I closed the book, I couldn't wait to get back to it. It had that magnetic pull and I found myself closing out everything around me just to read "one more chapter." I easily devoured it in one afternoon without even noticing. The moment I was done, I couldn't wait to read it again.

All the characters were very round, though I did get caught off guard by Casey's outburst towards the end. I don't think there was a single character that I didn't relate to in some way. I also enjoyed that Bianca stayed strong and true to herself throughout the entire book. She didn't automatically get weak after she met the guy. As for Wesley...well, who doesn't love him?

It portrays high school in a realistic and very non-sugarcoated way. I also love that it's shown that anyone can be and is a Duff no matter who they are.

THE DUFF is definitely a book for older teens, but it is one that I, at least, will keep on my shelf for many years to come.

Overall: 10/10

Comments

Char. said…
I seriously want to read this and support Kody!
September 7, 2010 at 6:41 PM
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