Review: The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

THE DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger
Series: Stand Alone
Published by Little Brown, Poppy on September 7th 2010
Genres: Emotions & Feelings, Family, Young Adult
Pages: 280
Source: Bought
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 “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.

So, I have had this book sitting on my shelves for well years….guilty! I bought it as soon as it came out (because I had heard good things about it) but I never got to it. Flash forward a few years and it has been made a movie! I had to dig through my famous tupperwares just to find this book. And I read it…finally.

Plot: This story is about a girl who is fighting a social stigma as well as family issues. Bianca isn’t the type to talk about her feelings. Though she is blunt, she is also very short with her words. Bianca finds an escape through sex. Yup. After kissing a guy (who she absolutely hates) she keeps meeting him and they go further and further. Throughout the story, Bianca learns more about herself as well as Wesley. I found the plot to be intriguing yet somewhat a disaster.

Escape: So lets stop right there. While I understand her need to “escape” all the stuff going on in her life, why did she have to escape like that? To Bianca she felt good while doing it but I felt like she was letting herself down. She talks about being independent and knowing every guys move that when she runs to that, it seems like she is being a hypocrite. She contradicts herself and her way of living. Basically she lives a lie. She tells lie and gives advice but never seeks her own.

Ending: I did however, like how in the end, Bianca faces her problems. She realizes that after running away and finding escape, that it is not all real. And she wants that. Something real. So she leaves what she is doing yet despite her mistakes she does find one thing that is real…a friendship. And so with that, the story redeemed itself for me. I like that she came to terms about what she is doing and what she needs to do to be well real.

Overall, this is a good book. Though I would strongly recommend for reader to be 18+. I have yet to see the movie but after reading the story, I would like to see it.

Happy Reading!