The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Title: The DUFF

Author: Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: September 10, 2010

Source: Gifted

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical, 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 her 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.

Where do I even begin with The DUFF by Kody Keplinger? I had heard a lot about it before beginning to read it, which made me want to read it. My other motivation for reading the book is that it is also part of the Contemps Challenge. Kody Keplinger writes an interesting story that everyone will be able to relate to at one point in their lives. Who hasn’t felt like they were the “ugly one” when they were with their friends? I’ve been there and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

Bianca has never felt like she was the prettiest among her friends but it never bothered her. She liked the way her life was but suddenly things start to fall apart. To make things even better Wesley Rush, the school’s resident man-whore, is paying more attention to her than she cares for and keeps on calling her “Duffy”. Then things suddenly get out of control and Bianca finds herself in this weird relationship with Wesley. She doesn’t know what to do anymore and soon finds out that the one person who understands her better than anyone else is also the one person she has convinced herself she hates.

I don’t think I would normally like a character like Bianca but for someone reason I liked her right from the beginning. As much as I like sarcastic and cynical people, and am one myself sometimes, they tend to get a bit on my nerves especially when I’m reading about them. But with Bianca something was different, maybe it’s the fact that I’ve felt like she does before. More than once, I felt like I was only there to make my friends look better and that’s the part of Bianca I could totally relate to. I feel like that part of Bianca is the one reason people should read this book. I’m almost sure everyone has felt that way at least once in their life and for that reason alone everyone should read this book just so they can relate. There was also a lot more to Bianca than she herself let on and sometimes it almost felt like she was lying to herself about some parts of her life...especially where Wesley was concerned.

Oh Wesley, why did you have to be such a jerk at first? I knew almost right away that there was more to Wesley than just his player exterior and his man-whore habits. Other than his rude and mean comments about Bianca at first, I liked Wesley from the start. There was something about him that kept me rooting for him throughout the book. I just knew that he actually would turn out to care for Bianca and that he was a really good guy behind the player front he put up for everyone to see. I was also nice to see that Bianca wasn’t the only one with issues and that just maybe he also needed a “distraction”. So basically I loved Wesley even though he could be a real jerk most of the time.

I’m repeating myself but this is a story I’m sure many girls out there can really relate to. Unless someone is completely conceited, they will always think that they aren’t the best, most attractive or most intelligent of their group of friends even if sometimes the truth is that they are. I’ve felt like the DUFF on more than one occasion despite my friends’ insistence that it wasn’t true. Kody Keplinger really hit the spot with the story she wrote. It’s a really great book that deserves to be read by so many people.

Overall, I absolutely loved The DUFF and honestly believe everyone should go and read it. It’s a great story about finding yourself and realizing that everyone has issues and that no one’s perfect. So seriously, go and get a copy of this book and read it, I mean it.