The DUFF

I wanted to review this book because it became an American teen comedy in 2015. We all know what Hollywood has a tendency to dramatically change story lines of book with potential of a cult following; so I decided that I would give this book a shot. Well, that and my book club made me read it. (I digress.)Upon finishing this book, I sat here at my screen for more than a few minutes puzzled, and I did what no book reviewer should do - I looked at other reviews. Some raved about the book; others provided very low ratings. But, I must say that the mixed reviews makes me feel better and provides confidence in my review...This most definitely is a teenage book; however, I would advise and caution adults against letting just any teenager read this. There is a profound message here - beauty is confidence. It reminds me of the Parisian approach on elegance and style. The you’re-only-as-beautiful-as-you-feel or only-as-beautiful-as-you-carry-yourself mentality, which personally I agree with. There is also a deep message of being your true self that elevates and inspires, compared to one that conforms and begs for acceptance. All very valuable lessons for teens everywhere. However there is a huge disconnect between the story and the audience.Bianca is our nonconformist - our intellectual that goes beyond labels. She has conviction and inner strength, but has her share life’s obstacles. So, this story isn’t about a cookie-cutter life suddenly faced with curve balls. (I love this by the way.) She deals with real problems for the get go, and life gets harder as the story continues.She finds refuge and comfort in dealing with life’s curve balls by having causal sex with the school’s playboy - who shockingly is looking for more than a physical connection or notch on his bedpost.My point is that the writing is very much for that younger teen, and therefore, could not be labeled as young adult. However, it would take a very mature teen and avid reader to walk away these messages. If your daughter or son has read or will read this book, make sure they walk away with the writer’s intended message, and just focus on the story and the ending.For you adult YA lovers, this may be entertaining, but the writing is very teen audience driven. For the reason above, I would give this story a 2.75 to a solid 3 stars. Like I said, the audience and their maturity level is key. (FYI - judging my the previews, the movie story is nothing like the book. So, please don’t rush into any awkward talks just because your teenager saw the movie!)~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Andrea'. All opinions are honest and my own.*~ For this review and more visit [...]

If you enjoyed the movie, you'll absolutely love the book! In many aspects the book was completely different from the movie, but these aspects (in my opinion) actually made the novelization much BETTER than the film! There are some changes in personality/events with a couple characters in the book. For example: Bianca is more troubled emotionally in the novel (honestly her story in the book is WAY better and adds a little more drama, plus its completely relatable/realistic); Wes is pretty much exactly the same, except where he lives is different (turns out his family is filthy rich and he has a little sister) and he's much more open about his desire to be promiscuous - though the more he spends time with B, not overwhelmingly so. Also in the book, he and Bianca aren't childhood friends/next door neighbors (I actually LIKED that relationship in the film, however). Even though the start of the relationship in the novel is COMPLETELY different from the movie, I love how Wes still notices her emotions and tries to cater to her despite her attempts to keep him blocked out (in the book their "relationship" starts out as purely sexual - an advance made by BIANCA as a form of release from the stresses of her home life). I love how even though Bianca tries to keep their relationship...well...what it is, she inadvertently begins to catch feelings but doesn't realize it until its too late after an emotional shock, which leads to Wes's comfort, which then leads to something far more intimate for the BOTH of them...In other words, they make LOVE and it scares the piss out of her while Wes is perfectly content. After this, things really start to get emotional and just like in the movie Wes's growing feelings for Bianca tugs at your heartstrings. Another character who is portrayed differently is Toby Tucker: as it turns out, he ISN'T a prick in the book like he is in the movie. In fact, he's sheer perfection (sweet, nerdy, compassionate) and everything that Bianca loved to be true. Heck, even I started to swoon for him a couple times. You'll initially hate her mom in the book just like you did in the movie. As a matter of fact, the mother is the one who pretty much runs off and does something which pretty much ruins her husband and daughter's lives. But you'll LOVE her dad with his awkwardness, and instead of being angry, be compassionate towards him as he struggles with the loss of his one true love. Honestly, i think if they would've kept the relationship dynamic of the MOVIE but involved some of the main plot of the book and combined those in the film, i'd love the movie even more because it would be closer to the book. I wish the book was longer. When i got to the last page i was satisfied but wanted so much more! It was a pretty good read. I couldn't put it down. And i usually dont read teen/young adult fiction. But this is definitely gonna be a favorite for life. It's honest, relatable, thoughtful, and in some ways rather compelling. I think this is a book for everyone (teen and up). Anyways, that's just my two cents.

4.5 Duffy stars!!!“No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.”OMIGOSH YOU GUYS! I loved this book!! Like seriously, I kind of can't believe how much I loved a book that literally means "ugly fat friend".Over the years I've seen this book in passing, in the library, bookstores, and lists titled "Best Book Boyfriends". I never picked it up because come on. Look at the title. Now look at the cover. Based on those two things, would you read it? Well this is an extreme case of don't judge a book by its cover... or its title.Bianca is a cynical girl, but her friends don't mind it. They love her for who she is. One night when all three are out, Bianca finds herself near the school manwhore Wesley, who proceeds to educate her on the fact that she is the Duff. Designated Ugly Fat Friend. This title makes Bianca's head spin, and she goes into a small identity crisis. On top of that, things aren't so good with her parents and her life around her is falling apart. Assigned to work on a project together, Bianca and Wesley end up having a secret friends with benefits relationship, both trying to escape their crappy real lives.As I stated before, I loved this book. Because it surprised me. Bianca was a character I loved so much. She was ridiculously cynical, and I guess maybe I am too because most of the time when she would say something, I'd be sitting there nodding my head and going "hey, I would say that!"And this book had some seriously funny moments and dialogue in it. For example:“Spanish, huh?" he said, glancing down at the scattered papers as he grabbed them. "Can you say anything interesting?""El tono de tu voz hace que queria estrangularme." I stood up and waited for him to hand over my papers."That sounds sexy," he said, getting to his feet and handing me the stack of Spanish work he'd swept together. "What's it mean?""The sound of your voice makes me want to strangle myself.""Kinky.”“Your sense of humor needs some work, then," Wesley suggested. "Most girls find my jokes charming.""Those girls must have IQs low enough to trip over.”“I mean, there is a reason its initials are VD. I bet you more people contract syphilis on Valentine's Day than on any other day of the year. What a cause for celebration.”Despite having a sense of humor, this book also dealt with serious teen issues. Bianca's parents were going through a divorce and her dad was becoming less and less present, and she didn't know how to deal with it. Bianca's former jerk of an ex-boyfriend shows up in town with his new fiance. Wesley's parents are always gone and his crone of a grandmother won't let him see his sister. Lots of teen drama rama.The other things that surprised me about this book? There was so much sex! Like from the beginning. Would you look at this hot pink and yellow cover and think you were in for a large round of young adult fade to black? Not me! It was kind of refreshing to read a teen book and have it be realistic about what teens are experiencing in real life.And Wesley. *sigh* I loved that guy. Like, he was such a freaking jerk in the beginning, but like Bianca, the more I saw him in the book I couldn't help but swoon over his arrogant butt. I agree with the list, he's a great book boyfriend.“Don’t lie to yourself because you think it’s safer. Reality doesn’t work like that."At the end of the day, everyone who reads this review is going to read whatever the heck they want. I'm the same way. But, I encourage you to ignore the title and cover, and to read this gem of a book.

I have really mixed emotions on this book. For one, the idea of a DUFF is completely ingenious and original. To put a name to something that we have all been at one point or another is, as I have said, ingenious. However, there are some underlying factors that distress me about the book.You have been warned that this is the writer's premiere novel and that she is young. You now have been warned that she writes like she is still in high school. While it is an accomplishment to publish a book at such a young age, the writing almost seems lazy at some points. Many of her characters are left underdeveloped but seem like they should be within the focal point of her novel. Her grammar is slightly underdeveloped and could use some work.The plot line itself also has flaws. While Keplinger does portray Bianca as a feminist with great views on society's standards of women, she is quickly morphed into almost a misandrist. I began to hate Bianca not even a quarter of the way through the book. While I am all for the equality of the sexes and everything that feminism stands for, Keplinger crosses the line into misandry and rants and raves for too much of the book. Yes, Bianca is a strong female character. Yes, we need more of those in the literary world. But, we need more female characters who stand for what they believe in all of the time, not some of the time like Bianca does.Finally, there are issues of abuse not addressed within this book. Abuse is a HUGE issue in our society, but Keplinger leaves many of the instances unaddressed. Clearly there is verbal abuse between Bianca's parents and between Wes and his grandmother, but there is also mental abuse between Wes, his sister, and his parents. Also Keplinger does not address the issue of bullying as well as the movie does, and never reaches any sort of conclusion what one should do regarding the stereotypes portrayed within the book.All in all, this book is funny and has your typical YA plot line (boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy or girl does something stupid, they reconcile and live happily ever after). There are many issues with the grammatical structure and the way that the book is presented. Some issues need to be addressed within the plot itself, but overall it is a good, quick read, if you want a high school love story.The movie does not follow the plot line of this book. Be happy or be sad. Whichever; it's a good movie nonetheless.

This book was pretty good. I bought it at an impulse after I heard from a friend that the movie was good (and finding out that my favorite band EVER did a song on the soundtrack) and my rule that I have to read the book before I see the movie. Alas, I digress. The Duff is about a girl named Bianca. She is 17, an only child, lives with her dad (who happens to be a recovering alcoholic), has two friends that anyone would die for, and absolutely hates Wesley Rush's guts. Not just because he sleeps with everything that moves, but mainly because he calls her the "Duff" (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) of her group. All of this sets this up to be an extremely funny story already, but what happens next is so unpredictable and hilarious that I had to stop reading and catch my breath for a few minutes. Things are going pretty rough at home (trust me, that wasn't the funny part at all), and Bianca needs a distraction.In the long and short of it, she makes out with Wesley at a party. From then on out, things got a little uncomfortable for me. I don't normally like books that are all about certain things (that start with S and end with X), so I was a little surprised with this. While "it" was certainly a major factor of this book (mainly Bianca was just using Wesley as a distraction for about 90% of the time), I found myself really liking this book. In fact, the main problem that I had with the book was how Bianca essentially cut her friends out of her life and just went to Wesley to use physical pleasure as an escape from her problems, instead of talking to her friends about them. I mean, her father called her horrible names while he was drunk and she didn't even mention it to any of her friends until weeks later. That isn't healthy in the slightest. The ending was really cute and clichéd, and I must (unwillingly) admit that I rather enjoyed it. Normally endings like this one make me laugh, roll my eyes while groaning, or throw my book across the room, but for some reason, I just had a goofy grin on my face for ages after I finished. All in all, the book tackles some issues that we as a society don't really like to talk about in a lighthearted, funny way. It's good for a sunny day on the beach, the plane to wherever you're going, or (if you're like me) trying to delay doing the inevitable world history AP homework that's due in two days.