Saturday, March 5, 2016

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Publication Date:  September 7, 2010
Publisher:  Little Brown/Poppy
Pages:  280
Series:  Stand Alone
Genre:  Contemporary
Synopsis:  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.


Review:  I never once thought I would pick up this book, but it was there, and I was there, and the next thing I knew, I had checked it out and found myself reading it.  

Immature writing--that's the first thing I noticed.  Not the optimal first impression, but I continued on in despite of this.  It is a lot of telling rather than showing, evidently written by someone quite young (Kody Keplinger was a senior in high school when she wrote this, apparently).  The transitions from plot development to plot development tend to be sudden and didn't flow smoothly into one another.  This is, perhaps, in part due to the predictability of the plot.  

No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.

The message of this novel is corny, but well intended.  However, I did not like the way feminism is portrayed.  It sticks to stereotypes and clearly doesn't have a grasp on what the root of feminism actually is.  For such a supposedly liberal and progressive book, this was disappointing.

As a high school student, it can be tedious to read such unrealistic depiction of high school and teenagers: the partying, the flings, the focus on romance over the vast amounts of schoolwork that is the reality of being in AP classes.

Yet, on the other hand, the characters deal with serious issues other than gossip, which was unexpected certainly a plus.  Divorce, alcoholism, abandonment--these are not what I foresaw going into this book, but I do think that dose of reality grounds the story.   

Yeah, it was sick and twisted, but
that’s reality, right? Escape is impossible, so why not
embrace it?

Bianca is a hypocrite and she is a snarky, cynical bitch.  The judgement and hypocrisy are not positives, but I consider the cynical bitchiness to be.  Bianca does not change for anyone and she isn't ashamed to be herself, which is quite refreshing.

As for Wesley, well, I don't know whether to love him or hate him.  Yes, he's a tool and has an utter disregard for politeness, yet, at the end of the day, he turned out all right. 

The Duff is a mine field of melodramatic problems and eye rolls, yet I reluctantly like it. It's not perfect by any measure, but it's fun, and everyone needs a bit of that in their life.


14 comments:

  1. Mm, I don't think this is the book for me! I'm honestly so picky about my characters haha xD And I don't think I enjoyed Shut Out by Kody Keplinger as well...
    But yeah, do you think you'll still see the movie after reading the book? :)

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    1. Neither did I! And it wasn't, really, but I don't regret reading it. And I actually watched the movie when it came out, since I really didn't think I would read this, and it was so different... Thanks for commenting, Geraldine! ❤

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  2. "Yes, he's a tool" - I don't know why, but I think 'tool' is such a good insult. It makes me laugh. Though whilst we're on the topic of insults, calling someone a 'designated ugly fat friend' seems very harsh!
    My friends have said they really liked the movie adaptation, but I haven't seen it... or read it... it does seem like one of those books where you have to embrace its flaws in order to enjoy it. I'm glad you kinda liked it?! <3

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    1. Haha, so do I. Although you're right, DUFF is pretty harsh. The movie, which I saw when it was released, is completely different from the book. It's less serious, more of a comedy. I don't think I can even relate them, other than the word DUFF. Thanks for commenting, Rebekah! ❤

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  3. A 100% agree with everything you said. Bianca was such a hypocrite, yet she had some redeeming qualities and, at the end of the day, I accepted her. What annoyed me the most about her is what horrible things she could think about HER OWN BEST FRIENDS. I think the novel is WAAY overhyped: the writing is okay at its best, the characters are not the most well-developed and the story is super-melodramatic at parts. It was a fun read, though, but I enjoyed the movie more, however surprising that sounds. The actors did a great job and it was funnier. :)

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    1. Yay! It's always odd to enjoy a book and critique it, too, but this one does have some serious flaws. And you're exactly right, Bianca was SO rude to her best friends, completely ignoring them for a boy she didn't even like. There's so much drama. I can't imagine real life being like that. And the movie was very funny! Thanks for commenting, Veronika! ❤

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  4. Hmm. This book sounds irritating. I've been thinking about reading it for a while now (I've heard great things about the book and the movie), but now I'm definitely going to leave it on the backburner for a while. I REALLY dislike unrealistic portrayals of high school, and a misunderstanding of feminism in a book that's supposed to be progressive? No thanks. I'm glad you liked it anyway, but I think I'd rather stick with something that's fun without so many drawbacks. Thanks for the honest review!

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    1. It IS irritating, but also fun to read, if that makes any sense. I would definitely not say it is "great," but is nice to pull out for an easy, entertaining read. The misunderstanding and misinterpretation of feminism is what really got me. Thanks for commenting, Emily! ❤

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  5. I only knew The DUFF from one of my friends at school. I didn't even know it existed until they mentioned it to me on a group chat. xD But I already knew when I checked it out on Goodreads that it definitely wasn't for me. I was surprised to know that it's quite famous and it's apparently going to be a movie(? Or it already is?). I was thinking of reading it sometime just to know why it's so famous, but now, I don't think it'll be worth my time anymore. :/

    Great review, Erin!

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    1. I didn't thin it was for me, either--and it wasn't, but I still enjoyed it, even if it annoyed me, too. How's that for confusing? And the movie came out last year, I think. It is VERY different from the book and very funny. I'm not sure I can recommend this, so I'll leave that up to you. Thanks for commenting, Mara! ❤

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  6. The DUFF just sounds dumb. I remember seeing the trailer for the movie on TV and it look dumb and pointless. I have no interest in reading The DUFF but I'm glad you tried it! Thanks for the review, Erin.

    anna

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    1. It kind of is, really. Enjoyable but such an absurd thing. However, the movie was definitely dumbed down. Thanks for commenting, Anna! ❤

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  7. Great review!! I saw the movie too and thought it was really cute! I kind of don't want to ruin that by reading the book, since it seems so different...

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    1. Thanks! The movie IS quite different. It has a funnier, less serious tone. Thanks for commenting, Bryce! ❤

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