30 May 2011

REVIEW: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger

by Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Poppy
07 September 2010
288 Pages

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 "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his 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.




R E V I E W :
I really liked this book. Maybe I even love it (I'm pulling a Bianca). Bianca, the main character and Little Miss Cynical, refused to believe that a teenage girl at the tender age of 17 can truly be in love. In fact, she refuses to believe to the very end. Which brings us to the ending. Which is my favorite kind of ending. 

All the characters (not just the two main ones) were very well developed and had their own problems but not to the point of being in danger of being a soap drama. Kody Keplinger really brought the characters alive for me and I came to care and sympathize with them all. By the ending of the story, all the characters were working through their problems and well on their way to the allusive happy ending, but not quite there yet. There was no tidy Cinderella ending where Bianca and Wesley marry or something absurd like that, such as Bianca's mother, who was MIA for several months, coming home and rekindling her crumbling marriage (didn't happen, by the way). But even so, I was really satisfied with how the story left off.

But my favorite part of this novel had to be the characters. Again I will say, I fell in 'like' with them all. Sure, there were a few times when I wanted to strangle a particular character (*cough cough* Bianca *cough*), but admittedly not as much as in most books.
The romance... 'like' between Bianca and Wesley is, I think, believable and I really saw the connection.

Predictable, yes. Flaws, yes. But there was just something I really liked about this book that it would be dishonest if I didn't give it all five stars.


 Now for more detail...
Bianca's life seems to be falling apart. Her mother is touring the states and leaving her alone to deal with her father's declining sobriety. Oh, and a few other things, including her obsession over what that butthole Wesley called her before she downed her Cherry Coke on his expensive polo. 

Duffy. 
Designated Ugly Fat Friend. 

To escape reality herself, she has sex with Wesley, the man slut of her school; the guy she hates. He's a son of a female-dog and an-illegitimate-son (this is a curse, not an actual description), but he's pretty darn sexy and knows how to kiss (and other stuff...) pretty darn well. Wesley helps her to escape her emotional, inner turmoil and become a physical, sensual being and pretty soon, she's visiting him a few times a week. This doesn't really help her problems though, which she, and her mother, realizes later, but it helped to run away from it all, even for just a few hours. Then comes a problem, it's not just physical anymore.

I loved Bianca and her sharp wit even if she was a bit cynical and bitter for my taste. I enjoyed seeing the world from her perspective and I could relate to her, especially when she gave names to things, like the Skinny Squad for the cheerleaders. She was an enjoyable and funny character and I admired her dedication and loyalty to her friends, even if she went off track with them for awhile.
Wesley was the classical misunderstood bad boy. He was a player and desired the 'company' of girls because of the neglect of his parents and disapproval of his grandmother. At first, he came off as an arrogant 'horn dog poop' but once Bianca spent more time with him, she saw that he was... less arrogant and more genuine than she first thought. I loved how Wesley got her to play pool and video games with him before they did 'The Deed'. Very sneaky.

"I wanted to make sure you were fine...
and that he was okay, too. You didn't,
like, stab the boy, did you? I mean, I
totally disapprove of murdering hotties,
but if you need help burying the body,
you know I'll bring the shovel."

I loved her friends. They had their quirks and flaws, but who doesn't?

"Functionality is overrated."

Exactly.



1 comment:

  1. You have a nice review! Here's mine: http://lorxiebookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-duff-designated-ugly-fat-friend-by.html

    Thank you very much, have a nice day! :)

    -lor

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