#Review: The DUFF + Movie Review
The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend (The DUFF) by Kody Keplinger
Published: September 7th 2010
Publisher: January 1st 2010
Paperback: 280 pages
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Author: — Facebook — Twitter — Website —
Next: Lying Out Loud
Source: Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Children’s Books
Buy: — Paperback
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Summary:
“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.” – Goodreads
My Thoughts:
This book starts out with Bianca, a cynical but smart teenager who doesn’t have the easiest life, being told that she is a DUFF – Designated Ugly Fat Friend. This combined with her absentee mother and on-the-verge-of-a-breakdown father makes her spiral out of control and do things she never thought she would, with someone she never thought she would even touch with a ten foot pole!
Bianca was a fun character to read about. Sure she is a bit crazy, but her life sort of demands it. I only wish she treated her best friends better – especially Jessica. I felt sorry for Jessica, even though Bianca make friends with her, she still kept her at arms length. Casey, her other friend, was also great and they had a much stronger connection. I feel like Casey and Jessica should have featured more in the book, but I guess Bianca isolating herself during her spiral makes sense.
This book talks a bit about Wuthering Heights, which I just want to say was probably the worst book I have ever read – so it didn’t foster any good memories. However, Toby, the character which introduced the Wuthering Heights talks was a very endearing and likable character. I really liked Toby and the way the book made his story end really worked for me. Oh and let’s talk about Wesley, the man-whore. I really liked Wesley. I think he was a very well rounded character and added a lot of fun to this book! Obviously he has his own issues that need to be sorted out, but it made him complex.
Overall this was a very fun and quirky book, that touches on some very heavy issues. I really enjoyed it and will definitely read more books by Kody Keplinger!
Movie Review:
This movie review is going to be a bit more of a comparison list than anything else. First, I think I enjoyed the movie more than the book! The movie had me laughing really hard!
What I liked more about the movie:
Bianca and Wesley’s relationship develops out of friendship. The book’s relationship is very instantaneous and the love comes last. Does anyone else think that a relationship born out of hatred, confusion and distraction doesn’t seem like the most healthiest of relationships? Sure I like them together, its just a bit unhealthy. Also someone needs to tell book Bianca she doesn’t have to have sex with a boy right away – or is that too prudish? The way the movie handled it seemed more natural. *shrug*
I like that there was a dad in the book, but the committed loving mom in the movie was much better. I wonder why they swapped it around? Maybe to make the move more lighthearted? Oh and of course book Toby was muchhhhh better than movie Toby.
All in all I liked the book. It wasn’t a game changer, but it was still a good book. And I will definitely watch the movie over and over as the years go by!
Favorite Quote:
“No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.”
Questions/Discussions:
Did you like the book or the movie more?
This got a 7/10 from me.
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