Thursday 7 March 2013

Review - The Duff (Kody Keplinger)


http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1271108843l/6931356.jpg  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.  
-Goodreads.com


  My Review

It wasn’t till after finishing the book that I realised it was written by an 18 year old, but it honestly didn’t feel like it. A) Because the writing reflected maturity, unlike other books written by young authors ie Halo by Alexandra Adornetto (Which I personally hated). And B) because of the number of times the F* Bomb was dropped.

The whole idea surrounding the book, is that in each group of girls there is a Duff. While reading the book, you start to understand the point of view the author is trying to get across. The book is not simply a ‘woe is me’ story about a self-conscious girl and all her body issues, but rather a story about the self consciousness that all woman posses at some point in time... even the drop dead gorgeous ones.  At some point in their life, everyone feels like the duff. A designated ugly fat friend; the one who is not necessarily less pretty but feels less pretty than the rest of her cohort. I know that I’ve definitely felt like the duff of my group, but there have been times I know my friends have felt the same way also. 

As the book progresses I, along with the main character Bianca, go from hating the word (purely because it makes me think of my ugly duckling days) to accepting it, as a way of feeling rather than a way of being. I think this is a great book for young girls (Despite the large scale amount of swearing), as it deals with the insecurities that all of us have at some point or another. The book was simple, yet heartfelt and I found myself getting very attached to the characters which oozed personality. 

My rating: 4/5



 

3 comments:

  1. I've seen The Duff around for awhile, mainly displayed at bookstores. I don't know why, but I never really had much of an interest in picking it up. I think I was afraid it would be a shallow novel, but your review did a great job at making me rethink that.

    I love how you incorporated the moral of the story into your reveal, and you did it wonderfully. I definitely agree that we've all felt like a "duff" in our lives, some more than others.

    I'm a new follower! If you have the chance, I'd love it if you'd check out my book review blog and follow if you like what you see!

    -Kelly at http://www.paper-fantasies.blogspot.com

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  2. Wow thank-you so much.
    I agree, that I also had my apprehensions about the book, and actually started reading it having quite low expectations. That's probably why I enjoyed it so much, because it surprised me with its very real underlying message :)But then again everyone likes something different. I've talked to others who have read the book, who've said they found the characters annoying and shallow, where I found them thoughtful and endearing.lol.

    Anyway Thanks for checking out my blog and leaving a comment!
    I'll be sure to check yours out :)

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    Replies
    1. Pleasure's all mine, Elle!

      I know what you mean. Everyone brings different things from their past and personality to books when they read them, so one reader could have a completely opposite experience than another on the same book. The only way to know for sure how you'll feel about books is to read them. Read them all. My precioussssss.... O.O

      I'll stop now. :p

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